Learn about Soil Preparation and New Sod Installation

If you are trying to learn how to lay sod, or how to install sod and you've never done it before, then this article is going to have all the information you want to know to get started. There are essentially two different ways to prepare the soil.

The premium method of preparing the soil involves you renting a sod cutter and cutting off the top layer of grass. Then, you want to bring in the top soil, probably at least 10 yards of topsoil for every thousand square feet of grass you are replacing. The third step is to rent a Rototiller and rototill all of the soil into the ground and mix it with the existing soil. Then, you want to make sure to grade it and do a very good job grading it. The fifth step is to roll over all of the dirt with a 150 to 200 pound roller. This should help even it out, and you want to keep rolling until you are no longer able to see your footprints. The sixth step is to lay the sod. Make sure you start with an even add so that you can lay it evenly across your lawn. Try and make it so that the seams have all lined up at the same spot. After you are done laying all the sod, go back and cut the edges so that you can have a nice finished look.

The cheap and easy way to install sod is much less complicated. The first thing you have to do is just spray the entire area that you will be replacing with Roundup. Allow 7 to 10 days for that area to die completely. Then, rent a power rake and go pretty deep so you can get out all of the dead grass. If you have a healthy lawn, you may even consider renting a sod cutter instead. After that, rake away all the loose stuff that is on the surface of the soil. If you are not going to be adding any extra soil, make sure it's completely level when you're done cleaning off the weeds. Then, roll your soil over the top of the existing dirt. Try to make everything as even as possible. Hopefully, that will look good.