How do you prepare your yard before installing new turf?

I was out in the yard this morning and I noticed that my neighbor has pulled up all of his new turf after only 3 months. I am assuming that some of the grass had started to turn yellow and go all patchy in places and he must have had areas that were waterlogged. He also had this massive diagonal ridge in the corner of the yard and I have no idea how it happened. His landscaper friend came over to have a look but he couldn’t work out how it had happened either.

It won’t. It never does.

So what happens when you say… Laying new turf without proper ground preparation is like painting over a cracked wall. Looks convincing for a while, maybe even beautiful, and then one morning you notice the fractures bleeding through and realize the problem was always underneath, waiting.

Most Important Step for Laying Turf Before You Start

Most people get the following things wrong before they even start; they focus on choosing the correct type of grass for their area, getting the right time for delivery of the new lawn turf, and making sure that the correct amount of turf is delivered to their door in fresh rolls. However, the preparation of the ground before laying the new turf is by far the most important part of the whole process. Yes, it is hard work. Yes, it is crouching, digging, staring at dirt for long periods of time. But, it is also almost entirely invisible. It is only when the new lawn starts to fail that you see the real work that was done to prepare the soil for it.

After you have let a lawn die because you become VERY thorough when preparing for laying turf afterwards.

The actual steps, in order

There is a specific order to complete each of the steps to ensure the best possible results. Below are the steps to complete a turf installation in the correct order.

1. Clear the area completely. Remove all existing grass, weeds, rocks, and debris. If old grass is still present, use a sod cutter or herbicide (allow two weeks after spraying before proceeding). Don’t be tempted to turf over what’s already there — whatever’s rotting underneath will make itself known eventually.
2. Test and amend your soil. Grab a basic soil pH test kit. Most turf varieties prefer a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Sandy soil needs organic matter worked through it. Heavy clay needs gypsum or compost to loosen its grip. Don’t skip this, even if your soil “looks fine.” Looks fine is doing a lot of heavy lifting as a diagnostic tool.
3. Till to at least 10–15cm depth. Compacted soil is the enemy of healthy root establishment — roots hitting a wall of dense earth simply stop growing and start dying. A rotary hoe does this job well. You’re creating a loose, workable base that roots can actually penetrate and explore.
4. Add a quality topsoil or turf underlay. Spread 50–75mm of good topsoil across the area. Rake it out evenly. This is where a lot of people go thin because they’re tired and want to be done, and they regret it for years afterward.
5. Level, then level again. Rake the surface smooth, let it settle for a day, then rake again. Any low spots will collect water and drown your turf’s roots. Any high spots will dry out first, leaving you with those baffling brown patches in an otherwise green lawn. Use a long straightedge or drag a plank across to check for humps and hollows.
6. Firm the surface. Use a lawn roller (hire one if you don’t own one — it’s worth it) to lightly compact the topsoil. You want firm, not packed hard. The goal is a surface that doesn’t sink under your foot but still gives slightly, like a mattress that’s seen better days but still has some life in it.
7. Water lightly the day before. Moist soil helps turf rolls bond faster. Wet soil turns into a swampy mess that shifts underfoot. Lightly damp is the sweet spot — and yes, that distinction genuinely matters.

Levelling is harder than it looks

Levelling – this is hard work and most people fail at this. I have had perfect lawns in the past and I still struggle with this. The key is to be patient and allow the soil to settle in the night. The next day go back and check for any dips and fill with more soil as required. I like to walk around the entire lawn slowly in a grid pattern checking for any soft-spots. I then fill the soft-spots with soil and use my feet to pack it all down firmly until hard. I then use stakes to mark out the filled area and move on to the next soft-spot. This is back breaking work but it’s so much better to do it all once before laying the first piece of turf rather than creating a big ridge in the lawn several months later (like my neighbor did).

After the levelling it is best to wait for one night to allow the soil to settle. Then check for unevenness and draw lines where there are soft patches to create markers for the low points. Gradually fill in these depressions with soil, then use a lawn roller to firm the ground to a consistent height and have it ready for the next section of lawn. As you go re-check the entire lawn for unevenness and make the necessary amendments. This is the hardest part of establishing a new lawn but with this amount of attention it will flourish for years to come.

This also relates to why on slopes no matter how slight, every effort must be made to produce perfect and even ground in order to stop water from highlighting mistakes that would otherwise go un-noticed on a perfectly flat lawn.

A quick comparison: prepared vs. unprepared ground

When the turf actually arrives

For those new to turf, newly laid turf must be watered immediately after installation. For the highest quality lawn turf Perth-based Bett Turf would recommend avoiding foot traffic for the first two weeks after laying the lawn turf. Also, the earthy smell off newly laid turf can be got rid of with a good watering, which will allow the turf to bed into the garden soil quickly.

To begin laying the turf start with a straight edge such as a fence line or garden and work from there in sections. Try to lay the turf so that the joins are staggered as you would when laying brick to avoid long strips of joining seams. When laying the turf press it firmly to the ground to remove as much air as possible from underneath the turf. It is recommended that the turf be watered immediately after laying and that you avoid walking on the newly laid turf for at least two weeks after laying.

• Water deeply twice a day for the first week
• Drop back to once daily in week two
• Check that edges aren’t drying out and curling — they’ll do this aggressively if you neglect them, and once they curl and dry they’re difficult to flatten back down
• Your first mow should happen around the three-week mark, once roots have properly knitted into the soil beneath

One last thing, and I’m circling back to say it again

The lawn itself is not as important as the ground beneath it. In fact, the ground beneath the grass is the majority of the system and most people rarely consider the impact that the soil can have on a lawn. Of course, the grass is the mere surface of the system and the grass can be affected greatly by the ground beneath it. Thus, by ensuring that the ground is prepared before the grass is laid down, it can greatly affect the health of the grass in the long run.

I went on to explain that there is no short cut to installing a good quality lawn. All the work that is needed to establish a lawn of high quality is finite and after a while it repays your efforts with very little trouble.

It all goes wrong from the start.