If you're tired of looking at lawn full of weeds and bare spots, you can get a lush, new lawn in a hurry if you put in new sod. You'll save money by doing it yourself, but you need the right tools to do the job. Fortunately, you don't have to invest a lot of money in equipment, since you can rent what you need from a tool rental company.
Here is an overview of the process and the tools required for each step:
Remove The Old Lawn
Your old sod has to be removed first. The easiest and fastest way to do that is to rent a sod cutter. This is a small machine that's similar to a lawn mower. Rather than having a rotating blade that cuts the top of the grass, a sod cutter has a straight blade that cuts the roots from the bottom, so the grass is lifted from the soil.
Once you've made a pass with the cutter on one row of your lawn, you'll need to roll up the loose sod and get it out of the way, so you can make another pass. You only need to rent the sod cutter for a few hours depending on the size of your yard.
If you have someone walk behind you to roll up the loose sod, the job goes much faster.
Prepare The Soil
Next you have to prepare the soil so it is ready for the new sod. You can do it with a shovel and rake, but if you have a very big yard, it's a lot less work to use a tiller. You can rent an ordinary garden tiller and use it on your lawn in the same way you would till space for a garden. This breaks up clods and compacted soil so the roots from the new sod can attach. Be sure to remove rocks, roots, and other debris that is churned up by the tiller.
Once the soil has been worked, you have to firm it up a little. Rent a lawn roller to make this job easier. This is a device that you push like a mower, but instead of blades, it has a big drum on the bottom. Add water to the drum to make it heavy enough to compact the soil, and then push it across your lawn. You can tell when the soil is prepared properly by looking at your footprints. They should be visible, but not sunken into the ground.
Lay New Sod
Putting in new sod is fairly easy. If you buy it in rolls, all you have to do is unroll the sod onto the soil. If you buy it in squares, put the squares in by filling up a row at at time starting close to your house and working toward the curb.
The tricky part is installing the new sections of sod without trampling sod already in place. It helps if you draw up a plan in advance so you know how to place the sod around sidewalks and trees without having to backtrack. Once your sod is where you want it, you can use the lawn roller once again. Roll it over your yard to tamp the sod into the soil to encourage root attachment.
Although it's a lot of work to install sod yourself, the end result of a lush, beautiful lawn makes it worthwhile. By renting the proper tools for the job, you'll be able to do the job right. This ensures your new lawn is healthy right from the start. To learn more, contact a company like White Bear Rental.
Share4 June 2015
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