Clear Your Proposed Site

Clear the area of weeds, grasses and any other unwanted plants, paying particular attention to Kikuyu & Couch which are extremely invasive.

This is best done by spraying with a weed killer such as Roundup or Zero (Glyphosate) a minimum of fourteen days prior to laying your turf.

After it has all been killed, rotary hoe or dig the area with a spade to a depth of 100mm.

Remove sticks, stones and roots.

Level the soil by raking.

Check the condition of your soil (see soils below) and apply whatever conditioning agents you may require, i.e. soil, fertiliser, lime or gypsum etc.  

An alternatives to rotary hoeing or digging

Hire a turf cutter and remove the dead material by cutting away approximately 75 - 100mm of the surface.

Then lay 50 - 75mm of either 60/40 or 80/20 underlay mix (depending on your new turf variety).  

Evaluate Your Soil

Most turf types prefer and perform best on a light sandy soil.

In locations where the subsoil has a high proportion of sand the application of an additional soil mix may be unnecessary. However, in order to assist with the leveling of your lawn a fresh layer of soil mix is often useful.

Many building sites will have had their top soil totally removed and if the clay subsoil is exposed the application of natural gypsum at a rate of 1 kilogram per square metre is recommended. Followed by up to a 200 mm dressing of soil mix.

A starter fertiliser without a pre-emergent may be applied to your site before the turf is installed.