How to lay your new turf

How to Lay your new turf correctly

A well-maintained Turfworld lawn starts with laying it correctly. Your lawn is a living thing that needs regular care to stay healthy and lush. Following the right mowing techniques from the start will encourage strong growth and keep your turflooking its best.

1. Prepare your ground and be sure you leave about 10–15mm of tilth (loose soil) on the top. Make sure the ground is not too soft. An ideal way to determine this is to walk over the prepared area and if your shoe sinks in more than 10–15mm then you need to firm up the soil base.

2. Rake your soil to a level height.

3. Use some wooden planks to walk on the turf. You will need 2 of these. These will press the turf down onto the soil as you walk over them.

4. Always first lay the turf down around the perimeter (outside edge) of the area to be laid. Do not walk on the turf without using the wooden planks.

5. Now fill in the remaining area but try to stagger the end of the roll joints rather like a brick layer would do with his bricks when building a wall.

6. As you work across the laying area, position the wooden planks along the joints. This will help press them down and form a tight joint with the adjoining piece of turf.

7. Try not to stretch the turf as you lay it. Push it rather than pull it as you lay it, as stretching it might cause the joints to open up later as the turf shrinks back to its original size.

8. Thoroughly water your new lawn once laying is complete. Do not make it into a boggy mess but be sure the water is getting down to the soil. For larger projects requiring several days of laying, each day water the newly-laid area and the previous ones. When applying water try to do it as evenly as possible.

9. On hot days, water thoroughly during the evening when the sun has gone down and in the morning before the sun comes up. If you do see signs of shrinkage then water those areas more often.

View our other guides below, including our top 10 avoidable mistakes.