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Levelling Lawn

jknowles130jknowles130 Posts: 5
in Garden design
Good morning all, 

I am in the process of digging up and levelling my lawn to make it more useable and increase the grassed area. I should probably start by mentioning that i'm very new to gardening, so apologies for any daft questions/ideas. 

So I have dug up all of the old turf/earth and i'm left with an uneven base of earth / earth mixed with chuckies. I would say this is considerably uneven and will take a good bit of work to level, not to mention a lot of material to level. 

If I was to do this with topsoil, I estimate that I would need approximately 10tonnes, which would make it expensive (if delivered from the local builders merchant). To get around this i'm considering alternative base materials. 

The plan I've come up with for this is to level off the majority of the lawn using sand (and/or sub-base), then lay a good layer (5-6inches) of topsoil mixed with some compost on top of this, and then roll out turf on the top of the soil. 

In my mind this has the benefits of reduced cost (can get the sand for free) but may also help with drainage? 

Could anyone give me any advice on my plan and using sand as the base material? Is there anything else i'm missing or not thinking of? 
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Posts

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    Sounds like a plan. Is your free sand coarse rather than fine?
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • jknowles130jknowles130 Posts: 5
    Hi Hogweed, thanks for the reply.

    The sand is coarse sand.

    Do you have any thoughts on compacting this once I've got the base down to make sure everything is level? This might hinder drainage I would guess? 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    It's a fantastic idea. Generally you tread a lawn area and go over it with a board to grade the surface before sowing/turfing.

    Don't do what my mum's neighbour did, and drive a road roller over it!
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • jknowles130jknowles130 Posts: 5
    Thanks for the feedback, I’ll give treading it a go and use a board for grading, see how it turns. 

    I was thinking whacker plate would be extreme enough let alone a road roller! 
  • Gardening_PunkGardening_Punk Posts: 21
    Have you thought of seeding it? I’ve just seeded a large lawn for a fraction of the price of turf. The preparation is the same, it just takes a little longer for you to have grass but great to watch it grow. 

    I had 3 rolls of turf which I laid at the same time and the seeded area is so much better. 
  • jknowles130jknowles130 Posts: 5
    I did consider seeding it, however by the time I get the prep done (a few weeks away as I’m putting sleepers in also) I thought I may have missed the boat? Whereas turf obviously only needs a few weeks. 

    How long would I be looking at for a useable lawn if I seeded it in say 3 weeks? 
  • Gardening_PunkGardening_Punk Posts: 21
    Sorry for the slow reply. If I remember correctly, nothing much happened for about two weeks then it was about 10 days from shoots popping up to a first cut. 

    I sowed it at the start of lockdown when we didn’t have any rain for weeks though. I did water daily but I’m pretty sure that delayed everything getting going, was really hard to keep it all moist. 

    I guess it depends what you want it for. I’m sure you will save yourself time with turf but I don’t think the results are as good and you probably have to try and keep off it for a good couple of weeks after sowing so you maybe save 3 weeks. 
  • honeybeanhoneybean Posts: 50
    I don’t know if this helps in your decision making at all but we are having a lawn makeover. 

    The process is kill off the grass. Wait 2 weeks then collect all grass up. Scarify and rotovate, then seed all in same day.

    I then have to water everyday. I think seeds start coming up around day 10. 
    I can’t remember when first cut is I think it maybe around day 14... but I know that I need to keep dog off grass for 4 weeks!

    Timescale wise this work is not starting until sometime in mid August... 

    Hope it helps
    Thanks 🌻
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hi - just an opinion - but my Dad used to say an Autumn lawn is the best.  Depends where you are I guess - it may be Autumn there already!!   Tui
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • jknowles130jknowles130 Posts: 5
    Hi all, thanks for the responses.

    Im still in 2 minds, but leaning towards seeding now. Should be able to do it in the next couple of weeks which sounds like it’s not too late for seeding 
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