Posted: 5/15/2006 12:33:49 PM EDT
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OK so I have everything ripped out. The sod cutting machine was fun. I'm glad I weigh 200 lbs or that would have been something. All thats left is dirt. I'm going till the entire yard up then I'm going to smooth it out with one of those water filled rollers. But then what? Do I use sand to get it perfectly level and then lay top soil and start seeding? Or am I missing a few steps here? |
Damned straight! I had to rip out and re-sod my yard once. I'll NEVER do that shit again! 
We are. We just have to give all those Mexicans the jobs we don't want, remember? 
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I guess. The cost of me doing this myself vs. paying someone is huge. I would never pay anyone to do this type of work. It's just sweat and time. Anyways, any takers on this? Anyone know of a good website about this stuff? I can't really think of a good search term to even put into google. |
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I did mine a few years ago and now wish I had just planted a wild flower mix I looked at instead of grass seed. The whole lawn idea pisses me off. I bust my ass with weed killer, fertilizer and top dressing to get a lawn I just have to cut. It makes as much sense as throwing dirt on my car so I have to wash it. I'm not sure about using the roller. I think it might be a mistake to over-compact the soil. I would just till and rake until you get the contour right. I would also use seed instead of sod. |
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most of the guys that know how to do this were out in the rain doing it today! whats going on with the sod you cut out? Is it salvagable? If so, use it. If nay...... Pick out all the rocks and roots, pittch em. make sure youve got a good 8-10 inches of concrete showing on you foundation, dont fill up to it, prevents mildew and rot on your sill. If your feeling manley (sp?), get a good Iron rake from ACE wherever, get it flat, pull the high spots down into the low spots. This is a ball buster after a while, but bend over, and keep going. If your feeling wimpy, get some screened loam from the local landscape supply house, and wheel barrow, and fill in the low spots with the screened loam. Once the highs and lows are gone, and its nice and flat, get your 36" aluminum landscape rake, and start at one side of the yard, and rake the whole yard agian. With the larger rake, and closer tines, youll get out more rock and pebbles, and the yard will look betteand flatter. The key to the big rake is to bend over  and keep your feet moving as you rake. side to side, swooping motions. Picture useing your hand to smooth out some sand and make it flat, an 'S' motion, thats the best way. Keeping your feet moving prevents you from digging holes, All your trying to do now is smooth everything out before you seed and fertilize it. You dont need to get every rock out, or cut every root, your lawn mower will do the rest.Seed and fertilizer: Go to the landscape supply place, and get the seed and fertilizer for your square footage. Starter fertilizer and a good harty starter seed. I say go with Scotts, cause you can get one of thier little spreaders for cheap. I put seed and fert down first, follow the directions on the bag for the amount, just adjust the spreader to the right setting. once that application is down, take your old fashion plastic leaf rake and turn it upside down, and drag it behind you as you walk the whole project area. This buries the seed and fertilizer a bit, and speeds germanation. Once your done, seed it again, then roll it with your hand roller. Water. Once it gets wet, it has to stay wet. Keep it wet, water it until its almost puddles. hope this helps. 
