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Topsoil or tilling for levelling old, compacted lawn?

mailhbO_ShKhmailhbO_ShKh Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Our garden has a ~10x10m patch of old lawn which has a few issues. There is lots of thatch, quite a few weeds, bare spots, parts of it have been compacted by building work. It is also quite bumpy, again partly due to previous excavation and building work and partially because we removed a concrete path that was going straight through it, leaving us with a trench about 10cm deep.

To fix this I was considering renting a tiller to break up all the old lawn, levelling everything with a rake and the reseeding it. We also had a couple of companies round to take a look and they instead advised just to buy a big load of topsoil to level everything. This feels a bit like covering up all the other issues though.

I don't have much experience so was hoping someone here could advise on what the best course of action would be. Thank you!

Posts

  • Pauline 7Pauline 7 Posts: 2,246
    A lot depends on what weeds there are. If you use a tiller or rotavator  and you have certain weeds, ( not sure what ones), they will grow from all the bits of broken up roots.
    As you can probably tell  I am no expert, but if you post some pics others will be able to help.
    West Yorkshire
  • mailhbO_ShKhmailhbO_ShKh Posts: 4
    Thank you! The main ones seem to be couch grass, foxtail and greater plantain.
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    If you go the topsoil route you could import weeds that you certainly never want in a garden. The topsoil would need to be sterilised and I doubt that would happen if it came straight from a building site.
  • mailhbO_ShKhmailhbO_ShKh Posts: 4
    Weeds aside (seems like that might be an issue either way) what else should I consider? Does it actually work to cover the old lawn with topsoil? Does the old grass just die or 'grow through' the soil? 
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I would rent a turf cutter before getting the tiller. Use that to remove the old turf which you then stack up and cover to turn it into useful loam over time. Make sure you have taken out all weed roots then rotovate/till to give you a fresh surface.
  • seacrowsseacrows Posts: 234
    Do you want the lawn at the level it is now (tilling and levelling), or would you like it a bit higher (topsoil on top)? If it drains badly at the moment, take the opportunity to dig some gravel down before releveling. Be aware if you go the topsoil route you'll have to compact it down somehow before reseeding.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Using topsoil will almost certainly mean that the dip where the old path was removed will reappear over time as the soil settles.  Although it will be considerable more work to rotovate, level, firm down and either turf or seed, the result is likely be be far better.
  • gunndabadgunndabad Posts: 35
    If you have couch grass I’d strongly suggest Round Up before you do any cultivating. If it comes up in your new lawn it’s incredibly difficult to get rid of. 
  • mailhbO_ShKhmailhbO_ShKh Posts: 4
    Thank you all so much! Sounds to me like both options could work but going down the long route and taking up the old turf should give a better result. Couple more questions if you don't mind:

    * Would you agree with what steephill said?
    I would rent a turf cutter before getting the tiller.
    I read somewhere to skip that and just mix in the cut up turf to keep nutrients but then I guess there shouldn't be much nutrients going to waste anyway if the turf cutter is set to the right depth.

    * What would be a good time of year to do this? We're in Kent and I was thinking of doing it this month. 
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