Turf Installation In Melbourne
At New Era Landscapes, we lay instant turf across Melbourne's south east. The ground gets graded, topped up and rolled before a single roll goes down.
New Era Landscapes does turf laying in Melbourne, and the laying is the small half of the job. Stripping what is there, fixing the levels, getting the soil right and rolling it is the part that decides how your lawn looks in two years. Quotes are free and measured on site.
Search for turf and you will mostly find farms selling you rolls off the back of a truck. Rolls are the easy bit to buy. Getting them onto ground that will actually hold them is the bit you are hiring for.
What lasts
What Makes New Turf Take?
Roots reaching soil, and water while they do it. Everything we do before the turf arrives is about giving roots somewhere worth going, and everything you do for the fortnight after is about keeping them alive while they get there.
So lawn installation in Melbourne starts with a strip-out. The old grass comes off rather than getting buried, because turf laid over dead lawn sits on a spongy layer that breaks down under it and never roots properly. Then we fix the levels, because a dip you can barely see becomes a puddle you mow around forever.
Then soil and a roll. Clay gets broken up and topped with something roots can actually move through, and the whole bed gets rolled so it is firm and flat before a single piece of turf lands on it. Laid on soft ground, turf settles into every footprint the crew left.
The process
Our Turf Installation Process
Every lawn starts with what is there now and how much sun it gets. From there it runs in three stages.
- Consultation and site assessment. We check the sun hours, the drainage, what is growing there now and how you want to use the lawn, then tell you which grass suits.
- An itemised quote. The strip-out and cartage, the soil and preparation, and the laying are priced separately, so you can see how much of it is groundwork.
- Strip, prepare, lay and water in. Our own crew takes the old lawn out, grades and rolls the bed, lays the turf tight with staggered joins, and waters it in before we leave.
The grass
Which Turf Should You Lay?
Instant turf installation in Melbourne comes down to four grasses, and sun hours pick between them more than taste does.
Count how many hours of direct sun the middle of the yard gets in summer. Under about four and you are in buffalo or fescue territory whatever you had in mind. Open sun all day and you can have anything, so the question becomes how hard the lawn gets used and how often you want to mow it.
We will tell you which one suits before you commit to it, and we would rather do that than lay something you will be unhappy with by the second summer.
| Grass | What it suits | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | Family backyards, and anywhere that gets only part of the day in sun. | The best shade tolerance of the common warm season grasses. Broader leaf, soft underfoot, slower to recover from heavy wear. |
| Kikuyu | Full sun, kids and dogs, and lawns that take a hammering. | Fast growing and self repairing, which is the point. It will also grow into your garden beds if you let it, so it wants an edge. |
| Couch | Full sun, high traffic, and anyone who wants a fine, tight lawn. | The closest thing to a sports field finish. Wants more sun and more mowing than the others, and it browns off harder in winter. |
| Tall fescue | Shaded yards and anyone who wants green through a Melbourne winter. | A cool season grass, so it behaves the opposite way round: happiest in the cold, and it struggles in a long dry summer. |
Recent work
Lawns We Have Laid Around Melbourne
Recent jobs include a front and back yard in Brighton and a whole backyard in Blackburn. We keep our customers' details private, so the photos do the talking.
New lawn run up to a rendered bench seat and large-format paving.
A sweep of lawn meeting granite pavers set into groundcover.
Level lawn behind a succulent bed and stone stepping pavers.
Why New Era
Choosing New Era Landscapes for Your Lawn
We bring over 10 years of experience in landscaping and turf work across Melbourne.
Every trade around the lawn is ours too. The edging that keeps kikuyu out of the garden beds, the irrigation under it, the paving it runs up to and the drainage that stops it sitting wet all come from the same crew on the same quote.
Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, with no obligation. You can see the work on Instagram, where we post jobs as they finish.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How long before you can walk on new turf?
Keep off it properly for about two weeks, then light use. Give it a month before kids and dogs treat it as a lawn. What you are waiting for is the roots to grow down into the soil underneath, and you can check by lifting a corner. If it resists, it has taken.
How much water does new turf need?
A lot, and daily, for the first couple of weeks. This is the single thing that decides whether your lawn takes, and it is the one part we hand to you. We will give you a watering plan for the season you are laying in, because turf laid in February needs a different routine to turf laid in May.
What is the best turf for a Melbourne backyard?
Buffalo if the yard is shaded for part of the day, kikuyu if it is open sun and gets used hard, couch if you want a fine lawn and will mow it, and tall fescue if you want green through winter and have shade. Sun hours decide it more than anything else does.
When is the best time to lay turf in Melbourne?
Spring and early autumn are easiest, because the ground is warm and the weather does some of the watering. You can lay turf almost any time of year here, but summer means committing to the hose and winter means it will sit and sulk before it roots.
Do I need to remove the old lawn first?
Yes, and laying new turf straight over the top of old grass is the most common way a lawn fails. The old layer breaks down, the new turf sits on a spongy bed and never roots into real soil. We strip it out, fix the levels and prepare the ground properly.
Areas We Serve Across Melbourne
We are based in Melbourne's south east and we lay lawns right across the city. There is no shopfront to visit, so we come to you and measure it where it is going.
If you have searched for turf installation near me or turf laying near me anywhere in the south east, there is a good chance we are already working close by. You will find us regularly in Brighton, Berwick, Frankston, Cranbourne, Glen Waverley, Cheltenham, Narre Warren, Pakenham, Dandenong, Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Mentone, Mordialloc, Hampton.
Not on that list? Call and ask. We cover most of Melbourne, and you will get a straight answer either way.
Written by Jono O'Brien, who runs New Era Landscapes and has been in landscaping and turf renovation for over ten years. You can talk to him directly about your yard.
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