Job Site Drama - Sod Installation Tips

Stan: So we're out on our landscaping site. It's the middle of November. We're going to talk about the fact that November is the best time of the year to lay sod to get everything wrapped up because it's also the time of the year when you have the least amount of maintenance that you ever have to do. 

Stan: That right there brings up a good point. Inside our company, it's always the laborer's drop to look out for the piece of equipment. It is never the equipment operator's job to look out for the laborer. Although that may sound bass ackwards in this age of millennials where you guys think you can randomly walk across the street at any time and expect a car to stop for you. Well guess what it weighs more than you do. So, if they don't happen to see you, you're the one paying the price. 

Stan: Now in this case on our job sites, we always tell the operators look out of the laborers, but we teach the laborers don't assume that they are going to see you. This guy doesn't have the visibility that I have. I can rotate my head around. This guy's got two boom arms up in the air. 

Stan: We're supposed to be talking about the best time of the year to lay sod. I don't know if that's going to be the topic of this video. You know when I do these, I don't know what I'm going to be talking about in the first place. 

Elliot: That's for sure.

Stan: Shut up, Elliot. We're wrapping up this landscaping job. It's the middle of November and one of the things that I want to point out is this is the best time of the year to lay sod because the owner of this house is going to do nothing with this sod when we're done. In fact, if he waters it once, that's probably the most he's ever going to have to do with it. In this case you got ... How many inches of black dirt we got laid down, Tim?

Tim: Six.

Stan: Six inches. Way overkill. In fact, I looked him in the eye I said, "That's over kill." His wife wanted 12 inches though. That's what she said. 

Elliot: [inaudible 00:02:16].

Stan: Actually that is what she said. She wanted 12 inches of black dirt and we said this is just too much. In fact what happens is when you get too much black dirt in place, the roots of the sod rot. It needs free draining soil. So, when you lay this sod down the roots love moisture but they don't love mud, right? So as the roots go down they want to be watered but they don't want to be drowned. If you drown them, if you lay too much organic material down, you get your black dirt too thick, what's going to happen is those roots are not going to be able to breathe. They are going to die. The sod is going to suffer more than ... Having too much black dirt's going to make your sod suffer than not having enough black dirt. Believe it or not, these sod rolls? Come here and take a look at this. This is what I mean. These rolls of sod?

Tim: Are you talking?

Stan: Yeah, I'm talking. You can talk if you want

Tim: Got the [inaudible 00:03:06]. 

Stan: Why are they no good?

Tim: Well, they're good, they're locked. [inaudible 00:03:09] the other day. 

Stan: Yeah

Tim: Locked it, then went to unlock it, it just spun right out. 

Stan: All right, so we had, are we rolling?

Elliot: Oh, yeah.

Stan: We had all of our doors stolen so now it's stuck in the locked position.

Speaker 5: I didn't do it. Wasn't me.

Tim: That sounds like someone who's guilty. 

Speaker 5: Hey, you put it on.

Tim: That's true. 

Stan: Actually, Elliot built them. We had to assemble these doors. They we're 700 dollars each. They're normally about 1800 dollars each. We bought them at allskidsteers.com. I'll have to get a hold of allskidsteers.com and see if allskidsteers.com is going to fix this door for me or if it's my fault. It could be my fault.

Elliot: It's probably your fault. 

Stan: It's actually his fault right there.

Tim: Really, allskidsteer.com. That just spun right out of there. 

Elliot: That doesn't look spun. That looks snapped. 

Tim: Right but look at the ... That does not look like a very strong metal there. 

Stan: So I'm just going to go right off the cuff and say-

Tim: Is it aluminum?

Stan: I don't think these are standard BobCat.

Tim: At least that part's not because I went to lock it and I went to unlock it and it just kept spinning. Then we found a stick. That's our new key. So you've got to leave this door cracked and then you've got to get to the handle and go, pop and it opens. I can't tell you how many times I've locked myself out already because the habit is to walk out the door and let it shut. 

Stan: And let it shut. 

Tim: And you're like ahhh.

Elliot: Or you could get in here and undo that little screw. Then this piece will come out and then you don't have to worry about it. 

Tim: Well then you've nothing-

Elliot: Although, you still have that piece. Never mind. 

Tim: Yeah, it will still, it's still, so. I just put it together. 

Stan: All right, I'll have to get a hold of them.

Tim: Yeah, that pushes right into there, so if we get this out.

