How To Redo My Lawn

Thinking Of Replacing Your Lawn Follow These 4 Expert Tips For Best Results

• Compaction, increased shade and wear are the biggest reasons to renew your lawn
• Lawn replacement is a cheaper option than other surfaces in most cases
• Choose the right type of lawn to get the best return on your investment

Many home lawns get to the stage where even the best maintenance and upkeep sees their lawn areas struggle to thrive and sometimes even survive. Its a common scenario that the lawn type is either not right, the soil and ground preparation was poor in the beginning or shade and wear and even drainage issues become more problematic, the older the lawn gets. New housing estates are often rushed, with little attention to lawn areas and quite commonly are the dumping area for builders refuse whilst the building is going on and then its a quick clean-up and a trickle of topsoil or whatever is laying around and the turf down as quick as possible. Often there can be drainage issues, the soil and turf type were probably the cheapest available at the time and the inevitable increase of shade and wear with growing shrubs and children taking their toll on your lawn.

If its got to the point-of-no-return, then look at the following 4 options when you consider replacing your lawn:

Why Renovate Your Lawn

There are many reasons to take on the task of a fall lawn renovation, first among them is because it will make your yard look better and can help raise your property value. No one wants to look out at bare patches or thick weeds in their yard. In addition, a nice, lush lawn helps control soil erosion, filters pollution from groundwater, keeps the summer ground temperatures more moderate and adds much-needed oxygen to the air. Our lawn and garden care products provides the essential nutrients necessary to fully renovate your lawn.

Be Realistic About The Work Involved

It takes quite a bit of money, time, and sweat equity to kill a lawn so that you can begin anew.

You should also be aware that certain methods can negatively impact the environment, so keep this in mind when making your decisions and be mindful about how you proceed.

Make sure to find out whether your homeowners association or local environmental agency has any rules with regard to this process.

Also its wise to check-in with your neighbors. Im a big believer that following proper lawn care etiquette and being respectful of the people you live near is worth the time and energy.

You will need to strike a balance between all the competing factors and requirements. This wont be a perfect process, and you cant make everyone happy, but making the effort to do things the right way and to be respectful of your neighbors and the environment is worth doing.

Be aware that you can use a variety of methods when killing a lawn and starting over, and that you use different approaches on different parts of your lawn, depending on your needs and preferences.

Homeowners who have an underground irrigation system should know where all their pipe and sprinkler heads are on the lawn, in order to try to prevent damage during the digging and tilling processes.

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Add A Protective Coat

If you arent applying a protective enamel finish to your painted metal furniture, Henry says youre doing it wrong. A final clear coat of oil-based urethane will provide added durability and help prevent future damage to the furniture, she says. She recommends sticking with an oil-based enamel, versus a water-based one, since they last longer and often create a brighter finish.

Why Renovate A Lawn

You may want to consider renovating a home lawn if:

• the lawn species or variety is frequently attacked by disease or insects and it has caused the lawn to thin out,
• the landscape has become increasingly shady over time and the original lawn is thin and unhealthy,
• the lawn was severely injured or totally killed by disease, insects, or drought, or if it was winterkilled, or if you want to completely convert from one turf species to another.

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Continue Feeding The Lawn

Wait four weeks after seeding and re-apply LovelandGolf Course Starter or Renovator.

Finally, after another four weeks, apply Loveland Snowman the most essential fertilizer to use over your new lawn. Snowman boosts root growth and supplies vital nutrients to enhance drought and traffic tolerances as well as promote early spring green up.

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About Remodeling Expense

Remodeling Expenses provides homeowners with accurate cost information on home services and level the playing field for consumers and service professionals. We aim to have data on all US zip codes, so homeowners from all over the country can lookup accurate and up to date pricing information.

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What Others Are Saying

We were in the planning stages of our exterior remodeling project that included: New siding, windows, fencing, and a deck refacing.

RemodelingExpense had pretty darn accurate cost calculators that helped us budget our projects, all relevant to our zipcode and contractors near me. I felt good Knowing exactly how much I should pay without getting ripped off. Francesca, Charlotte, NC

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How Bad Is Your Lawn

Its not uncommon for homeowners to say their lawn is in bad shape when pursuing lawn renovation services. But what really constitutes a bad lawn? There are obviously varying degrees of just how bad of shape your lawn is really in.

