I have decided to undertake a nice project this weekend and I am going to re-sod my front lawn. It's about 1800 sq ft and I have purchased the required pallets of grass and topsoil. Of course the most challenging part of this project (besides not knowing what I am doing) is the prep work. Tilling, smoothing, spreading the topsoil...I think I am starting to get a bit overwhelmed. Is this too much for one weekend? Any advice from anyone with experience?
Maybe tackle it in phases if it seems overwhelming. Phase 1 is prepping the space - spread the topsoil, smooth it out and just get it ready for the sod. Maybe dedicate a day just to this. Phase 2 - lay the sod, water it in, maybe spread some Scotts Bonus S or other fertilizer to kick start it a bit. Even if you only get the first part done in one weekend, you can wrap it up the following weekend. Take your time and enjoy it all. Your lawn will look fantastic before long. I would offer to help but I'm washing my hair Saturday.
I did the same thing a couple of years ago. By all means, do it in phases. Properly done, prep is 90% of the job and very important to the future health of your lawn. Don't order the grass until everything else is in place or you risk not being ready for the grass and it dies while you finish prep work. If you don't have an irrigation system, now is the time to install it. It's like an insurance policy for all the work and expense of installing a new lawn. Avoid "sandy loam" which is common "top soil" in Central Texas. It is a very poor excuse for soil since it has no organic material and packs like concrete. If nothing else, mix in a significant proportion of Dillo Dirt or some other organic material. The soil will hold a lot more moisture and your grass will be much happier and healthier. One third of organic material is probably the minimum down about 6" or more. That means at least 2" of organic material tilled in. Be careful not to disrupt tree roots. BTW, developers use sandy loam because it's cheap, not because it's good for your yard. Choose the proper lawn grass. Even St. Augustine has several different varieties with different characteristics depending on the situation. I replaced the original Raleigh used on my yard with Amerishade and much prefer it. It grows half as fast, uses less water, and is a nicer shade of green. It also does much better in shade than other St. Augustines. If you have full sun, you have even more choices including Bermuda, Buffalo grass, etc. Choose wisely.
We had six yards of garden soil dropped in the driveway this morning, shoveled and wheel-barrowed about half of it today into the back yard for some 10×5 vegetable garden boxes. I’m tired.
wow! great timing this thread. I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but I wouldn't do it unless I could be sure to pick the correct, low-maintenance grass. I'm thinking bermuda might be a good one to use? Because of all of the rain, we've got weeds basically everywhere, but this is compounded by the fact that we have probably two inches of topsoil. I know this because I dug a hole in the backyard for a tree last weekend. The first two inches was great! Then rocks and clay, clay and rocks, for another 19 inches! Two hours of slow digging with a pick and shovel, and I had a 21 inch deep by 22 inches across hole. We picked a plum tree, who knows if it will do anything? We put two sacks of "topsoil", sure enough sandy loam, from Lowe's and about half a sack of manure into the hole. I was so bummed and excited at the same time. I would like to rent one of those small backhoes, and dig up the backyard, bring in some soil, and plant bermuda, so we actually have grass. If we weren't on a corner lot(hill), I might actually do it. Our weed problem is so great, I just discovered a weed grew through the sidewalk. I don't know how anything grows out here, but the one tree we have left is actually growing very well this spring, because of all the rain. It's a Bradford Pear. Since the house is 11 years old, I'm wondering how long that pear tree will last.
I rented a tiller this Saturday and completely removed every shred of weed/grass from my front yard, then put in 9 yards of topsoil/humus mix. It's a small yards... We fertilized, seeded, and covered in it straw last night. Hopefully, I'll have a lawn to mow in 6 weeks... It was a lot of work, but the grass I was tilling was in terrible shape with no organic material in the soil. It was like the grass roots were pot-bound sitting on top of the hard packed rock/sand mixture and the roots were just weaving in an out of each other rather than into the ground. If this doesn't work, my next bulk delivery will be dolomite gravel.
