Advice · Lawns & Turfing
How to Lay Turf (and When to Get It Done for You)
A new lawn lives or dies in its first three weeks, and most of that is decided by the ground you lay it on and the watering you do afterwards, not the turf itself. This is how we lay turf that roots properly and lasts, written from doing it across Hampshire rather than from the back of a pallet.
Written by Jamie Rogerson · 25+ years on the tools · Updated 29 October 2026
Laying turf is one of the more achievable garden jobs to do yourself, as long as you are ready for the ground preparation, which is the real work. The steps below work either way, and we will be straight further down about when it is worth getting a team in. Every lawn linked from this guide is our own work.
What makes a new lawn take?
Three things: a firm, level, weed-free bed to lay on, fresh turf laid within a day or two of delivery, and water, lots of it, for the first few weeks. Get those right and almost any turf will root. Get the ground or the watering wrong and the best turf will yellow, shrink and gap.
As with most garden jobs, the part that decides success is the part you do before the nice bit. The preparation is most of a good lawn; unrolling the turf is the quick and satisfying end of it.
How do you prepare the ground for turf?
Clear, level, firm and rake. Strip off the old lawn, weeds and any debris, dig or rotovate the top few inches, level it out, firm it by treading or with a light roller, then rake to a fine, even tilth. A dressing of topsoil helps on poor ground. The aim is a firm, flat surface with no soft spots and no lumps.
This is where a lawn is won or lost. Soft patches sink and leave dips, stones and lumps telegraph straight through the turf, and perennial weeds left in the soil come back up through it. On heavier or waterlogged ground the drainage has to be sorted first, which is groundworks territory rather than a rake-over.
How do you lay the turf?
Start along a straight edge, lay the first row end to end, then work forward in rows with the joints staggered like brickwork, never with four corners meeting. Butt each roll up tight to the next with no gaps and no overlaps, and work from boards laid on the finished turf so you are not standing on the bed you have just levelled. And lay it fresh: turf is cut from a field and yellows on the pallet within a day or two, so get it down the day it arrives. In order:
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1. Start straight | Lay the first row against a straight edge like a path or a string line, so the whole lawn stays square. |
| 2. Stagger the joints | Lay each new row with the joins offset from the last, like bricks, never four corners meeting. |
| 3. Butt the edges tight | Push each roll firmly against its neighbours. Gaps dry out and die back; overlaps dry out and hump up. |
| 4. Work off boards | Kneel and barrow on scaffold boards laid over the turf you have just laid, to spread the weight and keep the bed level. |
| 5. Firm and trim | Lightly firm the laid turf into full contact with the soil, then trim the edges to shape with a half-moon or a sharp spade. |
How much and how often should you water new turf?
Generously, and daily at first. Water it in thoroughly the moment it is down so the water reaches the soil beneath, then keep it damp every day for the first two to three weeks while it roots, more in warm or windy weather. The single most common reason a new lawn fails is not enough water in those first weeks.
Check by lifting a corner after a week or so: you should see fine white roots starting to grip the soil. Once it is rooted and you can no longer lift a corner easily, cut back the watering and give it its first light mow, taking only the top off with the blades set high.
When is the best time to lay turf?
Turf can go down almost any time the ground is not frozen or baked hard, but autumn and spring are easiest, because the ground is warm and damp and the turf roots fast with less watering. Summer turf is perfectly fine but asks for a lot more water; winter turf is fine too, as long as you are not laying onto frozen ground.
If you are planning a new lawn as part of a bigger garden project, the turf goes down last, after any hard landscaping and planting, so it is not trampled while the heavy work is done.
Can I lay turf myself, or should I get it done?
A small, flat, well-drained lawn on decent soil is a realistic weekend job, especially with a hand or two to shift the pallets. It is worth getting a team in when the ground is uneven or needs levelling, when it drains badly and needs sorting first, when there is old lawn and roots to strip and remove, or when the lawn is part of a wider garden build.
The honest line is the same as for a patio or a driveway: laying the turf is the easy part, and the ground preparation underneath is the heavy, get-it-right-once part where most DIY lawns go wrong. If you would rather hand that over, it is part of what we do on a garden landscaping job. Send us a few photos and the rough size for a fixed price.
Planning a new lawn, or sorting out one that never took? Send us a few photos and the rough size, call 07813 073814 or use the quote form, and we will give you a fixed price. You can see more of our garden work first if you like.
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