Last updated · Lake Nona, FL

Sod replacement in Lake Nona often happens sooner than owners expect, because the lawn was laid at build time and never got established well. Lake Nona is a roughly 17-square-mile planned community inside the Orlando city limits, southeast of Orlando International Airport, and it grew from about 1,500 residents in 2000 to more than 50,000 by 2015. Neighborhoods such as Laureate Park, VillageWalk, and Northlake Park are newer, with many homes on builder lots. Replacement turf costs $1.50–$3.00 per sq ft installed, including removal of the old lawn. Questions: (407) 674-2841.

Why newer lawns fail

  • Compacted fill. Builders often grade with fill that’s been driven over by heavy equipment, and the thin sod roots never go deep.
  • Generic irrigation programs. New systems are often left on a default program that runs every zone for the same time, regardless of sun or head type.
  • Coverage gaps. Heads placed for the original layout may not reach corners, side strips, or areas changed by later landscaping.
  • Grade problems. Low spots hold water after summer storms; high spots dry out.
  • Pests. Chinch bugs hit sunny St. Augustine in hot weather, often near driveways and sidewalks first.

Replacing the sod without fixing the cause usually means replacing it again.

Patch or replace?

Patch when the damage is in a few spots, the cause is fixed (a head adjusted, a low spot filled), and the rest of the lawn is healthy. Use the exact same cultivar so the patch doesn’t stand out.

Replace when more than roughly a third of the lawn is thin, weedy, or uneven, when the grade itself needs reshaping, or when the lawn is a mix of grasses.

Before ordering sod

  1. Run every sprinkler zone and fix dry spots and overspray.
  2. Program the controller for sun and shade zones separately and for your actual watering days.
  3. Fix the grade, sloping water away from the house and filling low spots.
  4. Loosen compacted soil where possible, and add a thin layer of topsoil if it’s bare fill.
  5. Treat chinch bugs if they caused the damage.

HOA street-match rules

Lake Nona neighborhoods typically have association landscape standards. Replacement usually must match the grass type on the street, and some associations want notice even for like-for-like replacement. If you’re responding to a violation letter, ask for a written deadline and an extension if you need one while the work is planned.

Grass choice

Most Lake Nona fronts are St. Augustine. Floratam handles full sun; shade-tolerant St. Augustine cultivars work better near the house or under trees. If your neighborhood uses Zoysia, match it exactly. Ask the supplier for the cultivar name and keep it on file.

Laying and establishment

Lay the new sod the day it arrives; UF/IFAS puts pallet life in summer at under 48 hours. Roll it, soak it that evening, and keep the soil moist for the first week or two with short, frequent cycles. Then taper toward deeper, less frequent watering. Keep traffic off for about two weeks, and hold fertilizer until the sod has rooted.

Watering

Lake Nona is in the City of Orlando, Orange County. The posted days during daylight saving time are odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday and even Thursday and Sunday, with no watering 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Some Lake Nona homes are on reclaimed water; confirm the rules for your line with your utility. New sod generally gets a short establishment allowance.

Cost

Replacement runs $1.50–$3.00 per sq ft, roughly $1,500–$3,000 per 1,000 sq ft, covering removal and disposal of the old lawn, grading, fresh sod, rolling, and a watering plan. Breaking up compacted fill, regrading, and tight access push toward the top. Ask for removal, grading, and sod as separate lines.

Medical City, rentals, and owners who aren’t home

Lake Nona’s Medical City and the research and university campuses there draw many residents who rent or relocate often, and plenty of homes are owned by people who aren’t there day to day. If you’re replacing a lawn on a home you don’t live in, set up a check-in during the first two weeks: someone should confirm the sprinklers are running, the sod hasn’t dried out at the edges, and nobody is parking or walking on it. Photos sent by a neighbor or property manager are enough.

Matching new sections to an established lawn

When only part of the lawn is replaced, the new section can look different for a while even if the cultivar matches, because the old turf is thicker and has been mowed at one height for years. Replace whole areas bounded by walks, driveways, or bed lines rather than odd shapes in the middle of the yard, and mow both at the same height once the new sod roots.

Chinch bugs on sunny fronts

Chinch bugs are a common cause of dead patches in hot, sunny St. Augustine, often starting along driveways and sidewalks where the pavement holds heat. Before replacing a lawn that died in spreading yellow-brown patches, have the edge of a live area checked for chinch bugs. Laying new St. Augustine into an active infestation just feeds the bugs.

Starting from bare ground instead? Read about new sod installation in Lake Nona. If the sprinklers are the culprit, see Lake Nona irrigation repair or the guide to a new Lake Nona system. West of the Medical City streets, in Meadow Woods and along the county line, the guide to sod replacement in Orlando covers the Orange County Utilities new-sod watering exception and billing adjustment.

Quick answer

Sod replacement in Lake Nona works when the cause is fixed first: irrigation coverage and programming, compacted fill, grade, and pests. Patch small areas with a matching cultivar; replace when a third or more is failing. $1.50–$3.00 per square foot. Call (407) 674-2841.

When to call

Call (407) 674-2841 with your neighborhood, the area to replace, photos of the worst spots, and any HOA letter. Send a question · grass quiz