laying new sod

[Montreal514]

Hi guys, I'm in Montreal and I'm looking to to re-sod my yard(8000 square feet). I have received a few quotes,however, they seem to be ridiculously expensive.
I'm looking to pull off the old grass, dump soil, then re-sod. How much do you figure this should cost? Also does anybody know whether you can lay new sod over old grass, if a layer of earth would be layed down first?.
thanks!

[s1301950]

My experience with laying sod is (i have a couple of lessons learned in the past) you have to have loose soil with fertilizer mixed in underneath, water once a day until the roots got a good hold of the soil. So laying sod over dead grass is not a good idea.

[ken0042]

I'm looking to pull off the old grass

There's your expensive part there. When I put the garage in my back yard one of the hardest jobs was removing the sod and getting rid of it.

It's been a while since I priced it out, but just in fixed costs you would be looking at:

~$2500 in sod
~$1000 in loam
~$1000 in dump fees for the old sod.

So I'm guessing that to pay a crew to do all this you would be getting quotes in the $10-15K range.

[chadjustine]

I believe you can go right over the old grass. However, you have to have a good base under the new sod.

We had an above ground pool in our yard which got destroyed two winters ago. Last summer we just had a 27" diameter "sand pit."

We just filled the sand pit (about 3" thick) with a mixture of:

1/3 black earth
1/3 top soil
1/3 compost

Once the sod is ready, we are just laying it over top and taking care of it accordingly.

Do the same and will be fine. In fact, with dirt/soil and grass existing, you are probably in better shape. To be extra safe, go to Home Depot and rent a gas powered tiller for a day. Rip up your old lawn a bit and then do the same as our procedure. You will be A-ok.