Paving a large area in my garden which has a lawn

ebreslin

I'm paving a large area in my garden which has a lawn. If I directly rotavate the lawn then rake & compact the area, lay a sub layer & sand. Is this enough or do I have to remove the lawn entirely using a sod cutter so that no weeds etc will come through in the future?

Loxley

It would be better to remove the sod, because it might create cavities as it rots down. Doing so will also help you reduce levels for your sub base. If you can stack it up somewhere and cover it over for a season, it will create excellent topsoil.

lydiaann

Shouldn't it be stacked earth side up?  Or am I dreaming that?  I seem to remember a neighbour doing it the other way and it just went all slimy.

Obelixx

Turf is best removed so you can then work over the soil and remove any weed roots you find.   Easier to rake level that way too before laying your foundation layer.

You can hire turf cutting machines in good DIY shops.  The turves should be stacked grass to grass and root to root in a quiet corner of the garden where they can rot down as WillDB says.