Turf & soil

1. 1

   Clear the ground

   Strip old turf and kill perennial weeds, removing stones, roots and builders debris.

2. 2

   Relieve compaction

   Fork or rotavate the top 150 mm, breaking through any compacted machine-trafficked layer on a new build plot.

3. 3

   Add and grade topsoil

   Bring the soil up to 100 mm of workable depth with BS 3882 topsoil, grading falls away from the house and filling hollows now.

4. 4

   Firm and rake

   Heel or lightly roll the surface, then rake to a fine tilth and apply a pre-turf fertiliser.

5. 5

   Lay the turf

   Lay within 24 hours of delivery, butting joints tight and staggering them like brickwork, working from boards.

6. 6

   Water in

   Water heavily on day one until the soil beneath the turf is wet, then deeply two or three times a week for the first month.

7. 7

   First cut

   Mow once the turf resists a gentle tug, usually two to three weeks, taking only the top third of the leaf.

• Topsoil sold for landscaping should comply with BS 3882, which sets multipurpose, low-fertility and reduced-fertility grades. ^[1]

• Turf: 100 mm of cultivated topsoil, raked and rolled to a firm bed. Lay within 24 hours of delivery.
• Shrub borders: 150 mm topsoil minimum; trees: 300 mm+ across the planting pit.
• Lay turf September–October or March–April. Avoid mid-summer unless you can water daily for 4 weeks.
• Bulking factor for as-dug clay: a tonne is ~0.6 m³ loose. Heavy clay needs a sand-and-grit improver before turfing or it puddles.
• Sandy soils drain fast but hold few nutrients, incorporate 50 mm of compost into the top 150 mm before laying turf.
• On slopes steeper than 1:6, lay turf across the fall and peg every roll for the first month, otherwise rolls slip before they root.

Turf succeeds or fails in the week before it arrives. Everything below happens before a single roll is delivered.

• Kill or strip the existing grass and weeds. Perennial weeds such as couch and bindweed come straight back through new turf, so treat and wait, or strip 50 mm off with a turf cutter.
• Break up compaction to at least 150 mm with a rotavator or fork. On a new build plot, expect a compacted machine-trafficked layer that must be ripped before any topsoil goes down.
• Import topsoil to BS 3882 multipurpose grade to give 100 mm of workable soil for lawn, and check the analysis certificate rather than trusting the label.
• Grade to falls away from the house, filling hollows now rather than top dressing later.
• Firm by heeling or with a light roller, then rake to a fine tilth. Footprints should barely show; soft ground gives a lawn full of dips.
• Apply a pre-turfing fertiliser, high phosphate, a few days before laying to help root establishment.
• Lay within 24 hours of delivery, brick-bond the joints, butt them tight, and never stretch a roll. Work from boards so you do not walk on the new surface.
• Water heavily on day one, enough to wet the soil beneath the turf, not just the grass. Lift a corner to check.

• Laying turf on 25 mm of topsoil over builders rubble. It looks green for six weeks and then dies in the first dry spell. 100 mm of soil is the honest minimum.
• Leaving rolls stacked in the sun. Turf heats up in the pallet and can be dead within 48 hours in summer.
• Under-watering after laying. New turf needs the equivalent of 25 mm of rain a week, applied deeply two or three times a week rather than a light sprinkle daily.
• Mowing too early or too short. Wait until the turf resists a gentle tug, usually two to three weeks, then take only the top third.
• Stretching rolls to close gaps. They shrink back as they dry and every joint opens.
• Turfing over clay without improvement. Add sharp sand and compost into the top 150 mm or the lawn will puddle every winter.

• Turf itself: £3.50 to £8 per m2 depending on grade, with hard-wearing rye mixes at the lower end and fine ornamental turf at the top.
• Supplied and laid including preparation: typically £12 to £25 per m2.
• Screened topsoil: around £35 to £60 per bulk bag, or £40 to £70 per tonne loose delivered. A 50 m2 lawn at 100 mm deep needs about 5 m3, roughly 7 tonnes.
• Turf cutter hire: about £60 to £90 a day, and it pays for itself over hand-stripping anything above 30 m2.
• Spoil disposal is often the biggest single line: budget by the tonne, not by the skip.
• Seed is far cheaper at roughly £1 to £2 per m2 but needs 6 to 12 weeks and the right season to establish.