Fresh sod arrives with a root system cut off an inch below the blades. Until those roots grow down into your soil, the pallet is essentially a living rug that dries out in hours. Everything about the first three weeks is about keeping the soil under the sod damp without drowning it.
Week one: water every day, ideally twice on the hottest days, early morning and mid afternoon. You want the soil beneath the sod damp when you lift a corner, not soupy. If you can squeeze water out of the soil, back off.
Week two is where most lawns are lost. The grass looks green and established, people cut back too hard, and the roots that have just started reaching down get dried out at the worst possible moment. Go to every other day, not to twice a week.
Week three: every second or third day, longer soaks each time, which is what pushes the roots deeper. By the end of the third week you should not be able to lift a corner without tearing it, and that is your sign the lawn has taken.
After that, move to a normal deep-and-infrequent schedule: fewer, longer waterings that train roots downward. And mow high. Cutting new St. Augustine short is the fastest way to undo three weeks of careful watering. We leave a written version of this schedule with every install, and we would rather you call and ask than guess.