Forum home Tools and techniques
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Leveling garden to Turf

Hi I recently bought a house and the back garden was all stones and slabs and as I have a 3yr old son we decided to get rid of all the stones and slabs and put down some turf. So far I have got rid of the stones/slabs and then I turned over all the soil so I could remove all the roots/weeds and large stones. Last week I compacted the ground with my neighbours roller and first thing i noticed was an area was much higher than the rest so I raked it sort of level with the rest of the garden. Now Im at the point of trying to get the whole garden as level as possible but im struggling to think how to do this. I saw some people use string and wooden stakes but I dont really understand. I havent put any topsoil down yet. Should I put all the topsoil down then level or level best I can just now. 

Any help would be appreciated, I will try and upload some pics.

Posts

  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

    if you've used a mechanical roller you can't lay turf on that, its too compact and it wont root and will die fairly quickly, it would be like laying turf on paving slabs. 

    you need to dig the soil over to about 6 inches, then level it and walk on it to tamp it down, then rake it over to fill any low bits from the high bits and lay turf on that (seed at this time of year is quicker and easier)

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,012

    There's a hand roller at the left hand side of the photo so I assume that is what was used.  Even so, I would be inclined to rake the area over to break up the surface to allow roots to penetrate more easily.

  • hi thanks for the comments greatly appreciated. Im a little confused cos as far as I was lead to believe I was supposed to turn soil to depth of 6inchs then level it, then put a big layer of topsoil down , rake it slightly then the turf roots will catch with the topsoil. Isn't that the purpose of the topsoil? 

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053

    If your soil is half decent you don't need to put down topsoil. What you have done so far is fine. The aim of rolling it is to level it and firm it, not compact it. Just go over the soil with the rake and break it up, levelling it as you go. Don't get too hung up on having it as level as a billiard table - you will be able to judge by eye whether it is OK. Then put your turf down on top of the raked soil. 

    It looks as though your lawn will be higher than the gravel path so you will need to put an edging along there. 

    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • gtomp14gtomp14 Posts: 7

    Great job,the 3 year old will be able to put his football skills to the test,and dad of course..

  • Hogweed- thanks for the info that makes me feel alot better to know that I'm on the right track. My main worry was getting it level but it's good to hear it doesn't  have to be completely level.

    gtomp14- aww thanks am just hoping it turns out ok. Yeah we can't wait to play football on the grass beats doing it on concrete.

  • Does anyone have any advice for installing a paving edging border? 

    I have dug a shallow trench but Im not sure how to make it straight when I place the edging in.

    image Thats the edging blocks im using.

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053

    muse either a string level running the whole length of your edging or use a spirit level. You will need to bed them into a cement mix and haunch them. They are not the best edging to use for grass as you will always need to strum along them. Pavers are better as you can mow over them. 

    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Sign In or Register to comment.