For the purposes of this article and understanding lawn renovation steps, its important to be on the same page in understanding what a bad lawn means. We find that lawns could generally fit into three categories: the lawn that is in decent shape, the lawn that is not-so-great, and the lawn that is in terrible shape. Lets look at each category.

Best Way To Redo Lawn

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Roman Chamomile Ground Cover

Roman chamomile costs between $80 and $115 per pound to plant. It is a very low-maintenance and eco-friendly choice that grows in direct sunlight and partial shade. Plus, it gives off a pleasant scent that is similar to that of fresh apples. You can choose to mow a chamomile yard though it is not required. It also requires little water and is a great source of enrichment for surrounding plants. Dont plant Roman chamomile in your yard if you have pets because this variety is toxic to animals if ingested.

Grass Plug Planting Tips From A High Country Gardens Customer

“I think the advantage of the water drilling does a couple of things like pushing water down 8″ inches and gives the plants a good passive watering. Also, it is a lot easier on your back. I did around 500 plugs and the time was about 5 hours. If you have a friend or two you could get the job quicker.” — Customer Erik L.

• The old grass was killed, then tilled and raked level.
• Drip soaker lines were installed in a grid with 12″x12″ spacing.
• A root water feeder was used to water-drill the holes. They used a section of 3/4 PVC with a coupler and inserted it into each hole that was water drilled. This method works particularly well if you have very hard soil.
• They drilled and planted in batches of 30.
• They dipped all plugs into Soil Moist before placing them in the holes and covering the roots with soil.

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What Does Landscaping Cost

Impossible to say, right? There are so many variables and each landscape project is unique. Ross NW Watergardens has done landscape renovations that were just a couple thousand dollars and residential landscapes that were over $900,000. I can pretty much guarantee that your project falls somewhere between those two extremes

But I can do better than that.

In this post I will try to give an overview of a typical landscape renovation with some ballpark prices. Further down is pricing specific to Portland, OR.

This patio and retaining wall was around $8000.00

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Remove Weeds And Thatch

Start the actual renovation by removing weeds especially the perennial ones manually or with a herbicide. This keeps other species from competing with your new grass. If you use herbicides, be sure to read the labels and follow the instructions. Most products will allow you to seed in seven days, but some weedkillers will keep your seeds from germinating for three to six weeks.

Check if you need to manage thatch by digging up a small plug of turf, several inches deep. If the spongy layer is more than three quarters of an inch thick when you compress it, its time to have your lawn dethatched. If your lawn is larger than 300 square meters, you would want to use a power rake or a scarifier. For smaller lawns, a manual thatching rake will do.

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How To Restore A Lawn Full Of Weeds

Read our handy guide on how to restore a weedy, patchy lawn to its former glory.

If your lawn is patchy and full of weeds, it will never be the envy of the neighborhood. What youre after is a lush, green lawn with even grass and no dandelions poking their way through. That may sound hard to achieve, but it isnt too difficult if you follow these steps.

If you only have a few pesky weeds punctuating your lawn, you may be able to dig them up by handpaying careful attention to make sure you get them roots and all. But if your lawn is overrun with weeds, you may need to start from scratch. Heres our how-to guide on restoring a lawn full of weeds.

Once your lawn is nice and green, we recommend hiring a professional lawn care company to help you maintain it to keep it weed-free. Our top recommendation goes to industry leader TruGreen.

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What To Cover New Grass Seed With

One important part of planting grass seed in your lawn is making sure the seed stays in place long enough and is moist and warm enough to grow in the soil effectively. To achieve both of these things, your contractor will place a layer of materials over the newly planted seeds and keep it there until the seedlings begin to show. You can choose from a variety of materials, including compost, plastic, mulch, and straw. Depending on which one you choose, you can expect to pay between $10 and $80.

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Reasons Your Lawn Is Full Of Weeds

Starting out, you probably want to know just why weeds have overtaken your grass, so you can prevent it from happening again.

