laying sod over sparse grass

Let the soil surface dry before continuing with the renovation. We are a disabled couple and need to know the easiest way to do this. When the grass dies, it gives off nutrients that actually benefit the new sod above it. This is because the sod cannot survive if you lay it on top of existing grass. Once again, the soil must be adequately raked and graded for proper drainage. This is also important because the old soil might be taken out along with the old lawn. you might want to use Sod cutter instead of line trimmer and rototiller but you will still have to turn over the soil a bit since the ground is compacted. Existing grass makes it hard for sod to get the nutrients it needs to survive. For top-dressing a St. Augustine lawn, use either sandy loam soil or clean free-flowing sand. It can be mowed shorter but I think maybe what you're asking is how you mow it shorter if it's all laying down. I use a rotodairon tiller design to shred and bury sod. The sod compresses the grass and limits its exposure to sunlight and water. Use a garden hose with a sprayer attachment and lightly moisten the surface area. Moist soil is suitable for the new sod to make a healthy root system. Can You Lay Sod Over Existing Grass?. Use a rotary till to make the job easier and faster. You can find more information on watering sod in this blog. Apply at least a 2- to 3-inch layer of topsoil over your cultivated lawn. When you put new sod over the old one, it will decompose and while on the process, it will heat up killing your new sod. Thank you in advance for any help. We manage to use organic material in order to treat your lawn as we follow The Organic Lawn Care Manual. When the new lawn is taken out first, you will notice that the underlying sod beneath has become a slimy mess instead of composted nutrients. You can't simply lay sod on top of grass without doing proper preparation. “Therefore, the existing grass / lawn must be extremely sparse or you will have to bring in dirt and put it on top before laying the new sod . You might also say that this process will cut down a lot of your time. I tend to be in the “dig it up” camp, because if I’m going to the trouble of planting something, I want to give it every possible advantage. We opted for a sod installation because it provides an instant lawn with fewer weeds and almost no erosion problems. You should kill your existing grass. (Almost being the key word). The "swirling" pattern is a good indication of that grass type. I have rototilled old lawns for over ten years without the removal of sod. What Is The Difference Between Sodding And seeding. Water it frequently for the next two weeks. The sod compresses the grass and limits its exposure to sunlight and water. A lot of the soil was washed off and sod was laid over uneven yard. 3 Mow the turf low, or about 3/4 inch above the soil surface. If you have a bare or barren patch of yard, sod is a moderately priced way to turn a brown or weedy patch into a thick, green lawn. Lay sod strips tightly together but do not over- lap edges. But it might end up adding more time than it saves. If there are live grass left, it will spoil and affect the roots of the new sod, which will cause brown spots. Incorporate this topsoil into the tilled grass with your rototiller. Thanks! Through experience, it is not best to lay sod over existing grass. Costs vary, but in general, expect to pay at least 40 cents a square foot for sod you install yourself. If you do not, then the old grass will grow up through the cracks between the pieces of sod. 6 Steps to Removing Weeds Before Laying Sod. Would like your input on this. Using a glyphosphate like Round Up you can spray your existing lawn, and sod over the dead grass. Laying new sod over existing grass could be the easy way of resodding a lawn. I have a 140 foot driveway and need to know if I can lay gravel over the grass. Grass needs to be aerated periodically every few years in order to reestablish proper roots. Rake loose concrete and dispose of it before putting down topsoil. That way, the new sod can grow a healthy and robust root system, which would make your lawn more resilient, more attractive, and less maintenance. That comes out to $400 for a 1,000-square-foot lawn area. Though it is generally thought to be OK to lay sod over an existing lawn, some landscapers and homeowners prefer to remove any existing lawn before installation of sod. How To Identify the Cause of Brown Spots in Your Lawn, Deck & Yard Maintenance Tips to Enjoy Outdoor Living, Today’s Homeowner Radio Show for the week of June 18, 2016, Kuppersmith Home Renovation