Hello everyone, Can someone please explain to me how to properly install sod. We bought our house a year ago and the neighbor said that the previous owners had sod installed. Well needless to say it looks terrible. Of course we do nothing to it al our work is on clients properties lol. But say i wanted to install sod on a lwan that was very bare. Do you have to till the whole thing then grade then add compost or anything into the soil beffore laying the sod? Im am curious because i may want to offer this service to our customers if its profibility is up there.
You wanted steps, here is the steps I do:
Remove existing weeds, lawn and what ever is garbage. If there is a lot of weeds, spray it with a non-seletive herbicide that WILL NOT EFFECT THE SOIL. Keep in mind you will have to wait from 3 to 6 weeks before removing. Some people just till in the eixsting lawn and weeds.Me, I remove it.
Till the ground and till the ground. Loosen up the soil that is to be the planting area. Fill in any valleys created by turning the tiller.
Mix in your soil admenment... compost redwood chips ect...
Rough grade the area to be installed with sod..This is the time to install irrigation if applicable.
Roll area and do your final grade.
Lay down a starter fertilizer...
Lay down sod.
If you are going to be offering this service, at least in my state and I'm in other states, a Landscape Contractor Liscens is mandetory
One thing Kirby's link left out (or maybe I just didn't see it):
Roll out (with a water-filled roller) the tiller-up soil to compact & flatten it. Then rake the high spots with a wide landscape rake. Really get it flat!
All of the above are great. You could also check out my web site for my sod farm. I have a button with instructions and if you want you can go to my links page to find a professional sod producer in your ares. Just go to my links page and click on Turfgrass Producers International. I think you will find it very helpful.
Let me just jump in and ask why do you guys roll your prep work? Rolling only leads to compaction and the only time we roll is with a hand pull roller after the sod is down. Our take rate so far is absolutely perfect but is there something I'm missing. I'm not scolding just looking to gain some info. Usually after we preparate and pulverize its pretty flat and ready.
Scott
SCL, could be a regional thing. You are correct for midwestern soils. We use a roller only 1/3 filled with water after laying sod, to be sure sod is seated well. If you are going to till soil to loosen it for easy root growth, why re-compact it by rolling?
i've been laying sod for over 10 yrs in the detroit mi area and when i start a sod job the first thing i do is a rough grade to remove any rocks or big clumps then i'll spread the topsoil then regrade it then lay the sod.I never have to roll anything and i only use fertilizer when i'm doin seeding.Ido all my grading with my atv.
A step that I may have left out, we do roll again with a hand roller to help level. It does not compact the soil all that much. We then re-rake to loosen the ground and get any additinal debris such as small rocks or roots. Hope this clarifies some things. Just to add something, everybody has their way of doing things. From region to region things are done differently.
John
Rolling out the roto-tilled soil does compact it some, it brings it down closer to the grade that it will be at after it all "settles in".
I'm surely the newest/least experienced at this, so I'll defer to greater experience on this. But how do y'all get your sod to be at the "right level" if you just lay it on soil that will settle down a half-inch or maybe 2 inches (depending on how fluffed up it got when rototilling).
My "lawns" are almost all set up next to paved areas such as patios or sidewalks, so the final grade is really important.
I don't think it will be that much of an issue. I try to keep at least 1/2" to 3/4" below paved or cement level. Depends on who will be cutting the lawn afterwards. What I mean by this is some people cut their lawns too short other people cut it at the required high. Thatch does raise up the level somewhat, so it's a guessing game that you can only guess right by having experience.
John
I will be posting pics soon(next 3 to 4 weeks) of follow ups to sod jobs that are on my current web page. Most of these sod lawns are now over a year old.
We usually tear up the old sod and add, 4 to 6 inches of topsoil, usually a 3-way mix, roll with water roller, rake several times to take out the highs and lows. put down a starter fert lay the sod, abd roll again. i have never had any complaints yet.
All sand here. We roll before installation to get surface as flat as possible. The roller will make uneven areas jump out at you. We want it flat...like a pool table. As we are working in sand compaction is not an issue. Like the others we also spread a starter fertilizer before laying the sod. We also soak the soil prior to laying the sod. Hope this helps. All areas are different, this is what works for us.
I also roll before laying sod for the same reason as Avery. It is not something overly important but I do it with a roller less than half full. It doesnt compact it, but it does show the high spots for final leveling, and gets rid of excess fluff. I generally only do it if I tilled, or layed out more than 2" of top soil.
I have always worked up soil but never rolled untill after sod is down. After soil is all worked up I use a sheet of plywood throw it down stand on it and you will see every low spot then just rake off high spot to low spot and it as level as a pool table. Install sod and then roll. It may not be the fastest but it not to bad and I do believe it will produce the flatest possable lawn.
Alpine, you talk about concrete ground, but maybe what you mean is clay soil. Water doesn't flow as quickly through clay and tends to pool on top of it, and erosion can be a problem on slopes. Out here we have a problem with lava. Some homes are literally thrown on top of solid rock with only a few inches of topsoil, or less, for their yards. These yards have a rapid cycle going from soaking wet after irrigation to near bone dry in a matter of hours. If I had clay out here, I'd rototil in a lot of organic material and the top with a layer of topsoil.
Make the seams tight. I have seen many jobs around here with weeds in rows coming up between the pieces of sod.
If butting up against existing turf then cut out the existing turf to the edge of the new sod. Don't just lay the new sod over the edge of the old. (some here do and it looks like sh##)
I have a 8ft 4x4 with a rope tied to each end that I pull across an area to see where the high and low spots are and move some of the soil around to level it off.
Down here, the concept is "soil to soil" contact. What ever it takes to make that happen, quote accordingly. Some times weeds must me remove, other times it's weeds and lime stones from the sizes of a fist to 4' in diameter.
I've been told that roto tilling can unearth weed seeds and promote germination. In my experience, the more we roto tilled, the more rocks were exposed, thus creating more prep work.
Again, "soil to soil" contact. A lil starter fertilizer and a lot of water will yield acceptable results. The sod should remain moist until it began to root into the soil (approx 2 weeks). From there, it is ready to be put on a regular watering pattern.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Lawn Care Forum
7M posts
202.7K members
Since 1999
A forum community dedicated to lawn care and landscaping professionals and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!