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Laying lawn in deep clay
Happyhibs62
Posts: 9
Hello everyone,
Firstly apologies if this is the wrong forum, I'm just new to this game!
I'm searched all over the net for answers and I'm getting contrasting info.
I've got a 100% deep clay garden... I've out the while garden to a depth of 8 inches and can't go any further, would it be best to lay down a mixture of top soil and sharp sand to bring it up level again? I was also considering putting in drainage holes very foot or so.
The garden also slopes towards the house, a drainage ditch has already been prepared and pipes fitted so that's ok.
Apologies if there is a search function and this is a common question, I couldn't find it on my mobile!
Thanks very much and I look forward to using this more often once I have my lawn!
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Posts
Hi
Most lawn are laid on a mixture of sub soils as well as clay. As you have excavated to an eight inch depth, you will need to back fill with a mixture of top soil and horticultural grit
You have not confirmed the overal measurement of your lawn but excavating 8" would be backbreaking work to do anyway. Personally, you have possisbly removed to much sub soil. 4" depth would have been sufficient if any needed to be removed. You should have attempted to work with the clay and raked it over to remove large stones prior to laying your new lawn.
Some on this blog may have a different view but most of us have lawns laid on clay. Normal lawn maintenace using a hollow tine fork to create drainage holes so that a top dressing can be laid over. The top dressing that consists of sieved loam soil( or good grade top soil) and grit that then fills the holes up to create permanent drain channels for air, water and light to reach the lawn roots for improved growth.
Thanks for the reply Steve.
It was indeed backbreaking work but managed to shift it out within a few days going at it like a maniac!
I've still to excavate a lot of the clay to a skip so I could start trying to break it up which although hard work would save a considerable amount on the quotes ive been getting for sharp sand/grit and top soil.
At least I know I'm in the right track though so thanks again.
Hi
I would consider hiring a rotavator to go over it. The clay structure would be "sticky" as opposed to hard.
You should have a great looking lawn once you get the sub and top soil structures resolved
Good luck with your project and post a photo of your new lawn when finished
Goodness, I can't believe it was over 2 months ago since I started this godforsaken project!!
Well what fun this has been (!) I managed to work around things slightly and have dug down to 6 inches, going to put down some sharp sand then the top soil followed by another layer of sand then the turf itself.
After moving into a brand new development with me spending a lot of time lugging stuff up to a skip a lot of the neighbours have been chatting away and lo and behold, I've got a landscaper as a neighbour and a groundsman so their advice has been invaluable!!
Obviously with the hard work done (digging out) as I like to call it the wife now has asked for sleepers and raised beds to be put in along with slabbing and an extra fence post in 'her' corner so she can make god knows what...it's like she was waiting for me to be able to breathe easily again
It's taken me six 8 yard skips, a pair of very sturdy workboots (need re-soled now), two pairs of gloves (wrecked), a toenail and a very understanding wife and shed load of sweat to get this far but oh my word, it is worth it!!
Once it's done I'll put up some pictures of the various stages in case anyone else has the same problem.
I would highly recommend doing all this work yourself if you are physically capable as the quotes I was getting (Edinburgh) were easily running into the £15k bracket which is bloody scandalous when I've done the whole thing myself for nearer the £2.5k, and half of that was pretty much skip hire!!
Oh and the garden is 182 square meters for reference.
Well done Happyhibs
I did a similar project to reduce levels in my own garden and used 3 skip to remove the spoil from site.
It kept me fit for 2 months just using a pick, shovel and a sturdy wheelbarrow.
After I completeted the landscape work i just looked at it and thought how did I do that. Very satisfying when I now sit back on a beautiful summers day and view a beautiful summer house that was not there last year