[drlsubaru]

Ok guys,

I am buying a new home which currently has a yard of nothing but cedar chips. I am obviously going to fix that by posting an ad in Craigslist for free woodchips if anyone wants to come get them. After that I plan to sod.

Now, when I am prepping for the sod, should I till the yard first? I have heard yes,no, and kinda from various sources. The answer that has made the most sense to me so far is to "scratch up" the surface so the roots can take hold but you also won't run into potential problems of the yard settling in weird ways if you till it deeply. Thoughts?

Also, I am planning on adding some soil closer to the house to increase the grade of the lawn to divert water away a little better than it is right now. Anything I should be aware of while doing this?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

 

[downunder]

yard of nothing but cedar chips.

Do you mean that the yard was mulched with wood chips?

The answer that has made the most sense to me so far is to "scratch up" the surface so the roots can take hold

You are close to on target there. What kind of soil do you have under there? If it's already somewhat loose, you should be ok. Just a good final raking to make sure that it is smooth- no low/high spots and no rocks. If it was graded by a dozier and just mulched over, you should do it right before you make the investment of sod. Just as a good prep makes a good paint job, getting that soil right before you lay the sod makes all the difference in the world!

What size yard are you working with? Is it smooth, level, sloped, on hill? More questions now = fewer mistakes later.

Also, I am planning on adding some soil closer to the house to increase the grade of the lawn

Is there a problem now or do you just want to make sure? If you are talking about adding a few inches at the house and working it out, you shouldn't have anything else to worry about. If you mean digging and regrading, that's another story.

Richard
Georgia Certified Landscape Professional

 

[drlsubaru]

downunder....

Thanks for the reply. Here's the link to the listing. I'm sure the photos will tell more than I could probably answer. http://966suniversity.com

As for the other questions...

1. I have no idea what kind of soil it is. Being that it is Colorado I would bet its pretty hard.
2. The plot itself is about 6000 sq ft and I would imagine we'll be looking at about 2500-3000 sqft of sod.
3. From what the inspector told us, the slope of the yard might need to be altered in the future. He didnt say it was a pressing problem but Ii figured I would take care of it before I sodded ya know?

Thanks again for your help

 

[Scuba_Dave]

I remember this house, you had a question about the basement room I think? If that downstairs bedroonm doesn't have a door that leads directly outside then it isn't a legal bedroom. I do not think that window is big enough to work as a legal exit. Just a point of negotiation, they shouldn't be listing it as a bedroom.

I guess they didn't like lawn
How deep is the mulch?

You might consider doing a small section at a time
That way you can see how it takes & if soil/water are OK
Yeah, def grade if needed before you sod

 

[Rivethead]

I'd rake off the chips and put down about an inch of good topsoil - then lay the sod.

 

[downunder]

I'd rake off the chips and put down about an inch of good topsoil - then lay the sod.

Maybe- the only problem I see with doing that (from the photos) is that adding more soil PLUS the height of the sod (another 1-2 inches) might get a little high. It looks like you have a pretty good finish grade there already. Just from what I can see in the pics.
Another part of that point is- I don't know about the cost of topsoil vs labor for tilling, but I am inclined to think that I would lean toward tilling, and while you are at it, adding some amendments maybe and a little phospate. But, you can't tell that until you get the mulch off and actually see what the soil there looks like.