You need to discuss your concerns with your
Pitch Consultant and consider their advice carefully before making
any decisions. The consultant will have a detailed knowledge of the
site, the proposed works, the contract documents, as well as
knowledge of the experience and capability of the pitch contractor
in managing these conditions. They will take all of this into
account when considering their advice to you on the impact of the
prevailing and expected weather conditions.
It is difficult to predict the weather in the
medium / long term and therefore it will not be an easy decision to
delay a project with the uncertainty over the weather through
autumn and winter periods. Dry conditions can be beneficial for
handling soils during construction (provided that dust does not
cause a problem) but lack of access to irrigation during drought
conditions will make grass establishment difficult and this may
well lead to a significant delay in the completion of the works and
a delay to when the pitch will be available for playing on.
Your discussions with the consultant could
consider:
- Whether turfing is more viable than
reseeding. New turf still needs to be watered in to establish root
growth and resistance to wear which is likely to add to the project
cost
- Whether a contingency should
be included for overseeding / reseeding later in the project when
rains return if established summer seeding / turfing plans go
ahead.
- Who is responsible for
irrigation during the grow-in period? Is it the contractor or the
facility management?