How do I lay sod?

Laying sod is a one-day job if the ground is ready, and most of the success happens before the first roll arrives. Prepare the soil properly, have the sod cut for the day you lay it, set it tight with staggered seams, roll it, and soak it. Then keep it moist until it roots.

Choose the grass and the season

Buy the grass that suits your yard, not just what is on the pallet. Most cool-season sod grown in Virginia is a blend or mixture, and the most popular is tall fescue with 10 to 15 percent Kentucky bluegrass by weight.^[1] It does well across the state, though the bluegrass tends to take over the stand as the years go by.^[2] Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass sod turn straw-colored at the first frost and stay dormant through a Virginia winter,^[1] so they suit sunny lawns where you want a warm-season grass.

The ideal time is the grass's main growing season: fall or spring for tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, late spring through summer for bermudagrass and zoysiagrass.^[1] That said, sod can go down almost any time of year as long as the ground is not frozen and you can water it.^[1]

Prepare the soil

Send a soil sample to your county Extension office about a month before you prepare the ground,^[1] so you know how much lime and fertilizer to add. Sod hides a bad base for a while, but it does not fix it. Inadequate soil preparation is one of the most common mistakes in sod installations.^[1]

Strip the old grass and weeds, loosen the soil, and work the amendments into the top 4 to 6 inches.^[1] Then rake or drag the area smooth and remove stones and debris more than 1.5 inches across from that root zone.^[1] Shape the surface so water drains away from the house, and set the soil slightly below walks and driveways so the finished sod sits flush.

Before you till, request a utility locate. Virginia 811 says to contact it at least 3 working days before breaking ground, and there is no depth below which you can skip the call.^[5]

Order and handle the sod

One square yard is 9 square feet, and 1,000 square feet is about 111 square yards.^[1] A pallet of standard small rolls usually holds 450 to 700 square feet.^[1] If you are hauling it yourself, check your vehicle's capacity: dry sod weighs about 20 to 25 pounds per square yard and wet sod 30 to 40 pounds.^[1]

Sod is perishable and should be installed within eight hours of harvest.^[1] If you are driving it home, light, vented covers cut drying and heat build-up on hot days when the drive is an hour or more.^[1] Do not leave stacked rolls sitting in the sun.

Lay it

Never lay sod over existing grass, debris or rocks.^[1] Rake the bed lightly, start the first row against a straight edge such as the driveway, and work outward. Stagger the joints in the next row like brickwork, and push each piece tightly against its neighbors, because sod can shrink after it is laid.^[1] Do not stretch pieces to close a gap; cut a new piece instead.

Kneel on a board on the sod you have already laid rather than on the prepared soil. Move rolls with a wheelbarrow and lay plywood over busy paths to limit soil compaction.^[1]

On a slope, lay the strips across the slope, perpendicular to the way water runs, and staple the corners and middle of each strip.^[4] When the area is done, roll it with a heavy hand roller so the roots meet the soil.

Water it right away

Soak each section as soon as it is down rather than waiting for the whole lawn. In hot weather, above 80°F, water the sod every day, soaking the soil thoroughly, until it is well rooted.^[1] Newly sodded lawns need more frequent watering for the first three to four weeks^[3] than an established lawn. After about a week, tug a corner: once it resists, switch to deeper, less frequent watering. The full schedule is in how often to water new sod.

When you start mowing, never remove more than one-third of the green leaf at a time.^[1] Mow tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass lawns at 2 to 3 inches, and bermudagrass and zoysiagrass at 1 to 1.5 inches.^[1] If the new lawn starts to yellow, see why new sod turns brown.

Stop and call a pro if

• The yard needs real regrading, fill or drainage work to move water away from the foundation. Get the grade right before any sod is ordered.
• The area is a steep bank you cannot stand on safely, or water already cuts channels across it.
• The job calls for big-roll sod. Single big rolls start at about 2,000 pounds each,^[1] and moving them takes trucks and equipment.
• Utility marks run through the area and the work means digging near them.
• The area is large enough that you cannot lay and water it all within a day of delivery.

Not sure whether to do it yourself? See whether to lay sod yourself or hire a landscaper and what sod installation costs in Virginia. Browse more lawn and landscaping answers, compare sod installation services, or find lawn and landscaping businesses near Blacksburg. To have it done for you, describe your sod job once and local businesses can quote it.