Project 7: Lot and Countertops, How to Build a Non-Load Bearing Interior Wall. Backed by his 40-year remodeling career, Danny served as the home improvement expert for CBS’s The Early Show and The Weather Channel for more than a decade. Water the lawn deeply, soaking the top 6 to 8 inches of soil. Step 1: Prepare your soil. Money is saved and the landfills are preserved. If your new lawn is now dead, you will have to remove two layers of sod to have a fresh one. The previous lawn died and needs to be replaced. Whether or not to remove the old grass before laying sod is a long-standing debate. A thick mat like this, will kill off almost everything under it. If you decide to have a new lawn, it is best to remove first the existing lawn before installing the fresh sod. If you want the new sod to look its best and with no old weeds or old grass growing through it, till the ground and remove the old grass first. Inspect the area you wish to grow grass on for any loose concrete. It takes a few weeks for sod to take roots but if the roots are obstructed the sod lacks nutrients and dries up. Keep the fresh lawn moist as you lay it, and water it after. So you won't have to cut the sod in odd shapes, remove the dead grass so that the prepared area forms a square. Professional landscapers often apply sod directly over grass. Whether a sparse, weedy lawn needs renewing or you’re facing a barren backyard, laying sod is the easy way to an instant, lush lawn. The major secret to laying sod and being successful is for it to take roots and acquire as many nutrients as possible since sod has limited nutrients. Laying sod could be a tough job, and it’s better to look for a process that makes it easier to put a new lawn. Many would say that laying sod on top of existing grass would be the way to go. When you cut the sod off, you want to take the sod cutter and go as deep as you possibly can. The author went on to write: “Professional landscapers often apply sod directly over grass. We can see why you’d think it could be a good strategy – like laying landscaping fabric, sod could starve existing grass for sunlight and effectively kill off the original layer. Cut the edges of the area straight. Freshly laid sod also needs proper nutrients to thrive and to grow. I have a patch of dead grass in my lawn, and I’d like to repair it with sod. There are few factors that can hinder your grass from growing. Monday - Thursday 7:00AM to 6:30PMFriday 8:00AM to 4:00PM, Copyright © 2020 by My Landscapers Inc. Website & SEO by Synmek, Commercial Landscaping Maintenance Toronto, Yard Machines Straight Shaft Gas Trimmer – 29cc 4-Cycle, Sun Joe TJ604E 16″ 13.5 AMP Electric Garden Tiller/Cultivator, Gorilla Carts Poly Garden Dump Cart with Steel Frame and 10″ Pneumatic Tires with a Capacity of 600 lb, Black, Garant GPHR2FLS Pro Series Long Handle Round Point Shovel, Midwest Rake Aluminum Landscape Rake, 36-Inch, Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food – Starter Food for New Grass, 1,000-sq ft (Lawn Fertilizer for Newly Planted Grass). Spreading … You have entered an incorrect email address! Water the area, then amend the soil by working in either compost, leaf mold or fine-milled peat moss to a depth of 3" to 5". A third thing that can cause grass to thin out and lose its lush appeal over time is a lack of aeration. Make sure you have checked out our other repair options as well. The cost for laying sod will depend on the size of the area you are covering. This would hamper your sod from growing its roots and would likely kill your new lawn over a few weeks. Adding soil over grass gave us great success with our lawn repair, but it may not work for your situation. Just keep it moist by watering it thrice on the first week after the sod is installed. Sod installation prices run from $1.20 to $1.80 per square foot. If you put a 6 inch layer of soil down with a layer of sod on top, there will be VERY little chance of anything growing through. In this article, we will also provide you with instructions on how to do it correctly and the list of materials and tools needed for such a job. Rake the soil, and remove debris and patches of old grass. Keep the edges tight as they dry out faster than those placed in the middle. Here’s how to lay sod, in six steps. To form sod to fit curves/ edges a sharp knife must be used. The cost for laying sod will depend on the size of the area you are covering. Sod can be installed anytime in the growing season, except in very high heat. We have some areas in the lawn that are 3 to 4 inches lower than the existing lawn and want to know if we can put sod over them to bring them up to level. If you use a standard tiller the bulk of the grass makes it impossible to work with.My machine shreds and burys the existing grass and rocks. Finally I got a website from where I be able to genuinely obtain useful information concerning my study and knowledge. After adding, rake it again to level the soil. … If you're using grass seed to overseed your lawn instead of Scotts® Turf Builder® Thick’R Lawn™, it's a good idea to rake in a thin, 0.25-inch layer of enriched soil over your lawn to help the seed settle in. