Help with a bumpy lawn

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I have a large(ish) lawn that is quite bumpy when you walk on it, although it looks flat from the house, so no major slopes etc.

The turf is in good condition, very green and grows well, so rather than the expense/hassle of laying new turf, I had an idea to mechanically dig up the existing grass, using a cutting machine from the local hire shop, then flattening the bumpy bits of the garden, and finally relaying the same turf.

I figure the only expense this way is the cost of the machine hire to cut the turf out, can anyone tell me if this is a good, or bad idea, and why?
 
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Nothing wrong with doing this, although you will possibly have problems with the thickness of the sods cut as there are some bumps on the lawn. You may also heve problems with raggy edges not enabling you to butt up the strips subsequently, and you need to keep the turf stored for as short a period as possible, which may be a slight problem since preparation of the new level would normally require turning over the soil, treading in, leaving for a few days before repeating and raking level prior to relaying the turf. :confused:

Best time to do this would really be in September to give the lawn a chance to recover and also a window of opportunity to level and subsequent minor bumps and fill/reseed and gaps between the turf the following spring.
 
Thanks, sounds like good advice to me.

I think I may hire (or buy?) a garden roller, and try that first. The grass seems particularly lumpy at the moment, but could this be due to the wormcasts slightly freezing due to the cold weather?

Or am I wasting my time? (a hard question considering you cannot see my lawn), as I said it looks flat but feels bumpy.
 
Roller is a waste of time.
You can lift hollows, cut turf with spade lift up, level hollow with soil/sand mix, re lay, you can also srinkle soil/sand mix over the hollow & let the grass grow through it, do that 2/3 times a year, you will get there.
Raised parts, remove turf, remove soil relay.
It all depends on what you are after & how big the lawn.
 
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kris - rolling the lawn will compact the earth and you'll not achieve the desired effect. Lawns in already good condition (pitches & greens) are often rolled to keep the existing flatness and to 'bruise' the grass stems - this encourages sprouting growth resulting in thicker lawn.

Consider following Diy's advice. Tip: level the shallow hollows with pre-seeded sand/loam mix ... use a timber board the 'scrape' the mix level with it's surrounding. Humps'll have to be attacked with the spade.

Forget about recycling your stripped-off turf - it'll come-up all raggy and in bits. If you want to strip the old stuff off do so, but then rotovate (hire the tackle) then lay NEW turf.
 
Thanks everyone for your good advice, it will save me a fair bit of money on new turf, I am so glad I didn't dig it all up and then ask the question! :LOL:
 
Nothing wrong with doing this, although you will possibly have problems with the thickness of the s***s cut as there are some bumps on the lawn.

Moderator - "s o d s" is a word meaning pieces of turf and therefore should not have been edited out!! Please fix this and buy a dictionary :confused:
 

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