Landscaping questions, answered plainly

For full yard installs, yes. Utah requires a contractor licence for landscaping above a small dollar threshold and for the trades inside it, including irrigation, retaining walls and electrical for lighting. Mowing does not require one. Roots Landscaping and Sprinklers is licensed under Rhodes Group LLC, 14282096-5501.

It depends on lot size, slope, lawn versus rock, sprinkler zones, curbing, trees and hardscape. Roots prices every yard from a line item proposal after a site walk, fixed once signed. The cost guide explains what moves a bid.

Sod is priced by the square foot installed, with topsoil and final grade, on the proposal. The lawn area and the access set it. Roots does not publish a flat per square foot price because the prep under the sod varies by lot.

The Roots agreement states its terms for sod and plants separately from the one year workmanship warranty, because sod survival depends on watering after handoff. Care instructions are given at the walkthrough and the first sprinkler adjustment is routine.

The install is a fixed sequence over a matter of days, weather permitting, with lot size and slope setting how many. HOA approval and spring or fall booking set the calendar around it. The timeline page lays it out.

Spring and fall. Fall is good for sod and trees because cooler weather helps roots establish; spring is when most HOA deadlines land. Winter is for plans and approvals so the install has a date when the ground thaws.

Start the plan right away, because most new neighborhoods set a front yard deadline that starts at closing or occupancy. The install can follow as soon as the HOA approves and the season allows.

They vary by neighborhood but usually include a deadline to finish the front yard, a minimum number of trees and shrubs, a maximum share of rock or a minimum share of living plants, approved plant lists and park strip rules. Roots writes the plan to the guidelines and helps submit it.

In most new subdivisions in Salem, Spanish Fork, Payson and Santaquin, yes. An architectural review committee approves the plan before planting. Roots prepares the submission with the homeowner.

They are set by each community's HOA and covenants rather than one company wide rule. In Viridian in Salem, for example, the HOA reviews plans and sets a completion window. Roots works in several D.R. Horton communities and reads the specific guidelines at the site walk.

In most of these cities, yes. Salem, Spanish Fork, Springville, Mapleton and others run pressurized irrigation systems, and sprinkler systems are designed for that pressure and connection. The site walk confirms what the lot has.

Yes. Utah and local water districts set watering guidance by season and offer rebates for water wise landscaping and smart controllers. New sod needs frequent light watering for the first weeks, which the care instructions cover within those rules.

Almost never. Builders rough grade to drain the lot during construction, not to finished height. Final grade, topsoil and drainage are the first lines on every Roots proposal for that reason.

Usually. Water has to run away from the foundation, the finished surface has to meet sidewalks and curbing at the right height, and low spots have to go before sod goes down. Grading is the step that cannot be fixed cheaply later.

Builders stub a sprinkler connection near the water meter or the house, and it is not always where the plans show. Roots finds it at the site walk. If it is missing or on the wrong side, that is a line on the proposal, not a surprise mid install.

Sod, in nearly every case. It establishes in weeks rather than a season, meets HOA deadlines, and holds the grade against runoff. Seed costs less in material and far more in time and water.

Most south Utah County HOAs allow a mix and some require a minimum share of living plants. Rock beds with drip and a smaller lawn cost less to water and less to maintain. Roots draws the plan to the HOA's percentages.

If the lot has a grade change that would otherwise erode or dump water onto a neighbor, yes. Bench lots in Elk Ridge, Woodland Hills, Mapleton and Santaquin often do. Flat valley lots in Salem and Payson rarely do.

Before, in most cases, so the fence line is set and the sprinkler layout respects it. Roots coordinates with the fence contractor when both are happening.

Yes. Front first to meet the HOA deadline and the back the same season or the next is common. Running irrigation main line for the whole lot in the first phase saves trenching later.

Water frequently and lightly so the sod and the top inch of soil stay damp, avoid foot traffic, and wait to mow until the sod has rooted and can be tugged without lifting. After that, water deeper and less often. Roots leaves written instructions at the walkthrough.

Keep off it for about two weeks except to water, then lightly until the first mowing. Pets are the usual problem; a temporary fence for two weeks saves a patch job.

No. The company installs complete yards on new construction lots and does not mow, fertilize, aerate or repair existing yards.

Most landscaping in these cities does not require a building permit. Retaining walls over a certain height, electrical for lighting and some concrete work do, and Roots pulls those. The city rules are checked at the plan stage.

Yes. Rhodes Group LLC, Utah contractor licence 14282096-5501, verifiable on the Utah DOPL lookup, with general liability and workers compensation coverage. A certificate of insurance is furnished on request.

No. Payment is by check, cash, ACH or bank transfer under the agreement.

Yes, through Roots Finished Basements, the sister division under the same licence. Many homeowners do the yard first for the HOA deadline and the basement later.