New Lawn - ground prep

[izzy1977]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of a complete back garden revamp and will be shortly looking to relay the main area of lawn (time depending and weather permitting otherwise it'll be spring time). I'm flattening out the area as it had a slope and some major low points but how compact should the finished area be?

I'm also laying some patio paths so will have a Vibrating /Wacker Plate for a weekend - my question is it worth running this over the lawn area as well or will this make drainage quite hard later on for the lawn? maybe use the plate then rake over the top inch again to losen?

The soil is on the clay side of things but not massively so.

any thoughts greatly appreciated

 

[r896neo]

definately don't use the plate on the soil. Either just heel it in by walking all over it or roll it with a roller.

 

[LeadFarmer]

Dont use the wacker on the soil as it will compress it too much. You need to compress it enough to remove any pockets of air, otherwise it will sink in these areas later on. But dont compress it too much or it may cause drainage issues. Also consider mixing lots of sharp sand with the soil to assist drainage. Grass grows well in sandy soil.

Shuffle over it on your heels with your feet together, then rake it over to get a nice smooth level surface. I like to then leave it for the rain to come, you will then see if any areas sink and form puddles. If so, correct the area and rake over again. But at this time of year you might want to just get it all done while we have some dry days.