Last updated · Union Park, FL

Sod installation in Union Park is often a landlord’s question. Union Park is an unincorporated community in east Orange County, ZIP codes 32817 and 32825, southwest of the University of Central Florida along the East Colonial Drive corridor. Its streets mix long-time owner-occupied homes, many built in the 1970s and 1980s, with single-family rentals leased to students and UCF and Research Park staff. A lawn here has to survive tenant turnover, skipped watering, and cars parked on the edge of the grass. Ask at (407) 674-2841.

Owner-occupied or rental: different goals

If you live there, choose the grass for the look you want and the shade you have, and plan to water it yourself for the first two weeks.

If it’s a rental, choose for durability and low attention:

  • Assume tenants won’t hand-water or adjust the timer.
  • Assume someone will park or drive on the edge of the lawn.
  • Plan the work between leases so the sod roots before move-in.

A lawn that looks perfect for a listing photo and dies in the first dry week of a new lease is a wasted spend.

Grass choice for east Orlando lots

Bahia is the low-attention option for sunny lots. It handles drought, heavy use, and skipped fertilizer better than St. Augustine, and it costs less at the farm. The trade-off is a coarser look and summer seed heads.

St. Augustine (Floratam on sunny fronts, shade types under trees) gives the familiar thick lawn many neighbors have. It needs reliable irrigation and watching for chinch bugs.

If you have an HOA (some Union Park subdivisions do), follow its landscape rules; otherwise match the houses on either side so the front looks consistent.

Older lots and prep

Homes from the 1970s and ’80s bring their own ground problems:

  1. Weedy, mixed old turf. Strip it all. New sod over an old lawn full of weeds and thatch roots poorly.
  2. Debris. Rental yards often have buried pavers, old edging, and trash under the grass. Rake and probe before grading.
  3. Low spots and settled ground. Fill and level, keeping the finished surface just below the driveway and walk edges.
  4. Tree roots. Mature oaks and pines on older lots mean hand work near trunks and less sun for the grass.

Irrigation comes first

Run every zone in daylight before the sod arrives. On older Union Park systems, expect some of these:

  • Broken or buried heads.
  • A zone that never comes on because of a failed valve or wire.
  • A controller with the wrong date, a dead backup battery, or no rain sensor.

For a rental, a controller in a locked box or garage, with the program set correctly, prevents most tenant-caused failures. Florida requires a working rain shutoff on automatic systems.

Watering rules

East Orange County homes use the St. Johns district calendar: odd-ending addresses on Wednesdays and Saturdays, even-ending on Thursdays and Sundays while clocks are on summer time, then once weekly through winter. Sprinklers stay off 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Newly laid turf has a short grace period for extra watering; verify it before install week.

Cost

Landlords and owners alike should see $1.50–$3.00 per sq ft all-in, near $1,500–$3,000 per thousand feet, with old-lawn removal, disposal, leveling, fresh turf, rolling, and care notes bundled. Things that push a Union Park quote toward the top:

  • Thick weedy turf and debris to strip and haul.
  • Fenced backyards with narrow gates.
  • Work around tree roots.
  • Small areas, which carry a higher per-foot price.

For rentals, ask for photos before and after, and a written note on what irrigation changes were made.

After the lay

Delivered pallets should be installed before nightfall, rolled, and given a deep first soak. Keep cars and moving trucks off it for at least two weeks. If a tenant moves in during that window, leave written watering and parking instructions.

Nearby east Orlando areas: Waterford Lakes, Alafaya, and Conway.

Protecting the investment between tenants

A new lawn on a rental lasts longer with a few written lease terms. Spell out who pays for irrigation water, whether tenants may adjust the controller, and that vehicles stay on the driveway. Leave a one-page care sheet in the kitchen drawer with mowing height (around 3.5–4 inches for St. Augustine, 3–4 inches for Bahia) and a note not to bag clippings. If a lawn service is included in the rent, make sure their mower blades are sharp and they aren’t scalping the new turf in its first month. Take dated photos at move-in and move-out. Those steps cost little and keep the next resod years away instead of one lease away.

Quick answer

Sod installation in Union Park works best when the grass fits who’s watering it: Bahia for low-attention sunny rentals, St. Augustine where the street expects it and irrigation is automatic. Fix the sprinklers first and resod between leases. Number: (407) 674-2841.

When to call

Dial (407) 674-2841; say whether the house is leased, how many square feet need turf, and when the next tenant arrives. Send a question · grass quiz