How to lay a new sod lawn
Sod is the only landscaping material that’s alive when it arrives and dying while you work. Everything about laying it well comes down to two things: preparing the soil before it turns up, and getting water into it before it dries out.
The short version
- Topsoil first: 4–6″ of screened topsoil, graded and raked. Sod laid on poor soil roots poorly and no amount of watering fixes it.
- Order for the day you’ll lay it. Sod is perishable — 24 hours on a pallet in July and you’re laying dead grass.
- Lay in a brick pattern, tight seams, no gaps, no overlaps.
- Water within 30 minutes of the first roll going down. Not at the end of the day.
- First two weeks: keep it wet. That’s the whole job.
Materials
Tools: rototiller or rake · landscape rake · sharp knife or spade · lawn roller (rental) · sprinkler
Depth & coverage
A 1,500 sq ft yard needs roughly 19 yards of topsoil at 4″.
Steps
1 · Clear the area
Strip out old turf, weeds and debris. Anything living that stays under new sod will come back through it.
2 · Fix the grade before anything else
Slope away from the house — about 1″ per foot for the first 6 ft, then a gentler fall. This is far easier now than it will ever be again. Fill low spots that would hold water.
3 · Bring in topsoil
4–6″ of screened topsoil across the area. If the existing soil is heavy clay, work compost into the top few inches rather than laying topsoil straight over it — an abrupt layer change stops roots crossing it.
4 · Rake, level and firm
Rake to a fine, even finish. Walk it or roll it lightly to firm it, then rake again. You want a surface firm enough not to footprint, loose enough for roots to enter.
5 · Apply starter fertilizer
High-phosphorus root starter, spread across the bare soil and raked in. This goes on before the sod, not after — it needs to be where the roots will arrive.
6 · Time the delivery
Order sod for the morning you’re laying it. Cut sod is perishable, and heat on a pallet is what kills it. We deliver across Edmonton metro inside 24 hours, so order the day before rather than stockpiling.
7 · Start on the longest straight edge
Driveway, path or fence line. Lay the first row hard against it and keep it straight — every row after takes its line from this one.
8 · Lay in a brick pattern
Stagger the seams like brickwork. Butt every edge tight against its neighbour — no gaps and no overlaps. Gaps dry out and die back; overlaps dry out and hump. On slopes, run rolls across the slope, not down it.
9 · Cut to fit
Sharp knife or spade around beds and corners. Cut generously and press the piece in rather than stretching a short one; stretched sod shrinks back and opens a gap.
10 · Roll it
A light pass with a half-filled lawn roller presses the roots into the soil and removes air pockets. Air under sod is what causes brown patches in the second week.
11 · Water immediately, and heavily
Within 30 minutes of laying the first roll — don’t wait for the last. First watering needs to soak through the sod and 2–3″ into the soil beneath. Lift a corner and check; if the soil underneath is dry, keep going.
12 · Water daily for two weeks
Then taper to every second or third day, watering more deeply each time to draw roots down. When the sod no longer lifts at a corner, it’s rooted.
13 · First mow
Once it’s rooted — usually 2–3 weeks. Take no more than a third of the blade, and make sure the mower is sharp.
Laying sod in the Edmonton area
Roughly mid-May through September once the frost is out. Spring and early autumn are the easiest — cool air and warm soil is exactly what new sod wants. Midsummer works but the watering demand roughly doubles.
- Heat is the real risk, not cold. A pallet of sod sitting in 28°C will heat internally and start to compost within a day. Lay it the day it arrives.
- Our soil is mostly clay. It holds water and compacts hard, which is why the topsoil layer matters more here than in sandier regions. Working compost into the interface is what stops roots stalling at the boundary between imported topsoil and native clay.
- Autumn laying works. Sod laid up to about four weeks before freeze-up roots fine and comes through winter well. Keep watering until the ground freezes.
Common mistakes
- Laying on unprepared soil. The most expensive mistake here. Sod is not a fix for bad soil — it’s a surface over good soil.
- Watering at the end of the day instead of as you go. The first rolls have been drying for hours.
- Watering little and often, forever. Shallow roots. After the first fortnight, water deeper and less frequently.
- Leaving gaps between rolls. Edges dry fastest. Gaps become brown lines that take a season to close.
- Fertilizing after laying instead of before. The nutrient sits on top of the grass, not at the roots.
- Mowing too early or too short. Both tear sod that hasn’t rooted yet.
- Ordering days ahead “to be safe”. With guaranteed 24-hour delivery there’s no reason to stockpile a perishable product.
What it costs
Priced by square foot and cubic yard — calculate your area before ordering.The two line items are sod and topsoil, and topsoil is usually the larger of the two on a new build. Run the material calculator or call the yard with your square footage.
FAQ
4–6″ for a new lawn. One yard covers 81 sq ft at 4″, so a 1,500 sq ft yard needs about 19 yards.
Natural soil put through a screener to remove rocks, roots and clumps, giving a consistent fine product. It's what you want for final grading, sod and seeding — unscreened soil makes levelling almost impossible.
Mid-May to September, once frost is out. Spring and early autumn are easiest; midsummer needs roughly double the water.
Light foot traffic after about two weeks. Normal use once it's rooted and been mowed a couple of times.
Lift a corner. If it resists, the roots have taken.
No. Strip the old turf first — the layer underneath decomposes and the new sod settles unevenly.
Enough to keep the sod and the top 2–3″ of soil damp continuously for the first two weeks. In hot weather that can mean twice a day.
Order the materials
Tell us your square footage and we’ll work out the sod and the topsoil together. Delivered anywhere in Edmonton metro inside 24 hours — and for sod, ordered the day before you lay it.
Not doing it yourself?
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