Just had some retaining garden walls built which has left my garden in a bit of state...see pictures needs levelling and reseeding/turfing etc...don't have a clue what to do...all I want is some nice grass I can mow...suggestions most welcome....thanks in advance...ash

Some images:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

rake over, remove anything larger than say 5mm (stones etc..) level off..then either roller or use your heels to compact the surface down...rake again, till you have a fine tilth..then either turf or seed, (Turf more expensive, though more reliable)

I would wait now until April before doing anything..seed wont germinate and turf wont put down roots at this time of year..

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Verwood Handyman
I Know it says I'm On-line, but I might have just left myself logged in, whilst I'm out....

Was there some kind of a lawn there before?

If so , even though it's been trampled into oblivion, you are still going to have to remove the old turf and it's roots, or it will grow back, hard to see it happening after all that I know, but it will.

For a start get all the crap ot of the garden, all the rubble etc. For grass to grow, ideally you need 150 mm of good nutrient rich well drained soil. If money is not object, dig it all out and get a few tens of tons of topsoil and do as wine o says above.
If that's not an option,and you have to use what you have then you have to do 3 things, loosen it up, clean it of stones and crap and add some good topsoil. Then same as above.

You can lay turf all year round. I didn't believe it either, but I laid 2 lawns last December and came back in march....no problem. They just will not do any growing over the winter.

What was there before the Walls? Did they leave any weep holes in the bottom of them , or drainage pipes ? You could run into problems, depending how clayey your soil is.

Thanks...I want to seed or returf...whichever cheapest....there used to be grass etc but was not in good state..up and down and all sorts was growing....

Seeding is going to be cheaper, but you take a gamble that it will grow and that you have scattered correctly.

Depending who your nearest supplier is you can get rolls of quality turf for about 2.50 or less if you search.

Been quoted from anywhere between £800 to £1100 for new turfing...total area is 100m/sq..what do you guy think?

Depends on what they are quoting to do. Removing the old soil, new top soil? What part of the country are you?

Rotovate, put new top soil and compress before insralling new turf...im in Manchester ...

If it was down here in London I would charge just under 1k for that job to those specs. If you are fit and have the time it is a straight forward job.

bloody hell i need to put my prices up for that then! i'd chase anyone away who said £1k for that job!

£160 for superior quality turf to cover that area from my local turf farm!

Down sarf I get it for around £2 a roll delivered. Waste away/skip is £200 minimum...rotovator hire £50-70...6-8 tons of quality topsoil delivered..3 man days labour...

Theres no change from a grand. You could shave some off by letting customer deal with the waste, if you had your own tipper you could collect the topsoil etc. Scotland and London...different countries!

i gotta move to london!

2 man labour for 1 day = £200
Rotovator hire = £50
Turf = £160
Skip = £160
Top soil = £200

£770 for me to do that job, maybe thats how i'm not making much money haha!

Your Scottish pound goes a wee bit further...
I gotta cover the likes of Van insurance for a year £1100,Selfstorage lock up a month £110, all the usual tools diesel etc. Then pay a London mortgage and feed the missus and bairn.
You wont find anyone self employed working for a ton a day, unless their name ends in '-ski'.
Different countries.

No way would I do 100sq meters in a day, unless you are just rotovating all the roots and stuff without cleaning the soil.

aye fair play, i'm on sidey prices haha!

once you factor in the costs like youve mentioned i suppose £1k is a reasonable price