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| Buy the best seed that you can finds. Cheap seed is just that, cheap. I use Scotts premium gold and have had great success with it. The cheap seed with trun green real quick and then the weeds will take over. Use a good starter fertilizer and water it a couple times a day until it's tall enough to cut. |
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A roller wont make your dirt level. If I did it again I would pound some metal stakes in the corners and have a tight string leveled across them. The lazy and crappy way is to drag a board or ladder across it. I think it would take a few iterations of leveling and packing to make sure you get it right. Then wait, kill weeds, rake and plant. Don't use overseed, it might better be named cloverseed. I like the tall fescue I planted in my back yard. Consider putting in a sprinkler system while you are at it. |
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till the whole thing in with amendments (whatever you need for your area, usually compost, but could be whatever, ask your local nursery, they'll know) then, compact it with teh big roller then the hard part get the rakes out and get the whole thing level and smooth. make sure it slopes correctly (away from the house) then compact again with roller (so you can walk on it) then throw down sod water water water if it's floating, it's green do not let new sod dry out until it's established and once you start watering, don't walk on it til it hardens up (usually about 3/4 weeks) |
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No need to till unless you have very poor soil. St Augustine only roots about 4 inches. Fill in low spots Apply granular pre emergent Go to the land fill and get several trailers of good compost Apply compost to depth of about 1 inch Rake to level Apply sod making sure to bury the edges so they will not dry out. Get a trailer of top soil and level yard by adding dirt on top of grass. Also fill seams with dirt. Water for two weeks every morning with a soaker hose. Only water in the morning to avoid fungus. |
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Minimize how much grass you plant. The old "golf course" look is oudated and was a post WW2 vision of suburbia anyway. Works on an 1/8 acre lot maybe, but how much work do yo uwant to invest? A "lawn" is a gajillion individual grass plants that require regular care far beyond mere mowing. If you don't have a service do it ($$$) you are looking at huge investment of time and sweat or you'll be back in the same place you are now in about 5 years (or less) Seed is just the beginning, the comes chemicals/fertilizers, irrigation, dethatching, aeration, overseeding every other year, etc.  Seriously, I used to own a landscape service. Think "naturalizing". Plant ground covers, wild flowers, and put large areas of mulch under and around your trees. Think of the grass as a "runner" or an "area rug" between other landscape features as opposed to "wall-to-wall". Feel free to IM me for more advice.  |
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I am currently in the middle of a yard renew project. I had a buddy bring a tractor mounted tiller to the side yard (85' x 165') to start the leveling and compaction solution. I used a 4' piece of floor grating, the kind used for upper floors in power plants with a weight of about 200 pounds. I added 4 24" concrete blocks to the grate for about 320 pounds of drag weight. Using this like a rake dragging behind the garden tractor I have been able to even out the dirt. This is much like is seen smoothing the infield at a baseball field. This does not alter the natural slope, just smooth es the top surface. I got sent out of town before I could finish, but on the Saturdays I get home I re drag to pull up the weeds, when I get home for good this weekend I will use the walk behind tiller to touch up any spots and then reseed with the best quality seed and fertilizer I can get. I know this should have been done weeks ago but I have been out of town Easter weekend. As too the tilling depth on the tractor mounted tiller we used the deepest setting I could get which was 10 inches counter rotation. This added air to the soil and disturbed most of all the bad bugs. Bug killer for grubs and such was applied by a hand cranked broadcast spreader to minimize compaction. After the seed is applied a top coat of compost will be applied and rolled in by 700 pound roller. I could have used a hand rake but I come from a farm family and I learned a long time ago to use power equipment to save my back. Will my yard be perfect and beautiful ? maybe not. It will be smooth. The only chemicals being used will be the grub killer. All fertilizer will be composted horse and sheep manure with composted sawdust. Projected compaction rated will go from a 4+ on a pocket penetrometer to 2. The projected PH will be neutral to slight sweet, with the composted manure initial fertilizer figures are to be 25 8 15 of added components, about right per the soil tests. First clue test the soil learn what you need, and find the non chemical solutions |
Get a fertilizer that has a BROADLEAF herbicide mixed in (like 2,4-D (2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), MCPP (2-(2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy) propionic acid), and dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) or apply it seperately. Most ""weed'n'feed" type stuff is too weak. CAUTION: Local laws/ordinances/codes may require that a licensed applicator use these chemicals. Exercise caution and read the directions thoroughly. Wear at least a pair of rain pants if not a full suit and a respirator. Many landscape chemicals are chemically similar to nerve agents. |
Helldog40 I like your thinking. As a safety professional, I thank you for the cautions that you raise. That is one of the reasons that I choose mechanical means to kill the weeds. Black plastic applied to affected areas for about one week in the sun will kill the weeds. I choose the grub ex type products because the nematodes are not available in a affordable price. Composted manure products again to keep the chemical products down. |
