Turfing my garden

Hi, I've been shopping around for someone to come in and remove my paving stones and replace them with some topsoil and turf. Quotes vary wildly!
I was just wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what the costs for 75 square meters of topsoil and turf would be? Especially as some of the quotes are just for labour, asking me to provide the topsoil and turf for them.
If it helps, I'm in South Manchester. Just trying to work out which of the quotes I've received are realistic

 

Does it need to be turf? In early Autumn you can seed a lawn and it will have taken at least as well by Spring as turf would, plus its a lot cheaper.

If you need the lawn green and ready to walk on in a month's time then it will need to be turf.

Soil preparation is the same - turf or seed - so the saving is the turf vs. seed cost.
5kg of grass seed will cover 100 sq.m. and cost you about £20.
75sq.m. of Turf is £327.06 from www.rolawndirect.co.uk price will vary with delivery postcode; they are amongst the best brand names.

I suspect the difference in price of the quotes you have is now much work they are going to do before laying it. Cheapest may well only be planning to just spread some topsoil and lay the turf over the top. For a job done like that you'll be ripping it up in a year, maybe two, and doing it again - or disappointed and living with a shabby lawn.

Any existing grass / weeds needs to be killed, then the whole plot dug (or rotavated), then leveled, firmed, and then turf laid or seed sown.

If you lay turf now you will need to water every day or two (with a sprinkler) for 3 - 4 weeks and then less often (depending on the weather, but say twice a week) until the end of the Summer. If you are on water rates check that you are allowed to use a hose with a sprinkler (if you are forbidden check as there is often a grace period for newly laid lawns)

If you are in a new build, and the builders have just buried all their rubble in your back garden (seems to be a common practice) then you first need to have all that removed, otherwise it will never be right (or get the builders back to do a proper job! if that is an option)

 

Hi, thanks for your reply. It doesn't have to be turfed but I think I'd rather do that than wait until next year for grass.
At the moment the area has paving stones on it (and I think there's a layer of sand under that) so as far as I know, it'd just be a case of taking up the stones, covering in top soil and turfing over that. I don't know if the sand makes any difference?
I certainly don't want to be digging the whole thing up again in a year or two so I need to make sure I provide the right base to it!

 

You'll have "grass" a month after sowing seed - it will look like green velvet, so to speak, to start with, but [from seed, rather than turf] it would be better to try not to walk on it / much during the winter.

I suggest you dig a hole and see what it looks like underneath. If this used to be a patio then hopefully:

Slabs up
The sand is fine, once mixed in with the soil
Hopefully you will find earth under the sand - might be concrete though :(
If there is a membrane under the sand then the soil beneath it probably won't have had much/any oxygen and will be rank! But a hole just to check that it isn't full of builders rubbish or old bikes! would be prudent.

Assuming soil is "OK", although probably a bit claggy, opening it up (dig or rotavate) to get some air in and allow drainage will cheer it up, as will incorporating the sand into it.

You will need topsoil if you need to bring the level up (to the top of where the slabs were, or higher if you need it??)

Do you get standing water on that area at present? Opportunity to put a land-drain in now, more of a pain to do it once the lawn is laid.