Best Time of Year to Lay Turf

If you are considering refurbishing a damaged area of the garden, or creating a new lawn, you might be wondering when is the best time of year to lay turf in Queensland. After all, you want to make sure you will be able to enjoy a thriving, lush green lawn. You definitely do not want dried out, dead grass as testament to an unsuccessful effort and wasted dollars. A few guidelines would help you plan the project.

Time of Year

The best time of year to lay turf is when it is an active growing period for grass and the weather is moderate. Even an established lawn has trouble surviving in extreme heat so newly laid turf may quickly become stressed and die. The colder soil temperature in late autumn and winter might cause grasses to move into a semi-dormant state, making it more difficult for turf to establish a new root system.

It is possible, though, to put down new turf at any time of the year, as long as extra care and attention is paid during cooler and hot months. Here are some guidelines for successfully laying turf during different seasons:

• Spring is the ideal time when the grass will be actively growing and can establish a deep root system
• If you must lay turf during the summer, do it at the beginning of the season or when temperatures are still mild enough to allow a new lawn to establish itself
• Autumn is second to spring as the best time to lay new turf when the high temperatures have moderated, and the grass is still growing, promoting a good root system
• It is possible to lay turf during the early part of winter, but check long range weather forecasts as there is always a concern about frost and very low temperatures 

Preparation and Timing

Regardless of exactly what time of the year turf is laid out, there are some basic steps to follow to ensure a successful result:

• Be sure the area is well prepared to accept the new turf by removing all weeds, adding fertilizer and an under turf soil if needed, and ensuring the area is level
• Lay turf as soon as it arrives, and do not let it sit in the sun longer than necessary; newly delivered turf will quickly dry out, and you cannot water stacked rolls of turf
• Be sure to water the lawn as soon as it is laid down, and then daily for at least a week
• Roll the lawn to prevent air pockets and to help ensure root development
• During hot weather, lay a small section at a time, using granular or liquid soil wetters to make the most of your watering 

With proper attention and effort, you can look forward to a proper Aussie lawn in a very short time. If you need assistance in planning your new turf project, be sure to talk to the experts at Centenary Landscaping. Remember that they are also available to install larger projects or ones that may be a bit beyond the time or energy you can commit. 

An Introduction To Laying Pavers

If you're thinking of using pavers for a new patio, driveway, path or other landscaping feature then you should consider laying them yourself. It's a straightforward process and with a bit of effort even beginners can achieve professional looking results. While laying pavers can be quite a strenuous exercise, remember that you can spread the job over a number of days to make it easier.

The Importance of Preparation

You need to plan your paving project carefully before you make a start to ensure that you have all the required materials and tools available. In addition you'll need to consider the size and shape of the area that you plan to pave, choose a style of paving block and what kind of design you'll use. For example, you may want to alternate colours, create shapes or use a simple herringbone style.

Working out How Many Pavers you Need

To make sure that you buy the required amount of pavers you'll need to perform a calculation of the area (in square meters) that you want to pave and then calculate how many pavers will fit into that area. Depending on the shape and borders of the area to be paved, you may need to add 5% to 10% more pavers to ensure that there are enough available for cutting into shapes to fit the edges of your paving area. If in doubt, ask the paver supplier what they recommend.

Tools and Other Materials You'll Need

The space between the pavers needs to be filled with sand - this can be done by using either joint filling sand or gap sand. As a rule of thumb, one bag is usually enough to cover 15 to 20 square meters.

The right tools will make all the difference to the success of your paving project. You'll need the following:

Make sure you have all the necessary tools to lay pavers:

• A screed board and screed rails measuring 40mm by 25mm by 3m
• A length of timber that measures 100mm by 75mm by 500mm
• A spirit level to ensure that your pavers are level
• A club hammer and a rubber mallet
• A string to lay as a line, a line level and pegs to hang it on
• A diamond blade brick saw for cutting the pavers
• A plate vibrator to set the pavers firmly
• A wheelbarrow
• Edge restraints to hold the edges of the paving in place (these are available in a range of types including concrete, steel, aluminum or plastic)
• A shovel, mattock, rake, broom and a wooden float

If this is only a one-off project then you may want to consider hiring the plate vibrator, screed rails and diamond blade saw instead of purchasing them to save some money.

Laying Your Pavers

Once you've decided what you're paving, got the pavers and tools together you're ready to actually start laying pavers. The following steps describe what you need to do.

1. Excavating and Preparing the Site

Dig the area you want to pave to about 180 mm depth which allows 40 mm for the pavers, 30 to 40 mm for the sand, and 100 mm for the compacted base material. It's a good idea to have a slope present for water drainage, with a fall of 15 to 20 mm per meter. The level and screed board will help you to get the right slope.

2. Installing Base Materials

The base layer of the site should be consist of gravel aggregate and fines or road base material. Using the screed board, make the area generally level while ensuring that you maintain the slope. After this, wet the area with a hose and use the plate compactor to flatten the area , passing at least two or three times to ensure it is well compacted and hard.  If necessary, you can add a shovel or two of the base material true up your level and fill any holes that are made during compacting.

3. Adding Sand 

Placing the screed rails parallel to the base layer, use them to provide a guide for the height of the sand layer that you pour in over the base. Throughout this process continue to use the level to ensure that you are maintaining the right slope, using sand to adjust the rails as needed.

With the wheelbarrow pour the sand between the rails and position the screed board perpendicular to the screed rails to spread out the sand out evenly over the paving area. Make sure you fill areas near the walls, levelling them out as you move down the rails.

When the screed board is near the end of the rails then remove the rails and fill in the space where they stood with sand. Smooth and pat down the surface again so that the area is level throughout.

