Most people consider laying a lawn as a Saturday afternoon's job. As long as you have soil and seed you're away. Mow lawn when the grass grows and hey presto you have a lawn. As we know here at Townsend Turf, it is not quite that simple so we have outlined a few tips to help you achieve the perfect lawn. So… in turf reality the perfect lawn is weed free, consistent grass cover, lovely and green with smooth flowing contours. So believe it or not, it is the ground level or shape that's so important. Get this part right and the rest is easy.

CAN YOU DO IT ????? YES YOU CAN !!!!!!

To Start With You Will Need :
Wheelbarrow
Shovel
Spade
Broom
Rake - ('Wolf Tools' make excellent ground preparation rakes. Their Long Span
    rakes have close tines for creating a seed bed and moving soil around efficiently.     They also bury the seed effectively because the tines are curved not straight as are     most conventional rakes)
Scratch Tool - a three pronged garden cultivator for cultivating hard bumps to loosen     soil (Wolf Tools also make these)
Seed & Fertiliser - (see your local seed merchant/garden shop for suitable type and     variety for your area and needs)
Hand Roller - to firm up large areas
Screed - you will probably have to make it but its well worth it!! It does what a rake     just can not do and sharpens up the look heaps. See simple instructions for making     this basic piece of equipment.

Optional :
Walk behind power cultivator for cultivating large areas or bumps when it is
    impractical to use the scratch tool. Usually available at hire outlets.
Windbreak cloth and ground staples/anchors - to aid germination. Only economical     on small areas and for the fusspots.
A Builder's Level

NEW LAWNS
Clear the site of all debris: stones, sticks etc

Sub grade
If starting without topsoil - that is you have a clay site, it is a great advantage to prepare this sub grade by leveling as accurately as possible as this will minimise the topsoil required and also ensure that the depth of topsoil is consistent which will aid a consistent grass cover. (When topsoil depth varies eg: some at 1 inch (25mm) and other areas at 6 inches (150mm) you end up with the surface looking patchy because the shallow areas will dry out quicker, stress the grass, and there isn't the depth of soil to maintain a healthy plant and consistent color.) The ultimate aim is to mirror image your surface to your base. Time spent at this stage to achieve a level sub grade will go a long way to minimising the surface (grass) maintenance. It helps avoid ponding issues with muddy areas, dry patches and compaction differences down track once the topsoil has settled. If uneven sub grade, the surface can settle unevenly resulting in an uneven surface.
Level sub grade with scratchy tool or powered cultivator for the bigger bumps. Transfer the excess material to the hollows. Level and roll in to compact and avoid settling. Once it appears level from standing, then get down with your ear almost touching the ground (i.e.: 2 inches (50mm) from the ground). It is only by doing this that the whole topography of your site will form before your eyes and you will become a professional at bump removal. Repeated sitings from different angles will expose all bumps that need to be removed. This is the essence of level/flat lawns or detecting inconsistencies of flat facets when it is to be a flowing undulating contour!!
90% of people will not get down and look from ground level!! It is the professional's main tool!!
Ensure your level of your sub grade falls away from buildings. You will improve your drainage with a correctly shaped sub grade. A builder's level on a length of timber placed on ground is a tool to check your grades.

Topsoil
You will require 4 inches (100mm) to 6 inches (150mm) of topsoil cover. In calculating the quantity of topsoil required eg: length x breadth x depth and an extra 40% to allow for consolidation i.e.: settling. Topsoil does settle from its purchased loose volume bought state! - Do not be deceived!
Make sure your topsoil is free of foreign matter eg: stones, glass, vegetation etc. Cultivated or screened topsoil is the easiest to work with - it will spread easy and form a seedbed tilth more quickly.
To ensure topsoil depth consistency, insert pegs as level indicators.

Load/barrow on the topsoil and rake out looking for bumps and hollows, tread with heel in around path edges etc so as to minimise settling. Remove pegs. Roll with hand roller once over. Please note : it does not have to be an aggressive enormous roller. The purpose of rolling is to consolidate soft spots and to expose bumps. Repeat the 'siting process' on your hands and knees from various angles raking bumps into the hollows until confident that the surface is satisfactorily level. Please note : if you are contouring - i.e.: shaping undulating ground, check by 'siting' that you have no flat facets of too sharp movements in your rolling shape. Roll lawn with a hand roller or heel in soil (tramping in by heel to heel). Only roll when soil is dry otherwise you will unnecessarily compact the soil. By rolling in or heeling you will discover soft spots and some more bumps might appear! Don't despair, the next step will see a perfectly leveled area ready for seeding, laying turf or whatever. The idea of rolling is to consolidate and aid the settling process. You are not trying to make a concrete driveway! So you only need to roll once or twice over the area. The roller may also be useful in crushing lumps. If your soil ends up with lots of marble-like lumps, consider watering and then leave to dry until not sticky. Then roll or rake and the lumps should shatter. The idea is to have the majority of the soil granules to a size less than 1/4 inch (5mm). Screeding The purpose of screeding is to discover more humps and hollows that you thought were all gone. By pulling the screed along the ground from one end to the other, you will discover soil building up along the leading edge and then perhaps disappearing when you encounter going over a hollow. When a little soil is right along the leading edge - without disappearing - wherever you drag the screed in different directions, you then know you have achieved a perfectly leveled area. Check for hard areas appearing while screeding. This indicates loose soil being removed from a bump. Hard areas that have been exposed need to be loosened up with the three pronged scratchy tool or rake. Then rescreed. This process may need to be repeated several times. Check that there is a loose even tilth of 1/2 inch (12mm) over the entire area. You will understand therefore if you have over rolled, it will be difficult to bring up to a seed bed tilth. If at any time in the construction or leveling process the soil is too hard to rake up, consider soaking the hard area and then let dry to a non sticky state before raking with scratchy or rake. Soil needs to be dry to screed. Your area is now ready for rolling out the turf, or to sow.

Tramping by heel to heel Settling loose soil with a hand roler Raking bumps into hollows Home made screed made from 4X2 wood or similar

Seed
Get advice from your local supplier for the variety best suited to your locality and the quantity required.

Sowing
People notoriously throw seed down on the ground to spread it. This dollops seed unevenly and therefore you will get a patchy uneven effect once germinated. Make sure it is calm weather and throw your handful of seed in an upwards arc as if you were throwing a discus. You will notice that the seed will fall evenly. Take a step back and repeat the process until the area appears to be evenly covered. Check edges and corners. They may require seed to be dribbled on these areas. Spread fertiliser in the same way. Rake it in - preferably with a Wolf Tool long span rake. If you do not have one, use a leaf rake so as to lightly mix seed and soil together to bury the seed just under the surface. Take care to lightly rake so as not to move the surface soil around excessively.

Windbreak Cloth

As an optional extra to speed up your lawn growth, you could use aerated windbreak cloth. This provides the advantage of speeding up the germination process, makes all grass strike consistent, retains surface moisture longer and prevents rain washing out seed on sloping ground. Simply cover the ground and peg down. Uplift cloth when the grass is protruding through by one inch (2.5cm). When using windbreak cloth in hot weather, check that the surface is kept moist otherwise the young grass shoots will quickly die due to heat stress. As the cloth draws the heat, it is vital that it is monitored in dry weather and watered if required to maintain dampness.

Watering
Many people fail at this stage. The purpose of watering successfully is to keep the surface damp at all times! This could mean watering many times a day. Do not flood, let water pond or move across the surface otherwise you will get that patchy uneven washed out look! Dampness also discourages birds who like nothing better than a newly sown area to dust bath in. Continue your watering even after the initial seed strikes.

Mowing
Let the surface dry a little before mowing so as not to leave lawn mower wheel ruts. It is very discouraging to loose the levels after all this work!! Top only - don't scalp. Only take one third off. The purpose of the initial cuts is to thicken the grass not a matter of cutting to your optimum height. First cut when grass is 1.5 inches (4 cm) and cut off .5 inch (1.5cm). It is detrimental to the grass development to let grass grow long before initially mowing. Don't stop watering just because it is at the mowing stage and green! It is still juvenile and very water dependent. Keep up your watering until approximately three mowings having been done. Dryness stresses the grass so thereafter water and fertilise to maintain health as you would a garden.