New Build, Garden?
Discussion
The OH and I have bought our first house together.
It's a new build and the back garden is just 100% mud. There doesn't appear to be any building debris in there or anything but it's obviously not very attractive.
It's not a huge garden so the idea for now was just to turf the lot and get on with the rest of the house before we look at it again.
So how do i go from mud to grass? I'm assuming i can't just turn over the soil, rake, flatten and turf? Should i be getting topsoil in first? If so, to what depth?
Cheers
It's a new build and the back garden is just 100% mud. There doesn't appear to be any building debris in there or anything but it's obviously not very attractive.
It's not a huge garden so the idea for now was just to turf the lot and get on with the rest of the house before we look at it again.
So how do i go from mud to grass? I'm assuming i can't just turn over the soil, rake, flatten and turf? Should i be getting topsoil in first? If so, to what depth?
Cheers
It's a new build. You are guaranteed to find rubble in there as soon as you start digging. If you want a nice lawn then you will have to remove the top 1-2ft of crap they have left there and replace with proper top soil. Then either turf or seed, turfing is quicker of course.
I speak from experience on this. When we bought ours they just laid turf over mud and rubble and it did not survive. We ended up landscaping the whole lot, removing the remaining turf and putting weed fabric and gravel down. Even now (9 years later) when I want to plant something I am digging out concrete, half bricks, plastic piping and bubblewrap.
Trace
I speak from experience on this. When we bought ours they just laid turf over mud and rubble and it did not survive. We ended up landscaping the whole lot, removing the remaining turf and putting weed fabric and gravel down. Even now (9 years later) when I want to plant something I am digging out concrete, half bricks, plastic piping and bubblewrap.
Trace
Get a rotavator in and churn it up. This'll throw up any big stones/ rubbish that needs to be removed.
Then using a rake, level the soil. This'll still throw up unwanted rubbish. Chuck to the side as necessary.
Then trample the soil by doing a shuffle with your feet along the whole plot. This'll pack it down and shown up any humps and bumps.
Level off again with the rake.
Now start putting the turf down. Lay from one side and use scaffold boards to walk/ kneel on. Lay turf staggered like a brick joints.
Once laid you'll need to keep this watered to avoid the turf shrinking and gaps appearing between your rolls. Get a sprinkler on it for a few hours a day for a while to help bed it in.
David
Then using a rake, level the soil. This'll still throw up unwanted rubbish. Chuck to the side as necessary.
Then trample the soil by doing a shuffle with your feet along the whole plot. This'll pack it down and shown up any humps and bumps.
Level off again with the rake.
Now start putting the turf down. Lay from one side and use scaffold boards to walk/ kneel on. Lay turf staggered like a brick joints.
Once laid you'll need to keep this watered to avoid the turf shrinking and gaps appearing between your rolls. Get a sprinkler on it for a few hours a day for a while to help bed it in.
David
My new build was turf right on to the ground left after building. It's survived. But the problem is the soil is barren. The whole thing is almost brown this year, and it's been nice growing conditions I'd think. Wet and bright.
So personally I'd say: Gravel the lot, and have raised beds for flowers if you must and pots with things in. Has to be much easier to keep.
So personally I'd say: Gravel the lot, and have raised beds for flowers if you must and pots with things in. Has to be much easier to keep.
We bought a new build house.
The soil they put in your garden is just what they happened to scrape off the top of the field before starting to build - they heap it up at one end of the estate and then bring it back when needed.
This means it is, basically, agricultural land type soil. Round our way that is 1% soil, 90% chalk, 10% f
k off great flints.
Add to this they have just built a house. All the crud, cement bags, pallet ties etc is just left where it drops and covered with the "topsoil".
Amazingly you CAN turf over this and it stays sort of alive. We did this whilst the Mrs designed the garden for five years.
However - the turf was NEVER any good, really. If I dug down to plant anything I found huge flints or old roof tiles and would end up chucking away a binful of crap just to plant a shrub.
So. In the end we dug the lot out and replaced it with decent top soil. The lawn now looks damn good.
But that was very, very, VERY expensive. If are willing to navvy away for a while you can simply dig up and sieve the soil you have - chucking away the rubble and rocks into a skip. Bring in just a few tonnes of decent soil to dig through at the end.
We did quite an ambitious garden so the build took a big team and cost a lot. If you just want decking and a lawn and are willing/capable to DIY you could slash costs.
Good luck.
The soil they put in your garden is just what they happened to scrape off the top of the field before starting to build - they heap it up at one end of the estate and then bring it back when needed.
This means it is, basically, agricultural land type soil. Round our way that is 1% soil, 90% chalk, 10% f
k off great flints.Add to this they have just built a house. All the crud, cement bags, pallet ties etc is just left where it drops and covered with the "topsoil".
Amazingly you CAN turf over this and it stays sort of alive. We did this whilst the Mrs designed the garden for five years.
However - the turf was NEVER any good, really. If I dug down to plant anything I found huge flints or old roof tiles and would end up chucking away a binful of crap just to plant a shrub.
So. In the end we dug the lot out and replaced it with decent top soil. The lawn now looks damn good.
