Laying a lawn - any tips?

[wmoham001]

Hello fellow forumers,

I am planning to lay a lawn in my back garden. It's not going to be massive, only about 10m x 3m. The problem i have is that the area i will lay on, currently has patchy grass/weeds on it already and the the soil is mostly clay. There is some top soil obviously, but it doesn't look very healthy.

 

I would appreciate any tips/suggestions as to how i should go about this from experiened people

 

Likewise any recommendations as to where i can get decent quality turf around sheffield would also be good.

 

Thank you!!

[cgksheff]

Green ......

[puddinburner]

First remove all crap, existing grass to a depth of an inch or so, put a layer of really good top soil down and rake so no lumps. The soil should smell "earthy" and hold together when squeezed but at same time crumble quite easily.

Next select a really good batch of turf, it should be moist, green( not yellowing) with plenty of root evident. It should be fresh, not rolled up for weeks.

 

Level the area to be turfed and spend time treading down firm and level, give it a quick sprinkle with the hose before laying new turf.

Take your strips of new turf and gently ease roots out with tips of fingers like tickle it....lol

Now your ready to put it down, take an old floor board to kneel on so as not to tread on new grass and lay each turf so as to end up with a brick wall effect. Gently padding down new turf so level and firm, with edges not overlapping, they should butt up to each other snug.

Finally stand back and admire! don't forget to water everyday for a couple of weeks and you should end up with a lawn fit for crown green bowling! GOOD LUCK.

[ASPGuru]

Get a load of sand delivered. Two, maybe three tonnes for that area. This will improve the drainage by helping to break up the clay.

 

Do not get the turf delivered until you are ready to lay it, preferably the day it's delivered to avoid it drying out and dying off.

 

Rent a rotovator to 'dig' it all in, weeds/old grass and all, and level well, removing any large stones. Keep some soil back.

 

Leave to settle for a week or two, and use the spare soil to fill in if anywhere settles more than others. Have fun keeping the neighborhood cats away from their new toilet area.

 

Then re-turf, using planks to walk on to avoid packing the soil down too much. Use more sand/fine grit perhaps mixed with what soil is left for final levelling.

 

Tamp the turf down well to make sure no voids between it and the soil, and keep well fed and watered until it establishes.

 

Basically, like most jobs, the more prep you do up front the better the result in the end.

 

If you feel like being creative, plant blubs in the soil before you lay the turf.

[Ousetunes]

Always lay the turf 'green side up' (unless you want a brown field effect).

[Bruno]

If you feel like being creative, plant blubs in the soil before you lay the turf.

 

The above will give a good effect when you turn them on at night:hihi:

[wmoham001]

Thanks ppl for the useful (& humorous) replies. Some good advice.

Taking all that on board, what i think i will do firstly is make a wooden frame the exact shape and size of the lawn to be. Toil the soil using a pick axe, remove all rubbish, add grit sand and mix with the existing soil. Finally add some shiny new top soil and level area off. Then proceed with the turf laying!

[NEKRO138]

You want to lay a lawn?

 

Sounds strange, but here's the advice I'd give you.

 

Wear some nice perfume, look into the lawns eyes and say nice things about it.

 

Hopefully, your luck will be in.

[BasilRathbon]

And when the lawn's finished why not build yourself a lovely crazy golf course on top of it?

[NEKRO138]

And when the lawn's finished why not build yourself a lovely crazy golf course on top of it?

 

That would be a dream come true.