Replacing patio slabs with turf

[Dustyy]

Hi all,
I am in the process of lifting a number of old patio slabs in preparation for laying a new lawn for little nipper to crawl on in the summer. Now these slabs have been down for 10+ years and I was wondering about the condition of the soil underneath and its ability to sustain a newly laid lawn.
Can anyone offer any advice as to whether i need to remove the first few inches of this soil and put in some fresh top soil or will the soil be ok once i have dug it over (thinking of adding fertiliser of some sort) and raked it?

Also, which is laid first, the lawn edging stones or the lawn itself??

And, finally..... can anyone recommend any particular brand/type of turf? The lawn is to be for general back garden use.

Many thanks for any feedback, i am on a steep learning curve with the gardening side of DIY!!

 

[Thermo]

dusty, it should be ok once dug over, providing youve removed any sand, cement etc from the patio. I would always add some decent levelling soil to it though and some feed to give the lawn a boost, as the soil you have will have been deprived of nitrogeon for a while.

If you lay the edging first its easier to have a border to work to, and the turf should really be the last thing you put down. I would go for what most suppliers refer to as a standard turf, which has a mix of rye grass in it. This will be hard wearing and survive the children playing on it and bounce back quicker. It will also need less maintenance

 

[breezer]

just a thought, why not lay a soaker hose down before you turf, saves you having to put a sprinkler on it

like this
other suppliers of soaker hose are available

 

[mrgrumpy]

just a thought, why not lay a soaker hose down before you turf, saves you having to put a sprinkler on it

like this
other suppliers of soaker hose are available

But will cost you a fortune, if your on a water meter like me

 

[breezer]

not if you also have a water butt

 

[Thermo]

you wont get enough pressure off of it to circulate it under the lawn, unless you can get it very very high

 

[breezer]

doesnt need hardly any pressure (alegedly)

 

[Thermo]

allegedly is the right word. i've tried running the soaker hoses with the small holes in, about 2 meters down below a water butt on a sloping site and theres not enough pressure to get the water through the holes! Might work with one of the soaker hoses made totally from the absorbent material though.

 

[mrgrumpy]

Got to agree with Thermo (not again!), you would have to put the butt in the loft to get enough pressure. Anything else and there would be no point to having underground watering, spraying each night with a hosepipe would be more efficient.

 

[Thermo]

good on you grumpy, see you can be an agreeable old git (maybe we should change your name now to mr agreeable!)

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

good on you grumpy, see you can be an agreeable old git (maybe we should change your name now to mr agreeable!)

Hold on Thermo, one spring don't make a swallow ( Did I get that right ?? )

 

[Hazelb]

I'd dissagree with Thermo's first post. The soil under the paving could be quite 'dead'. The last thing you want to do is spend time and effort laying turf and then finding it doesn't establish!

Depending on the area you have to turf I'd suggest removing some of the top soil or at least mixing in some good quality top soil before laying the turf. It is also wise to make sure that there isn't a layer of compacted subsoil that will interfere with the lawns drainage!
If it is a small lawn You may find it easier to lay the stone lawn edging first. That will give you an edge to level the lawn to.

As for the soaker hose, not good idea if you plan on airating the lawn later

 

[Thermo]

did i not say add some levelling soil and some feed to improve it?