But that was very, very, VERY expensive. If are willing to navvy away for a while you can simply dig up and sieve the soil you have - chucking away the rubble and rocks into a skip. Bring in just a few tonnes of decent soil to dig through at the end.
We did quite an ambitious garden so the build took a big team and cost a lot. If you just want decking and a lawn and are willing/capable to DIY you could slash costs.
Good luck.
thanks for the help..... a quick question about fencing if i may?
I am not too keen on all these feather edge closed board fencing things that you can get at B&Q. My old man in our last house put up a fence that was basically 6 foot fence posts (well 6' above soil, concreted in place) and then it had wide boards put horizontally between each post - the boards alternated sides so i would have one board, a board sized space, another board - then on the other side where my board "space" was, a board went in to cover it up. It was alternating board to board. The idea being that there was no "ugly" side. What style of fencing would you call this?
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If that makes sense? What size of board would he have used? The only thing i can find close is gravel board at ~£5 per board. Would work out expensive i think.
I am not too keen on all these feather edge closed board fencing things that you can get at B&Q. My old man in our last house put up a fence that was basically 6 foot fence posts (well 6' above soil, concreted in place) and then it had wide boards put horizontally between each post - the boards alternated sides so i would have one board, a board sized space, another board - then on the other side where my board "space" was, a board went in to cover it up. It was alternating board to board. The idea being that there was no "ugly" side. What style of fencing would you call this?
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If that makes sense? What size of board would he have used? The only thing i can find close is gravel board at ~£5 per board. Would work out expensive i think.
Edited by AMCDan on Sunday 19th April 18:09
All of the above is why you get the rotavator in. This'll ruck up the top foot of soil. What this chucks up, you chuck away.
If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will effect the turf is another matter.
If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will effect the turf is another matter.
Gingerbread Man said:
All of the above is why you get the rotavator in. This'll ruck up the top foot of soil. What this chucks up, you chuck away.
If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will affect the turf is another matter.
We looked at the rotorvator method but as the soil was the heaviest, nastiest grey clay you have ever seen we decided to use the 'cover it and try not think about it too much' method If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will affect the turf is another matter.
Fair play if things have changed but I certainly won't be buying another new build, this being among one of the many reasons!
Trace
Ace-T said:
Gingerbread Man said:
All of the above is why you get the rotavator in. This'll ruck up the top foot of soil. What this chucks up, you chuck away.
If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will affect the turf is another matter.
We looked at the rotorvator method but as the soil was the heaviest, nastiest grey clay you have ever seen we decided to use the 'cover it and try not think about it too much' method If you're going to create planting pockets/ beds then you'll easily dig down over a foot and hit unwanted crap left over from new builds. It's shocking what you find under new turf on new builds. But the rotavator will chuck up and empty deep enough for turf to grow fine.
Your soil conditions, drainage and how this will affect the turf is another matter.
Fair play if things have changed but I certainly won't be buying another new build, this being among one of the many reasons!
Trace
I am a keen lawn grower and also have a couple of mates who have moved into new builds.
Whether it is a good idea putting down turf is dependent on how good the soil is, and what size you will be turfing. On my mates houses, IMHO the garden was so small it was hardly worth it, and there would have been some great options of decking and gravel etc.
As has been said the soil you may have is literally that. It can be all kinds of crap and is not topsoil but the soil which is feet below the soil level which is not good for holding water nor had nutrients or the consistency for growing much, let alone be good for getting turf going in the long term.
My advice would be to improve the soil before you start. There are a range of chemical treatments which can help with this, and adding natural things like soil improver will help. Time is also a healer in this respect as leaving it open to the elements helps the process.
Of course this work is also decreased if the overall plan of how much grass is needed is reduced. The other thing worth considering is to not use turf, but seed. Turf is seen as the easy option nowadays but IMHO the problems getting the soil in the turf to mesh with the soil below is underestimated and you have to drench the thing every other day just to keep it alive.
If you have a flat base you can use a utility grade seed. The grasses that will flourish in your soil type are in there and flourish rather than to make a pot luck guess with a turf.
Whether it is a good idea putting down turf is dependent on how good the soil is, and what size you will be turfing. On my mates houses, IMHO the garden was so small it was hardly worth it, and there would have been some great options of decking and gravel etc.
As has been said the soil you may have is literally that. It can be all kinds of crap and is not topsoil but the soil which is feet below the soil level which is not good for holding water nor had nutrients or the consistency for growing much, let alone be good for getting turf going in the long term.
My advice would be to improve the soil before you start. There are a range of chemical treatments which can help with this, and adding natural things like soil improver will help. Time is also a healer in this respect as leaving it open to the elements helps the process.
Of course this work is also decreased if the overall plan of how much grass is needed is reduced. The other thing worth considering is to not use turf, but seed. Turf is seen as the easy option nowadays but IMHO the problems getting the soil in the turf to mesh with the soil below is underestimated and you have to drench the thing every other day just to keep it alive.
If you have a flat base you can use a utility grade seed. The grasses that will flourish in your soil type are in there and flourish rather than to make a pot luck guess with a turf.
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