• Poor grass growth: Weeds thrive in thinning grass. The best way to keep weeds out is to have thick, tall, dense grass all over your lawn. If your grass is cut too short, its more susceptible to a full-on weed invasion. Setting your mower to the highest setting can help with this.
• Not enough water: Weeds tend to have robust root systems, and can easily compete with your grass for moisture. If you are not watering your grass enough, the weeds can absorb what water there is, taking it away from your grassroots.
• Compacted soil: If your soil becomes too compacted, whether from excessive foot traffic or poor soil composition, your grassroots wont have access to the nutrients, water, or air they need. This stressed turf makes for an exceptional weed breeding ground.

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Sprinkler System Installation Cost

Sprinkler systems average $4,000 to $7,000. A sprinkler system lessens the pain of caring for your lawn and also conserves water. Sprinkler systems may not be installed everywhere you landscape but are typically installed in large sections of grass. The sprinklers should be on a as they do not have the same water needs. They are plumbed below ground so that only the sprinkler heads are visible. They often operate on a schedule, which takes the guesswork out of watering.

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What Is Lawn Renovation

Lawn renovation involves killing existing turf and replacing it with new grass without tilling or changing the grade which is normally done during the establishment of a new lawn. Partial lawn renovation may also include the items listed below.

• Introduce a new or improved variety of the same turfgrass species into an existing lawn. For example, seeding a new bluegrass variety into an existing bluegrass lawn.
• Introduce a similar-looking species into an existing lawn such as perennial ryegrass in a bluegrass lawn.

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Digging Up Live Lawn Method

If you decide to dig up your lawn without killing it first, you will need specific power equipment, and a plan for where youll dispose of your old sod.

You should have a tiller, preferably a rear-tine, heavy duty type rototiller. Look into renting equipment thats a bit on the heavier side, and I highly recommend that you rent a sod cutter. This tool will be able to cut beneath the turf and cut your old lawn sod into strips. This is a necessary part of the process and will make the whole process go faster.

Removing the Old Lawn Turf

After taking a pass with the sod cutter, roll the strips up and dispose of them.

I like to use old sod to fill the bottom of my raised garden beds. I turn them upside down so the grass dies, and then cover them with a 50/50 blend of compost and loam from my local nursery.

If you arent adding a garden to your property, see if someone in your neighborhood could use the old sod, or find a brush dump or composting facility nearby.

If you dont rent a sod cutter, you can use a sharp, flat shovel to remove the grass manually.

I dont recommend this method for large lawns. It is a very difficult process and is really only practicable for a small area of lawn.

Replacing the Topsoil Youve Removed

When you remove all the sod, youre also removing organic material.

This must be replaced.

Failing to do so will result in a weak lawn that struggles to grow and which could be even worse than it was before.

Planting Your Grass Seed

What You Should Let The Pros Handle

Some common tasks when redoing your landscaping require specialized skills to accomplish safely or without causing further damage to your yard:

• Removing large trees and shrubs.
• Tearing up large portions of your lawn.
• Demolishing an elevated deck.
• Tearing down unstable or high retaining walls.

“Tree care specialists are the best for taking care of any large trees. A landscaping company can handle smaller-specimen trees and shrubs.”

– Molly Meulenbroek | General Manager, Studleys Flower Garden

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Keep Seed Consistently Moist

After fertilizing, water lightly so the soil surface is wet. Continue watering daily, keeping the seed consistently moist, and so the soil does not become hard or baked. This requires watering multiple times a day. As the grass seed begins to germinate and fill in, reduce the watering frequency, but increase the amount of water with each irrigation. Deep watering as the grass matures will train the roots to penetrate deep into the soil.

Preparing Grass Plugs For Planting

Before planting the plugs make sure they are well watered but not soggy. Make a few shallow slices into the sides and bottom of the plugs root ball to encourage lateral root growth into the surrounding soil. To speed the transplantation process, just before planting, plugs should be removed from the tray, have their roots sliced, and placed in a box or flat in the shade to await transplanting.

For Best Results Use Soil Moist:These non-toxic granules store over 200x their weight in water, steadily releasing water as your grass plugs need it for 3-5 years. It will reduce watering and transplant shock. This must be used at root level, not as a top-dressing. For best results, use as a root dip when planting.

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Tips To Keep Your Lawn Healthy

After youve gone through the trouble and expense of reviving your dead lawn, the last thing you want is for it to fall back into less than prime conditions. This is where good aftercare comes into play and can mean the difference in a thick, green flourishing lawn and one containing dead areas and in need of reviving.