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Installing it during cooler months means better survivability and less heat stress. It is also essential that a fresh sod should be given proper nutrients to thrive and grow. Grass rolls are typically strips of sod 2 feet by 5 feet. Listen to and read about the June 18, 2016, Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford radio show. Your beautiful new lawn can be destroyed by old weeds and invasive grasses pushing up through the sod, and all your time and effort sodding will seem wasted. Laying down grass sod to start or repair a lawn isn’t the hardest yard task, but it is labor intensive and requires knowing more than “green side up.” But don’t be daunted. There are three ways to remove your existing lawn-Using Chemicals. Can we lay new sod over existing lawn? Based on the questions I get from customers, there are two common situations that lead someone to want to put down sod.1. “All sod must make soil contact to root,” she points out. Now, the roots from your new lawn would have to work harder to reach the roots beneath the old lawn. Of course, sod is a lot more expensive than a bag of seed. These days all I do is prepare yards for sod installation. Looks like fine fescue to me (likes to lay down when taller). A pallet of sod covers 500 square feet, and the price can range from $200 to $400 per pallet. Laying the sod is the easy part; getting the soil ready so it can keep your sod healthy takes much longer. Normally when you hire someone to install sod over existing grass they're supposed to remove the existing grass, amend the soil with organic matter (compost) and fertilizer, then install sod and roll it. Many would say that laying sod on top of existing grass would be the way to go. 10 Mow the grass to 2 inches tall when it grows to 3 inches tall. Will I need to put down plastic or other kind of base first? Lay sod in spring where cool-season grasses rule and any time of year where warm-season turf is king. Sod is a big investment and people are concerned that they get a beautiful lawn in return. During the Spring and Summer months, we get a lot of questions about laying sod. Have killed existing Burmuda grass and similiar problem grasses. The best soil for St. Augustine grass is one that is well-drained (like sandy soil) with pH ranges from 5.0 to 8.5. The purpose of sodding your lawn is to start new, with a fresh carpet of healthy, weed-free grass. Laying new sod over existing grass could be the easy way of resodding a lawn. Finally, its time to lay the new sod. NEVER lay sod over existing grass, scrape off the existing turf. Set it on the deepest setting for the sod cutter. When putting pieces in a row, it is vital to push the ends together so the spaces between them will not be visible. I have never been able to determine any down side after doing this thousands of times. Dampen the prepared soil right before laying sections of new sod. © 2020 Today’s Homeowner Media. Don't put so much down that you kill your existing grass; less than a quarter of an inch is plenty. Take a 14-inch real heavy flat shovel and you can just go ahead and pick them up and put them aside. And since it’s too late to plant grass seed for a successful fall seeding, sod is a great alternative for an instant lawn. Run a sod roller on the area to compact the soil of the sod and the topsoil you added. There’s the “remove it all” camp, the “till it in” camp, and the “just lay the sod on top” camp, with all sides reporting success with their methods. How Do You Grow Grass Over a French Drain? Don’t forget to thoroughly water your new sod within half an hour of it being laid. Additionally, the grade is extremely important; the water flow must be proper. Explanation: “All sod must make soil contact to root,” Therefore, the existing grass / lawn must be extremely sparse or you will have to bring in dirt and put it on top before laying the new sod. Our front lawn was newly sodded in 2015. Add half an inch of fresh topsoil onto the soil to balance its conditions. 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