Stan: If you sense any sense of contempt on any of our parts, well then your senses are right because the last thing I've got ... I mean hell I've got nothing better to do. Right? I mean yeah I'm going to call them and go I need this little tiny part send it to me, and try to explain it.

Tim: Yeah, we broke the BobCat. If you can find the time to do that. 

Elliot: It's the lock tumbler. 

Tim: Whatever you want to call it, Elliot.

Stan: All right, so we were talking about the black dirt, sod comes-

Elliot: You know what, Tim?

Stan: Sod comes with black dirt. I want to get back on this sod topic even though it's not the most important thing to talk about. It's something that has to be mentioned. 

Elliot: Are any of the things that you talk about important though?

Stan: I guess to some people. 

Speaker 7: Camera crew today?

Stan: Yeah, Elliot's here to help you actually.

Speaker 7: Did you have to hire such a loser camera crew because it-

Stan: Yeah, I know. I let him be in one video and all of a sudden he thinks he should be in them all. 

Stan: All right. Come here. Zoom in on this. All right, so here, this is a great example. This is actually froze, all right? 

Stan: Back off a little, Elliot? So you can see that this is froze. That's good. That really is good. As long as you can unroll it and lay it down, this customer, his life is easier. If we laid this stuff in July or August and it didn't rain and even if he was out there watering it every day, the heat of the day is going to cook the sod. Even when it's wet, it'll cook that moisture underneath. It will literally kill this sod. Laying it later in the year or super early is better.

Stan: We've actually had to take a butane heater, put it on these rolls and thaw them out enough to roll them out. Lay them out. I've laid this stuff when it's snowing. I've laid it in sleet, freezing rain. The best results you will ever have with the least amount of maintenance is later in the year is so much better than in July or August. You can still lay it in July or August but you got a lot more work laid out for you. 

Stan: Is there anything else we need to know about this site, Tim? Are you hand raking everything? 

Tim: I was going to. Yeah, I was going to get that Ventrac attachment but I got to go get the skid or the trailer and go get it. Sod was on its way already. 

Stan: Still on it? So there's an attachment for the Ventrac that's called a power rake. That is just the bomb diggety.

Tim: Yeah, it would be for this, but well, it's too bad.

Stan: And we also need the multi tool don't we? We need the echo multi tool. 

Tim: Yeah, I didn't know you were back, but I can go get it.

Stan: I can go get it. 

Tim: I was going to get a blower and the multi tools.

Stan: What do you want a blower for?

Tim: Just to blow [inaudible 00:07:50] out.

Stan: Blower doesn't do anything.

Tim: You don't think it's going to blow anything off?

Stan: It'll blow the sawdust off but it won't clear this mud. 

Tim: Blower blows, man.

Stan: Blower blows. Where those boulders come from ?

Tim: Phil brought them up.

Stan: The customer brought them out. He went out and picked them up?

Tim: Had them delivered. He wants one set in a couple ... He wants one set somewhere.

Stan: So the question is are we setting them in the ground or are just setting them on top-

Tim: Right on top of the sod. 

Stan: Right on top of the sod?

Tim: Well, we can cut sod around it or-

Stan: I just don't like that look. I'd rather ... if I was going to do it, if I was going to have my choice I'd always try to do a boulder setting. Pock them in like, oh look at what mother nature has exposed because literally that's the best way for it to look, not just pfft, pfft, here's two monumental stones sticking in the front of a person's yard. 

Elliot: Hey, Stan, how do you feel about that? How do you feel about rocks sitting in the grass?

Stan: I think I painted that picture enough. All right, steel edging. We've got steel edging on this site. Blaine, how did that go in?

Blaine: Blaine, loves it. 

Stan: No, seriously how did that go in? 

Blaine: It's tough to put in but.

Stan: Is it tough?

Blaine: Yeah.

Stan: Is it tougher than Blackjack?

Blaine: Oh yeah.

Stan: Way tougher?

Blaine: Yeah. 

Stan: Really?

Blaine: Yeah.

Stan: Why's that? 

Blaine: You've got to get them perfectly level because their joints.

Stan: Okay.

Blaine: They don't bend this way.

Stan: No, no.

Blaine: They bend this way a lot. 

Stan: Okay, they bend the way you don't want them to bend. 

Blaine: Especially when you want straight lines and working in the mud.

Stan: I see you have-

Blaine: Corner joints.

Stan: So I see you have corner joints but I also see you've actually leveled it. Did we use this?

Blaine: Yeah, we actually leveled it-

Speaker 9: No, I actually brought that out to show Blaine how unlevel it is.

