Hi everyone

my lawn is very very uneven next spring i would like to rip it up
and start again.
the question is which is best turf or seed,
the lawn is used by children so it needs to be hard wearing
(swings, slide, pool, football)

"anita" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi everyone

my lawn is very very uneven next spring i would like to rip it up
and start again.
the question is which is best turf or seed,
the lawn is used by children so it needs to be hard wearing
(swings, slide, pool, football)
--

Neither is best it depends how much work you want to do, and also how long
you can keep people off it for and how much you want to spend. Obviously
newly sown grass will be fragile for a longer period than turf, but it will
be a lot cheaper, but harder work (both in preparation and also keeping the
kids off it for longer). I suppose you could always seed it in two halves.

Turf is also less susceptible to bad weather after laying the lawn, for
example a bad downpour just after sowing could mess things up but it wont
affect turf as long as you dont walk on it.


--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

--[/color]

Neither is best it depends how much work you want to do, and also how long
you can keep people off it for and how much you want to spend. Obviously
newly sown grass will be fragile for a longer period than turf, but it will
be a lot cheaper, but harder work (both in preparation and also keeping the
kids off it for longer). I suppose you could always seed it in two halves.

Turf is also less susceptible to bad weather after laying the lawn, for
example a bad downpour just after sowing could mess things up but it wont
affect turf as long as you dont walk on it.


--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups) [/b][/quote]

Thanks for the info
Just one more question
If i am putting lots of topsoil down to even the lawn out
do i have to take up the grass thats already there or just put the topsoil down on top before puttimg the turf down

"anita" wrote in message
s.com...
--

Neither is best it depends how much work you want to do, and also how
long
you can keep people off it for and how much you want to spend.
Obviously
newly sown grass will be fragile for a longer period than turf, but it
will
be a lot cheaper, but harder work (both in preparation and also keeping
the
kids off it for longer). I suppose you could always seed it in two
halves.

Turf is also less susceptible to bad weather after laying the lawn,
for
example a bad downpour just after sowing could mess things up but it
wont
affect turf as long as you dont walk on it.


--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups) [/b]

Thanks for the info
Just one more question
If i am putting lots of topsoil down to even the lawn out
do i have to take up the grass thats already there or just put the
topsoil down on top before puttimg the turf down[/color]

Dunno, I've never done that always layed turf on bare soil. A *guess* is
that you'd be much better off removing the old lawn, otherwise you could
have a problem with the turf needing to root through the old lawn, so
especially if it was dry the new turf might struggle.
Imagine the roots of the new grass having to fight their way down through
the original grass and then thatch and then(probably hard and compacted?)
soil......yep, I've convinced myself you should remove the old grass :-)

--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

Thankyou Tumbleweed
your advice has been most helpful

I will take old grass up then turf.

Only problem I have to do it all be hand!!!!
No fancy machines like groundforce have, they cost a bomb to hire, i just checked 170.00 for turf cutter and rotovator ( think I spelled that wrong)
Still it will look great when finished,

If you want the whole lawn to be a little higher, try covering the current grass with thick dark plastic to kill it off over winter then level out with added soil and turf on top. However, if you need it all to be the same average level, removing the old turf manually is the only option.

Wouldn't fancy the latter myself! Besides the hard work, the cost of getting a skip in to dump the old turf may be high if you have no room to rot it down at home.

Looking at lawn grass seed prices, turfing isn't that much more costly these days. It's quicker, too.

Thanks hazell
I will look into the plastic thing

anita wrote:


I will take old grass up then turf.

Only problem I have to do it all be hand!!!!
No fancy machines like groundforce have, they cost a bomb to hire, i
just checked 170.00 for turf cutter and rotovator ( think I spelled
that wrong)
Still it will look great when finished,
--
anita
Anita X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

How big an area? Would it take too long to dig the plot - burying the chopped turf
in the trench as you go? That would give you a superb gold plated job and cost
nothing only time. On a bigger scale I'd kill it off by covering with old carpet
or WHY now or by spraying with Roundup at the first opportunity in Spring, then
rotavate thoroughly - you would only need to remove any grass sods etc that you
couldn't bury while preparing the seed bed. The notion that turf need less
preparation than seed is a fallacy, you really do need a reasonable 'seedbed' to
lay turf if it is to prosper in the long term. The big advantage of seed is that
you get to choose the grass species and varieties rather than getting what's in
the turf. Turfing is hard work if it's a big area and you're doing it properly. If
you go for a sodcutter don't dump your turf stack it face down next to your
compost heap and it will rot down to a wonderful loam. IIRC much of this is
covered in more detail in one of the FAQ's - one Cormaic wrote I think.
--
Rod
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 12:57:02 GMT, Hazell B
wrote:

If you want the whole lawn to be a little higher, try covering the
current grass with thick dark plastic to kill it off over winter then
level out with added soil and turf on top. However, if you need it all
to be the same average level, removing the old turf manually is the
only option.

Wouldn't fancy the latter myself! Besides the hard work, the cost of
getting a skip in to dump the old turf may be high if you have no room
to rot it down at home.

Looking at lawn grass seed prices, turfing isn't that much more costly
these days. It's quicker, too.

We, actually my wife, re-seeded the bald/thin patches of the lawn in
mid September, when somebody here recommended it and covered it with
fleece to keep the birds off. We have a nice good as new lawn again
now. We consulted someone in Rogers Plants garden centre in Pickering
as to which lawn seed to buy. AFAIR it was a mixture of seeds.
--
Martin

why not just top dress your existing lawn to improve and level it
"anita" wrote in message
s.com...
Hazell B wrote:
*If you want the whole lawn to be a little higher, try covering the
current grass with thick dark plastic to kill it off over winter then
level out with added soil and turf on top. However, if you need it
all to be the same average level, removing the old turf manually is
the only option.

Wouldn't fancy the latter myself! Besides the hard work, the cost of
getting a skip in to dump the old turf may be high if you have no
room to rot it down at home.

Looking at lawn grass seed prices, turfing isn't that much more
costly these days. It's quicker, too. *

Thanks hazell
I will look into the plastic thing
--
anita
Anita X
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk