How To Lay Sod? 9 Steps To Do It Yourself HandyGuyPros

Apparently, laying sod is the best method to quickly obtain a lovely lawn after the old grass turns to weeds. Yet, do you know how to lay sod correctly for the best instant result? It’s much simpler than you might think! With just a few uncomplicated steps to follow together with a few small notes, you can make your garden more splendid by yourself.
How To Lay Sod?

You can lay sod from spring to winter. To add in, the plant is so versatile and well-adapted that it can grow well in the most living location.

Learning how to lay sod DIY is the fastest way to make a fantastic lawn for your home. In this section, let’s take a look at nine steps to get this job done!
Measure The Space And Buy Sod

Firstly, you need to choose the appropriate sod for your preferences and your home landscape. Sod is usually a mixture of two or three grasses selected for color, texture, and sheen to suit each property area.

Therefore, please make sure to check with your supplier to see if your yard has shaded or not to have the right sod mix. Besides, sod should be provided within 24 hours of trimming and placed the same day to ensure the grass qualifies.

After that, draw your plot and measure the area you wish to use. Multiply the length by the breadth of the specified location to get the square foot of sod required.

How to lay sod squares? The formula is as follows: a square set of sod needed = length x width.

Note that you should measure your yard carefully so that you can place an order with about 5 percent excess sod to account for cutting around curves.

That’s the first question you must ask yourself when planting the sod – how to lay sod patch. Now that we have the patch size, let’s move to the second stage.
Prepare Soil For Sod

With a tiller, tilt the top 6 to 8 inches of dirt. Then spread out 2 inches of the finished compost. To increase drainage, you can add 2 to 3 inches of sand to the clay.

Following that, add the appropriate initial fertilizer (or lime if needed) using a spreader, depending on the outcomes of the soil test.
Level Lawn



To even out the soil, use a rake to fill in the lows so that it is 1 inch below the paved surface, such as a path or driveway, and water moderately to establish soil dampness.

How to lay sod over existing lawn? We strongly disagree with putting sod over existing law. To be more specific, this will make you waste time and effort for nothing. Instead, replace all the old lawns before you start laying new sod!
Lay The First Row

How to lay sod down? Find your yard’s longest straight edge, which is usually the fence line. Roll the first sod along that line right after opening the sod bag. After installing the sod, clean up and eliminate all stains and footprints.
Lay The Next Row

After you’ve laid the first row, cut the next section in half using a knife to decrease the seams, much like you would when laying bricks. Besides, make sure the grass portions are snugly fitting together and not overlapping. Not only will this help the seams be less visible, but it also keeps the edges less prone to dry out and die again.

You can then use a knife to make holes for sprinklers in the soil if necessary and cut slices along the paved area and planting beds.
Press Down The Sod

In this step, pat the soil down so it’s flat with the ground around. You also need to ensure to smooth out any loose areas or wrinkles.
Water New Sod

Water the lawn regularly after it has been installed; this will aid in the soil’s settlement. For best results, avoid people or pets entering this area for seven days.



It would be best if you water in the morning because the heat will evaporate the water quickly, leaving just a tiny amount of moisture for the sod. Such a loss of moisture may lead to parched soil.

Given these facts, please start watering every other day after the first week, and by the third week, you should only be watering twice a week.

After that special period, much like any other lawn, water it once a week, more often during the summertime.
Mow New Sod

It’s best to cut the grass down to 2 inches when it reaches 3 inches tall. In detail, this pruning encourages deep root penetration and provides weeds with shade.

It would help if you used a rear lawn mower (rather than a heavy one) for the initial mowing because your new lawn is still delicate.

At this stage, you should test your sod to give it more nutrients before it goes bad.

You can test the pH, then the nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium yourself with a home kit or send it to your local agricultural extension service or center.
Fertilize New Sod

After about 3 to 4 weeks, fertilize your soil to compensate and provide additional nutrients so it can grow healthy.
What Are The Tips When Laying Sod?



To make the job as successful as possible, take the time to go through some tips on how to plant sod grass:
Since freshwater turns soil dries up and perishable rapidly, most farmers advise mowing your lawn around midnight so you can begin sod laying immediately once your order arrives.
Buy a soil probe for moisture testing, as you can’t diagnose with ordinary observation.
We recommend less watering and 25% less fertilizer for shade-grown grasses because they are less exposed to the sun and stay covered with dew longer.
Last Thoughts

When it comes to a healthy and thick lawn, nothing is as convenient as sod grass rolls, which will give you instant satisfaction.

How to lay sod? This question is easy to answer if you follow the nine steps we introduced above. Lastly, please note all the essential tips we have mentioned above to ensure the best result!

Thank you for following the article, and we hope you will create a beautiful landscape for your land. See you next time!

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