I got a new house but the backyard is terrible, there's almost no grass (maybe 10%), the rest is all green but not grass..

I'm thinking of tilling everything and putting new grass in.

What would be correct way of doing this..

Should I use grass seed or those strips of grass?

What about prep work, do I just till the backyard and lay/seed or.. I'm totally new at this

Level out present earth and order top soil and spread. I would suggest ordering sod (strips). Your local nursery could help you with all of this. If you are not experienced, maybe should have someone put the sod down for you.

Tick

SOD Strips as in grass strips or..

I'll call a few places to see what they could do but main issue is that there's no access to the backyard for any machines wider than about 1m (3 feet) and even then it has to go over steps..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rott25

SOD Strips as in grass strips or..?

I'll call a few places to see what they could do but main issue is that there's no access to the backyard for any machines wider than about 1m (3 feet) and even then it has to go over steps..

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He might be referring to the strips that hold the seed.

Sod is bought in rolled bundles that lay out to strips, about 2 ft wide by 6 ft long. How big is the area you want to cover. They can be carried in one at a time. If you tell the nursery how many square ft you want to cover, they can figure out how many SOD strips. Go to Google and put in SOD and it will show you a picture, in Wikipedia of what the rolled TURF (better description) looks like. Go to a nursery and see it if you don't understand what it is.

Okay, you don't have much to work with. You have a gate and steps. You can still put a blank down and use a wheelbarrow to get the top soil into your back yard, dump and spread with a rake. You have no idea how many times I have done this ! You don't need to use machines.

Tick

I'll be doing half of the lawn (the other half has concrete blocks/nice landscaping and a pool) so it's about 70 feet by 30 feet area.

That's what I was thinking about (rolled turf), how good is it, as in does it stay "green" and how many of the strips I could expect to replace soon..

Another thing is should I do that now (summer is close) or in the fall, spring..

Kill existing grass. Lay sod in late Aug.

So you need l20 square feet of sod *turf) and the best alternative for a spectacular lawn. After its installed, plenty of water, press down the seams (from the strips) every once in a while and it's a done deal. If you use grass seed you will be waiting all summer for a good lawn. Contract the nursery to do it and then they can have all the headaches of a 3 ft gate and steps to deal with. Get a quote, you are not obligated, get three quotes from three different nurseries.

Okay, now I am going to throw curves, Rott, is it a shady area, full sun, or what and around a pool, right ? I agree with KISS somewhat only if is a full sun area because then you have to take care to water frequently because the new sod will burn; in late August weather is cooler so the grass takes easier.

Okay ?