"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
Kyle Boatright said:

I would say you need to have the existing lawn tilled, then add topsoil
and
till again before installing new sod.

Why till? That's one of the worst things you can do to the soil, and you
wanna do it twice.


Otherwise, you run a real risk of creating soil layers which will impede
root growth.

Agreed the old turf has to be removed first, but not at the cost of the
soil's structure. Renting a sod cutter rather than a tiller is a much
better option, imo.

--
Eggs


As I wrote earlier, not tilling creates the risk of stratified soil layers.
You need to blend the new and old soil. Otherwise, the OP may be putting
your topsoil down on a packed layer of soil. If that happens, the roots
grow well for a couple of inches, then hit the proverbial wall. Same thing
for water absorption.