Turf question

[susiemj]

We're just taking up some paving and hoping to put turf in its place.

Underneath the paving slaps is a mixture of soil and sand, which we're planning to take up. We don't know yet how deep it goes down but it has been used to raise the paved area so it may be only six inches or so. It may have normal garden soil underneath it.

My question is: how much good soil will turf need beneath it in order to grow. I need to know so we can judge if we need to excavate and replace soil if what we find under the sand is, say, more sand, or something else unhelpful.

[Piffle]

grass grows well in soil sand mix. For optimum you could mix compost/topsoil. Are buying turf or seeding lawn?
we seeded very basically and the next season you could not tell. More important is seed/turf mix. Avoid rye tough but bloody mowers nightmare.

[snotbuster]

Second that from piffle (great name btw). Sandy soil is perfect for grass.

[Piffle]

but also ( cheers for name recki ;)) sand is laid under paving so unless you live along sandy coastline then its fine. I've lived along full sandy coastline (nz) and grew roses, clematis, perennials and all bedding plants! Itcretains water so grand mixer!

[Smamfa]

Oh, we did that about 5 years ago. The gardeners were bloody cheapskates and only scraped of the worst of the sand/cement under the slaps, put down two inches of topsoil/sand mix and chucked turf on the top. I didn't think it would grow but it did! The more of the stuff under the slabs you can dig out the better and it will make the grass area softer too. It was a bastard job putting the swing pegs in the ground! But it depends on whether you can afford to replace what you dig out - topsoil and sand ain't cheap, neither is turf.

[susiemj]

That sounds positive! Maybe we won't have to dig out very much. We're going for turf because we're impatient.

The sand/soil mix is pretty dense. Do you still think it'll be ok?

I didn't quite get your point about the coast Piffle. We do live on the coast but it's not sandy.

[snotbuster]

Yes that's perfect - rake it over well first and you have to either use a roller or 'pound' the turf down so that it sticks to the soil (lay a plank on top it and hit it with a sledgehammer). Then, once it's laid you must water it everyday for a couple of weeks.
My Dad used to be a groundsman and this is how he does it!