How to Lay Sod - This Old House

Tips, Tricks

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This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows how to create a lush, new lawn with sod. (See below for a shopping list and tools.) Click here to SUBSCRIBE to the official This Old House YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=thisoldhouse Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJXLu97JmOo&index=4&list=PLkJADc1qDrr-U3jevgVkJt9YXYy_ZfHau How to Deer-Proof Small Trees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhx5kT3llaU&list=PLkJADc1qDrr_0NxtmzECiOWkr5de82kXV&index=384 How to Remove a Boulder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tjSwJmH1HI&index=25&list=PLkJADc1qDrr_0NxtmzECiOWkr5de82kXV How to Install In-Ground Sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFb1_JdC2E&index=36&list=PLkJADc1qDrr_0NxtmzECiOWkr5de82kXV Shopping List for How to Lay Sod: - Sod, used to create new lawn - Compost, forms healthy base for new sod - Lime and starter fertilizer, used to amend compost and soil Tools for How to Lay Sod: - Cutter mattock, used to excavate old grass from the yard - Rototiller, used to loosen the soil - Garden rake, used to smooth compost - Walk-behind broadcast spreader, for spreading lime and fertilizer - Snap-off utility knife, for cutting sod - Wheelbarrow, used to transport sod and compost Follow This Old House: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisOldHouse Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisoldhouse Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thisoldhouse/ G+: https://plus.google.com/+thisoldhouse/posts Instagram: http://instagram.com/thisoldhouse Tumblr: http://thisoldhouse.tumblr.com/ Click here to SUBSCRIBE to the official This Old House YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=thisoldhouse

Comments

Thank you for posting this video. It has been very helpful.

BahSTon!

Thanks for uploading this

Canada Remembrance Day

This Old House dudes are awesome!

Pretty slick, especially making the turn around the planter. I've never seen grass roots that shallow before, though.

love these guys

Wow, you guys removed the old lawn in like 20 fucking seconds!

I like him on 'the family guy' really funny.

I used to work on a golf course where they laid sod all the time. Boy, what a back-breaking pain in the ass that was! Those rolls would weigh about 70 pounds each because they were usually cut right after watering, so they'd be soaked with water and were so damn heavy. The owner would get about 10 or 11 pallets of sod delivered at a time. With about 50 rolls of sod per pallet, you were physically drained by the time the last roll went down. I never looked forward to that shit.

I till the dirt but I got so many little roots sticking out of the dirt/How do I get rid of them ?

I have a bit of weeds in my backyard and i'm unsure if just tilling the yard will kill them and prevent them from germinating. What would you recommend for me to do to ensure they do not grow in with the sod? Should i apply pre-emergent weed killer and then till? Or should i use Round-Up to kill the weeds prior to tilling?

Looks like those pickets are touching the ground. The homeowner should probably do something about that if he doesn't want them to rot.

Do you automatically apply lime without measuring soil acidity levels?

I like it, the "no footprints under my sod" comment Roger made at around 2:00 is priceless.
Hey, if the dyi er don't know, somebody got to give it to them straight.

"Can we put her to work?" Is there another reason for having children?

Back-breaking work... but the final product looks great. LOTS of watering is the key until the roots establish.

May work in New England, but what about drought areas like California ?

You mad bro