4. Laying the Pavers

You should start laying pavers from one corner and work forward on them, placing pavers ahead of you so the sand bed is not disturbed. You'll need to lay a course of pavers along the two far walls as a guide and use the string line between each wall and then to the other end, to ensure that the course is straight.

Continue to lay a few courses, and then check to make sure they are straight. You'll need to take into account minor variations in size in the pavers, so some adjustments may have to be made as you proceed; you can use the trowel to shift individual pavers slightly until the line is straight.

5. Cutting Pavers

Pavers will need to be cut if they are too large at the edge or need to fit into irregular places. To cut a paver, place it against the wall and pull it back about 5 mm then use a felt pen to mark where the cut is needed. Some spaces may require several cuts, so plan carefully and measure accurately.

Mark all the pavers that will need to be cut. Lift these pavers straight up so the sand layer remains level. Use a marker against a straight edge to mark the cut line on the pavers and then use the diamond blade brick saw to cut the pavers. Afterwards, place the cut pavers into their former position.

6. Adding Edge Restraints

Once all pavers have been laid, you'll need to add edge restraints to make sure that they do not shift at the edges. Secure the restraints to the ground with spikes that follow the perimeter of the paved area. One way to do this, called haunching, is to place a concrete restraint against the exposed edge of the pavers. To do this, a wooden float is used to push concrete up to the paver edge which then acts as a wedge that leaves room for other material.

7. Using Joint and Gap Sand

You'll need to fill the spaces between the pavers so that they stay in place. Do this by sweeping fine, kiln-dried, joint fill sand in the cracks between pavers. You can also use a product called gap sand that has silicon added to it: the silicon expands when water is added and sets in place which gives a firmer joint than just sand and will help prevent weeds growing.

Take the bag of sand that you intend to use and spill it on a central area of the pavers and then sweep the sand into all exposed cracks between the pavers. 

8. Compacting the Pavers

Next you'll need to compact the pavers over the entire area. For small areas you should place a timber on the pavers and hit it firmly a few times with the mallet to vibrate sand so that it settles. For larger areas the plate vibrator is required. Use it on its lowest settings (or place an insulating material such as carpet or rubber under it) to avoid cracking or damaging pavers. 

9. Cleaning Up

Once you have completed compacting, sweep off remaining sand and hose down the area with water to settle the sand and activate the silicone (if it was used). 

10. Sealing Your Pavers

Whatever the paver type, whether concrete, stone or clay they must be sealed once they have been laid. This helps maintain their colour and surface finish and also prevents staining or other unwanted material build up. While some pavers are marketed as 'pre-sealed', this is not a permanent finish and they will still require sealing at the end of the laying process. Sealing is quite an easy process and is much like sealing a timber floor. You should follow the paver manufacturer's recommendations for sealing and do this within 2-4 weeks of laying them to guarantee the best results.

If you follow the above instructions you will be well on the way to ensuring a professional looking paving job that you can be proud of.

Why Mulch Is An Important Addition To Your Garden

How Will Mulch Help Your Garden To Flourish And Why Is It So Important?

Much like the forest floor, mulch helps to reduce the amount of moisture lost from the topsoil, foster microbial activity in the topsoil, prevent the growth of weeds and enhance aesthetics. Thus, it does more than merely help topsoil to retain water. It can additionally reduce erosion in your garden and in nature overall.

Preserving Moisture - Moisture control is one of the most important benefits which can be gained from using this natural garden addition. Without a sufficient layer of mulch (4" or 100mm), the wind and sun can cause the top portion of your garden soil to quickly dry out, which will place your plants under much of unnecessary stress. You can dramatically reduce the natural evaporation rate by adding such physical barrier and when there are water restrictions in place, less water usage can be very beneficial to both the environment and your wallet. We commonly get complaints about plants which are not growing properly only to discover upon a visit to the garden that there is no topsoil covering and thus, dry soil, crusting and very minimal water penetration.

Preventing The Weed Growth - With a physical barrier on your topsoil, weeds can be effectively deterred from growing in your garden. After a seed germinates and reaches the surface of the garden soil it will need plenty of sunlight in order to photosynthesize or produce necessary nutrients for its growth. When a natural topsoil covering is present, this will prevent a majority of weed issues which makes it possible for plants to flourish in the absence of competition. You should not use plastic beneath your mulch as it will not allow water and gases to pass into the topsoil and will ultimately, hinder the growth of you plants. We recommend using "Weed Stop".

Moderating Temperature - Temperature moderation is yet another benefit such physical barrier will supply. Topsoil in our Queensland climate will usually absorb a very substantial amount of heat causing major damage to the sensitive roots of plants laying near the surface of the soil if there is no mulch in place. It can even moderate colder temperatures in areas where mild frost is prone to developing, keeping the garden an ideal environment for producing optimal plant growing.

Replacing Organic Matter - The natural breakdown of this physical barrier enables it to maintain its open free draining structure, something which can be seen when strolling through any bushland or rainforest where the ground is layered with organic materials in various states of decay. This is nature's way of composting.

Here Is How A Topsoil Covering Works In Your Garden

There is one very popular and valid question people have given the broad variety options which are available. In the end, all mulch types will generally do the same job in terms of moderating moisture, weed growth and extreme soil temperatures. More often than not, an individual's selection will be based upon the texture, colour and purchasing price as it relates to the budget for such expense.

There is a range of questions you can ask, however, which will help you to select the ideal option for your specific needs:

• Are you attempting to coordinate this product with any other element of your garden or landscaping designs?
• Have you spotted a type you really like on a neighbouring property?
• Do you prefer such materials to be fine or coarse?
• Is your garden down the back or a show garden?