The key to a green and healthy lawn starts with a good foundation. And the more you prepare, the more you will end up with a beautiful verdant lawn that sets the tone of your property’s aesthetic appeal. Help your new turf take root and thrive by ensuring the area is ready for grass installation. Ensure all your preparation for laying turf goes to plan by following our guide in this article. Read on.
Turf Laying Guide
Preparing to lay turf involves many steps that must be done correctly to ensure a smooth installation process.
Remove Weeds
Clear the weeds from the ground, whether you are starting from scratch or removing an old lawn. You can use a non-selective herbicide to do this and spray the weeds for at least seven to 10 days before removing them to ensure that the herbicide has done its job. Don’t skip killing the weeds before removing them because scraping them off won’t kill some types of weeds.
Prepare Your Soil
Learning how to prepare the ground for turf installation is a crucial step since this is a big part of your project that requires a good plan. If you do it right, your lawn will thrive and reward you for it.
How to level the soil before laying turf – Once you’ve removed all the grass and weeds, you should remove any rocks or stones in the area. After that, rake the area smooth and level the soil to 100mm. Ensure that the prepared area sits 30mm lower than pathways, edging, or borders.
Turf foundation – Apply compost for sandy-based soil and gypsum for clay-based soil. Do this before hoeing the site. After that, cover the area with suitable lawn underlay. It usually consists of 70% sand to 30% soil to a minimum of 50mm to 100mm deep.
Drainage
While preparing the soil, it’s also an excellent time to consider drainage. Plan this out properly or seek help from turf installation experts to ensure it’s done correctly. Drainage issues can be tough to address when the lawn is already established. Ensure that water has the means to escape so that your yard doesn’t get flooded when it rains. Drainage types include channel, pit, AG drains, sumps and the like.
Irrigation
If you’re planning on installing an irrigation system, now is the right time to do it because you can already get access to the exposed excavated lawn area. Use this opportunity to lay out your new irrigation or reticulation system and save yourself a lot of time having to dig up the soil again later. At Green Oasis, we are also reticulation experts who can take care of this step.
We can provide you with automatic watering system options that can be adjusted to suit the needs of different plants on your lawn. Take the stress out of your lawn watering chores and save time by automating the process.
Final Preparation
After installing the irrigation system and preparing the foundation of your new turf, it’s time to compact and level the ground. You can rake the area smoothly or use a flat piece of timber to flatten the soil surface. You can also apply fertiliser to help your new lawn establish itself faster.
Once the preparations are complete, it’s time to roll out the turf. Since it is highly perishable while rolled, always plan to roll it out on the day it arrives.
Additional Tips for Turf Laying
After setting your new turf up for success by preparing the area thoroughly, it’s time to choose which type of grass you want. Also, consider whether you want natural grass or artificial turf, and measure carefully to determine how much turf you need.
If you’re opting for natural grass, time your turf order so you can roll it out on the day it arrives. But if you can’t install the grass immediately, remove its film coverings and store the rolls in the shade. Sprinkle them lightly with water to keep them from drying out.
Once you’ve laid your new turf, avoid walking directly on the lawn for several days afterwards. Doing this will help you avoid messing up the levelling of your soil. It may be tricky to avoid stepping on your property during and after the turf installation, so you might want to consider hiring professional lawn installers to handle it instead.
How to Re-Turf a Lawn
If you already have an existing lawn but want to replace it with a new one to make it healthier, remember to follow the steps above. You may be tempted to lay the new turf over old grass to save time and effort, but this is a bad idea as you may not get the desired results. Moreover, lawn care experts recommend removing the old grass first since you can get healthier turf and a better-looking lawn.
Some property owners do this to cover up unhealthy lawns with brown patches or diseases. But while it may look better at first, it won’t make your old lawn’s existing problems go away. In fact, the old grass can make your new turf deteriorate quicker. As the old grass dies, the soil compacts and causes poor drainage, restricting the root growth of your new lawn.
Don’t Feel Like You Have to DIY It
Laying new turf, even with a comprehensive turf-laying guide, is a big project that requires sufficient skill and experience. Save time, money and a lot of head-ache-inducing and back-breaking work by letting the experts do it instead.
Talk to Our Lawn Installation Experts Today
At Green Oasis Lawn and Reticulation, we are turf installation experts with over 15 years of experience. As lawn installers, we offer comprehensive services that take care of your lawn needs from start to finish to regular maintenance. So, rather than risking a botched DIY job with costly repair jobs down the line, ensure that professionals tick every box in your lawn installation preparation checklist instead.
Let us help you with all aspects of turfing and re-turfing, from choosing the right grass for your yard to delivering and laying your new lawn. We have various options for you, ranging from Buffalo and Couch grass to Zoysia and Kikuyu grass. Get a free instant quote and call us today.