Blaine: With the driveway because the driveway's got a small pitch this way. 

Stan: Oh, okay, all right, all right.

Blaine: So we just went straight across.

Stan: So you took the level-

Blaine: And just put it ... If you put it on the edge of these two-

Stan: Okay, so you took the level-

Blaine: And maybe just a hair higher. Just a hair higher over here.

Stan: Okay so we're higher here than there.

Blaine: Just a little bit, yep.

Stan: So you didn't just go-

Blaine: But everything's sloping out. 

Stan: Pfft, pfft, pfft, and stick it in?

Blaine: No. 

Stan: That's my new word of the day by the way. I mean that gets the-

Elliot: What's the word?

Stan: Pfft, pfft, pfft.

Elliot: Making sure.

Stan: So you actually took time to make sure?

Blaine: We had to match the driveway pretty much all the way out until we got to the sidewalk because the sidewalk's higher. The sidewalk's higher than the driveway.

Stan: That's why I like Blaine. I don't have to tell him [inaudible 00:10:24]. He did all of this while I was in Chicago and Tim was off-

Elliot: Twiddling your thumbs.

Stan: What was Tim doing? Was Tim at-

Blaine: I don't know I think I just stood here and watched him. 

Stan: Ahhh, Tim you weren't even here for two weeks. You were off chasing elk. 

Elliot: That's a weird word for women, elk?

Stan: No, he was literally chasing elk. So day in the life on one of our ... What should we call it? Maybe a job site visit? What should we call this? What should we call this? What do you guys ... What would you call this?

Blaine: Job well done.

Stan: Job well done. Can you donate as long as we're here. Elliot get a picture of the shoes. Elliot we need to donate to the Blaine Rude fund. This is a landscaper's shoes.

Elliot: Holy [inaudible 00:11:27].

Stan: He's riding those out to the bitter end. Donate to the Blaine Rude fund.

Blaine: They're not waterproof anymore. 

Stan: Huh?

Blaine: They're not waterproof anymore. This one is.

Stan: Do you have just ten cents a day you could spare? Less than the price of a cup of coffee. Send it to 1 800 Blaine Rude. That's 1 800 Blaine Rude. Located in Eagan, Minnesota. All funds donated to The Blaine Rude Foundation will go directly to his feet. 

Elliot: Please put that in a video somewhere. 

Blaine: Until the end of the year. [inaudible 00:12:04] pair.

Elliot: You mean month and a half end of the year? 

Blaine: No, when we're done playing in the dirt. 

Elliot: Oh, well have you met Stan? That might not ever happen.

Stan: All right, boys, job well done. There's the lip behind the camera right there.

Elliot: Heck yeah, no shame.

Stan: And there's Thomas. We keep putting the camera on him, but he keeps pretending like he's working. 

Tim: Who does that, Thomas [crosstalk 00:12:33].

Thomas: Yeah, I've been working since [crosstalk 00:12:35].

Stan: He's really good at doing the least amount of work but making it look like the most amount of work. 

Thomas: You try swinging that thing for abut a half hour or half a day. 

Tim: Who's picking on you Thomas.

Stan: Especially when you are like 70, right?

Thomas: Yeah, couldn't you tell?

Stan: I think I got him beat. Who's got more gray? Who's got more gray?

Thomas: Oh, come on. 

Stan: Me or the Mexican?

Thomas: Me, [inaudible 00:12:59].

Stan: Whoa, whoa, before you flame me, he's actually my nephew and I love the crap out of him but I still got to tease him somehow.

Thomas: I do.

Stan: I got to edit out the part that I called you Mexican. 

Thomas: Yeah, right because half your viewers are Hispanic.

Stan: Right.

Thomas: There goes the numbers. My website just crashed. Damn, Mexicans.

Stan: He's actually related to me.

Thomas: Yeah.

Stan: So, I can call him that.

Thomas: We are family.

Stan: Yeah, we are family. Tim and I are family. I've no relation to him what so ever. I want to make sure they put that in there. None what so ever. 

Thomas: He sounded pretty happy about that.

Stan: It's better than nothing, right? I got one good thing going for me. 

Elliot: Wow. Wow.

Stan: All right, I gotta go get you guys a power broom. All right. Job well done. I hope you guys have job well done. These are my guys. I love them. I love them like brothers from different mothers. No matter who they are or where they are you guys too, I want nothing but the best from each and every one of you guys. That's all I can do. Peace. Have a good one you guys.