SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/26719
Facility&Operations analysis and advice before and during the project. • Sample, analyze, and understand your existing soils at the site. • Know and understand the drainage is- sues, sub-grade, topsoil, and infield mix that you plan to use. • Keep the ranges of the specifications tight for all types of soils used in the proj- ect. • Specify the type of analysis (i.e. tex- ture, EC, pH, fertility, plasticity, organic content, etc.) • Specify the soil sampling technique. • Specify what, when, and how many samples will be taken (i.e., before delivery and at delivery for verification before instal- lation, for example, every 2,000 tons, every quadrant, etc.). • Remember, you can always negotiate a wider range if you choose to do so later, but you cannot make the specification tighter after hiring the contractor unless you want to pay extra! • Take soil samples of blends, existing soil, etc. to verify your specifications. • If you specify a certain depth of topsoil over the sub-grade, spend the time verifying that you have it. • Specify that the sub-grade and topsoil over the entire site be free of rock, debris, glass, etc. • Specify that two different soils cannot be used on the same field, area, etc. • Verify compaction issues in the sub- grade and topsoil. If appropriate, specify scarification to eliminate/minimize com- paction issues. • For proper turfgrass growth, proctor densities should range from 83% to 88%. Anything greater may lead to management issues due to over-compaction. • Define the expectations for weed con- trol during construction throughout the en- tire project site. INFIELD MIXES AND CONDITIONERS • Make sure the contractor understands the specifications for the texture, color, plasticity, organic content, etc. of the infield clay and conditioners (i.e. 60% sand, 20% clay, and 20% silt for the infield clay with +/- 5% tolerance). • Define the depth of the infield clay and conditioners, mound installation process, etc. • Keep the ranges of the specifications tight for the infield clay and conditioners used in the project. • Specify what, when, and how many in- field clay samples will be taken (i.e., before delivery and at delivery for verification be- fore installation, for example, every 1,000 tons, every field, etc.). • Specify that the infield clay will be free of rocks, glass, debris, etc. • Understand the differences in sand particle size. LASER GRADING • Specify laser grading with tight but ap- propriate tolerance levels (i.e. +/- 0.5 inch). • Specify the appropriate type and size of equipment that can be used. 26 SportsTurf | March 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com