Hi- im looking for help- ive been asked to lay a small new lawn at a neighbours garden. The soil they have is approximately 3 inches thick at present and below this is a concrete base. I assume the concrete is draining water away at its end as the soil is not wet despite it being raining heavy here the last few days. So water retention should not be as bigger problem as one would think.

I have informed the owner that they are likely to get a poor quality lawn with concrete below the current level of soil. However they accept this as they just want a small grassy area for their small toddlers to play on. I was wondering how much further topsoil to add to the current soil to at least get enough growth so a grassy area will be established.

Also would a seed lawn or a turf lawn be best in this circumstance?As i say the person is not after a high quality lawn just a small area with grass on it. I was thinking seed would be best as the turf wouldnt take at all? Could anyone advise?

cheers

kev02_02 wrote:
Hi- im looking for help- ive been asked to lay a small new lawn at a
neighbours garden. The soil they have is approximately 3 inches thick
at present and below this is a concrete base. I assume the concrete is
draining water away at its end as the soil is not wet despite it being
raining heavy here the last few days. So water retention should not be
as bigger problem as one would think.

I have informed the owner that they are likely to get a poor quality
lawn with concrete below the current level of soil. However they
accept this as they just want a small grassy area for their small
toddlers to play on. I was wondering how much further topsoil to add
to the current soil to at least get enough growth so a grassy area will
be established.

Also would a seed lawn or a turf lawn be best in this circumstance?As i
say the person is not after a high quality lawn just a small area with
grass on it. I was thinking seed would be best as the turf wouldnt
take at all? Could anyone advise?


you/he may also have a problem keeping water in. Would be a good idea
to dig in compost if there's not much organic matter in there now. If
you prepare properly I think turves should take - they're certainly
more of an instant garden than seeding.

.the soil is not wet despite it being
raining heavy here the last few days.

if it is raining that heavily and the soil is dry then I'd try to cut down
on the drainage a bit - how about trying to work out where it is draining
from and putting a plastic covered plank with holes in across or something?
Alternatively most large garden centres now sell various Astroturf things.

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)

Personally I think that you should walk away. Topsoil onto concrete spells a recipe for disaster.

Whilst grass or turf depending on where you are will grow even in clay… to get good results laying a lawn properly needs to be done properly. If you friend wants a good result then they need to do their homework, bodges are bodges and that’s the way this one will go.

If you still want to it for them.

Strip off the topsoil and stack it somewhere
Excavate the concrete and skip it
Underneath the concrete you may find sub soil, but it will look very “bleached out” and probably be very compacted and in need of aeration. At this point I would check how well this sub soil, clay… drains off. If it is poor then they may need land drains installing
Assuming the existing topsoil is of a reasonable quality, relay it and add at least another 25mm
Add a quality pre feed
Lay turf

Make sure they understand how to water and when to cut the lawn and it should be OK.