Wow. That has to be one of the best and most comprehensive replies one can receive on here. Thank you very much poster. Excellent info on there.
Current lawn i think is from grass seeds so laying new turf will certainly look better.
I think hiring a mini digger is extreme. Will use hand tools and hard graaft as i'm a cheapskate.
The lawn will prob come in at 40m2 as there are slabs in places ie garden path. But some very good info there. Thanks. And a guide in as much detail would be good if you get the time
Here is a old guide i got from who knows where years ago and modified a bit as times changed over the years, i have modified it a bit for your circumstances as well.
Preparing the site
The lawn area needs to be well drained. If the area suffers from water retention, it may be necessary to lay a soak away or drainage pipes. If a lawn is to be laid around a newly built house, you can expect the builders to have buried some building waste and also to have mixed top and soil soils. If there is any builders sand left, do not dig it in - you need 'sharp sand' to condition soil not 'builders sand'.
Start by removing all large stones, blocks and any obviously non-organic rubbish from the surface.
I personally poison the old grass a week before then dig off the existing grass to about two inches and pile it up to use it as the base of any features as the rotting grass will fertilize the bulbs, mowing it first can make the job easier as well.
A lawn grows best on well drained medium loam, if your soil is like this, your preparation can be minimal, but if the soil is clay or sandy, you'll need to do more work. With heavy clay soils, you should add sharp sand, well decomposed manure, garden compost/grass clippings or rotted leaves. This will improve drainage under the lawn. With sandy soils, you should add well decomposed manure or rotted leaves. This will improve moisture retention under the lawn.
The top soil needs to be prepared to give a fine, workable soil to a depth of 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) - if you are adding organic material, you should aim for a minimum depth of 6 inches (15 cm). If the area of the lawn is fairly small, it can be prepared by hand using a spade.
When starting to prepare the soil, it needs to be not too dry and not too wet. Start by digging or rotavating the whole area to the required depth, breaking down any large clumps of soil and remove any stones or rubbish that you see. When digging, work backwards so you don't tread down the soil you've just broken up.
Having turned over the whole area, add half of anything you need to dig in, and dig over or rotavate the whole area again. Add the other material to be dug in, and again go over the whole area. Rake over the area to level it (again removing any stones/rubbish which appears).
Tread down the entire area - starting are one corner, walk slowly across the area placing one foot in front of the other, when you reach the other end, turn around and repeat until the whole area has been trod down (if the area is large, get help from your family and friends - I've not heard of a 'lawn walking party' but there's no reason not to have one!).
The first time you do this, you'll probably find some humps and dips, remove these by giving the surface a light racking and the 6x2 board i mentioned and then repeat the treading down.
When you are happy that you have a flat surface, it is time to get the turf delivered, think about where to stack them as you only want to move them once yet have them handy for when you lay them. If the weather is very hot, dry or sunny, try to find a place which is shaded but not too far from the new lawn. Also decide where you are going to start laying the turves, if one side is against a wall or path, start there. If a corner of the area is formed by walls or paths, start in that corner. It's better if the last turf are laid along 'flexible' edges rather than fixed edges such as walls or paths.
Laying the lawn
When the turf has arrived and you are ready to lay them, give the whole area a dressing of general purpose fertiliser and rake it in to the top surface.
Use a garden line to mark out a straight edge to lay your first row of turf, don't rely on the straight edge of a wall or path - the chances are it won't be straight.
Do not walk or run a wheelbarrow directly on newly laid turfs, use planks on top of the turfs to run the wheelbarrow, walk and kneel on (they will also have the effect of firming down the turfs). In fact try to have the turf stacked in a place that allows you to lay it in a way that you do not need to walk over the newly laid turf at all.
Lay the first turf along the line and upto the start point of the first row. Continue to lay the turfs along the line, end to end. Align each new one to the line and butt it upto the end of the previous one until the first row is complete, don't trim off the end to it's required length until the whole lawn has been laid. If it looks as if the required end edge will mean that the last piece of turf will be very small (less than 18 inches (45 cm)), use two large cut pieces for the last two turfs rather than a full turf plus a small one.
If you notice any humps or dips in the turfs as you lay them, remove or add soil as appropriate.
Start the second row by cutting a turf to half length and lay one half against the first turf of the first row. Butt it up against the start line and also the first row. This will give staggered turf joints and give a better lawn. Lay the rest of the second row using full turfs, butt each turf firmly up against both adjacent turfs. Adjust the two turfs in the same manner as used on the first row to ensure that the last turf is not too small.
As you go along, fill in any gaps between turfs with a mixture of soil and sharp sand.
Repeat for the remaining rows, starting off each alternatively using full or half turfs.
When you come to the second from last row, check the required width. If it is less than two turf widths, you will need to trim one row of turfs lengthways. Cut and lay these trimmed turfs along the second to last row and then use full width turfs for the final row.
When all the turfs have been laid, pass a garden roller over it, once long the turfs and once at right-angles.
You may need to trim some of the edges:
· If you need a straight edge, run a string line along the edge and use a half-moon edging tool to cut the turfs as necessary.
· If you need curved edges, a hose-pipe laid on the turfs can be used to form any curve required. Again you can use a half-moon edging tool to cut turf or you could use a sharp knife, i personally use a Stanley knife.
I give all my turfing customers a after care sheet as well so il post that as well.
Turf aftercare
1. Watering.
How to water.
Use a lawn sprinkler and keep moving the sprinkler around the turfed area every couple of hours until the whole area has been thoroughly soaked.
Under normal conditions you should water your new lawn every 2 days until when you lift the corner of a turf you observe healthy new white roots developing and then every 2/3 days until the roots are established in the soil and the turf becomes difficult to lift by hand.
If you need to walk on your new lawn try to do so before you water the lawn as the water will soften the turf and you may leave footprints or dents that will spoil the level.
2. Traffic.
It is best to keep older children and pets off the lawn for the first season; turf is essentially a transplanted plant and as such it needs time to recover its full strength. However having younger children means this is not always possible so try to keep them off it for at least 2 weeks.
3. Cutting.
I recommend you give it at least 2 weeks before the first cut, firstly so nobody will be walking on it and secondly so the grass has a chance to recover from the transplant. Even then the mowers should be set high for the first couple of cuts, try to set the mower so you take a maximum of 20% off the top of the lawn.
Remember that a grass plant partly lives via photosynthesis through its blades and as such chopping all of that off will severely injure or kill the plant and hence your lawn.
4. Advanced lawn care.
Cut regularly, Mowing encourages thicker growth, the development of fine grasses, eliminates coarse grasses, and deters flowering and seeding of weeds.
Never give the lawn a close shave. It should be long enough to remain healthy but short enough to be visually pleasing, (2.5cm-3cm is ok for a multipurpose lawn).
Trimming around the lawn gives a sharp edge that is very pleasing to the eye.
Sharp blades, Blunt mower blades are very damaging to your lawn because they rip the grass instead of cutting it. This results in blades of grass that turn white at the tips and become more prone to lawn diseases.
Good luck.
