laying turf help

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mark.t

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my garden has been a blank canvas for a few years now, got rid of the grass and laid gravel 7 ton to be precise the main problem is that it holds water as the ground is a clay like soil base, i intend to raise the garden area to be grassed about 10" clear of the natural water table this can be done with the existing gravel base + membrane and top soil with turf laid over the top ... is this the best way of doing the job or would you add anything to the top soil say cinders or sand before laying the turf which is going to be the hardest wearing , i know nothing about gardening "i just want decent grass and a nice boarder" ( the nights who say kneeeee) thats the wife has given these intructions any green fingers out there :D
 
green side up:D :D when laying the turf.

Seriously, if you are going to raise the current level by 10 inches or so, the water will still be trapped on the clay subsoil, you may need to provide some additional drainage, either a land drain or a shail trench.
 
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i know nothing about gardening "i just want decent grass and a nice boarder" ( the nights who say kneeeee) thats the wife has given these intructions any green fingers out there :D

Do you have kids/animals? I ask this as a decent lawn is one of the hardest things to achieve if you have either of the aforementioned in your household - they have the annoying habit of running/playing/digging/s**ting all over it.

Others have posted about drainage. I would be careful about overdoing it. my mother had a claggy back lawn on a slight slope. I dug a 2 foot deep trench (gravel-filled) down the lawn with 45 degree runs coming in to it. this all met at a 4 foot deep, 3 foot wide gravel filled trench at the bottom of the garden:eek: . suffice it to say the garden has never suffered from dampness ever since (10 years now). recently she moaned her garden was too dry:rolleyes: . so be careful!

As the others say mix sand or cinders to help but if you build the lawn like a golf course green be prepared to water it!
 
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If you have a high water table and heavy clay soil, then the best thing would have been to put in some drainage before you put the gravel on.

I would still try and do that before you put anything else on top if you can. Some type of cinders or sand will help the grass drain, but not if the ground below is already saturated. It will also allow you to make the surface very flat before you lay the turf.

Russ
 
When you say raised with a membrane,,why do you need this,,the water must drain,if it is isolated from the under soil/ gravel it could die during warm dry spells.
 
Do you have kids/animals? I ask this as a decent lawn is one of the hardest things to achieve if you have either of the aforementioned in your household - they have the annoying habit of running/playing/digging/s**ting all over it.

yes two kids that's why i have gone for the hardest wearing turf - rye grass type ....and i will try to stop them sh**ing on it :D

If you have a high water table and heavy clay soil, then the best thing would have been to put in some drainage before you put the gravel on.

I would still try and do that before you put anything else on top if you can. Some type of cinders or sand will help the grass drain, but not if the ground below is already saturated. It will also allow you to make the surface very flat before you lay the turf.

Russ

yes drainage already in ducting laid still holds water

When you say raised with a membrane,,why do you need this,,the water must drain,if it is isolated from the under soil/ gravel it could die during warm dry spells.

the membrane will be porous to let water through but not let the gravel and top soil mix the height of the gravel will be at the highest point of the water in the garden so the top soil will be just dipping its toes in the water ...


i am banging the wife head against the wall on this one ...i have to get it right as for the first time as my wife is doing the work as my my digging days are over..


The wife wants to know if we can look at the gravel we've put down as good quality hardcore and start from there?
 
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Do you have kids/animals? I ask this as a decent lawn is one of the hardest things to achieve if you have either of the aforementioned in your household - they have the annoying habit of running/playing/digging/s**ting all over it.

Just as I'd trained my daughter not to, my dog started to!! :D

The 40mph laps of the garden don't help much either. The dog that is. Not the daughter.
 
my uncle put the drainage in :rolleyes: ..... so that answers that point ..... we seam to have got above the level of water so will go with cinder top soil mix ..... turf (green side up) and fingers crossed ...we had grass before so hopefully all will be OK
 
my uncle put the drainage in :rolleyes: ..... so that answers that point ..... we seam to have got above the level of water so will go with cinder top soil mix ..... turf (green side up) and fingers crossed ...we had grass before so hopefully all will be OK

looks like i need to come and do your drainage again ;) . by the time i've finished your garden will make the Gobi desert look like a tropical paradise:D
 

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