The cheapest way to turf a garden (without wasting money)

Start with what you can do yourself

Some parts of a turfing job need tools, a strong back and experience. Others are easy jobs you can do before we arrive, and every one of them saves time on the day.

• Clear the lawn of furniture, toys, plant pots and anything stored on it
• Dig out or move plants you want to keep from the area being turfed
• Take down an old shed, greenhouse or trampoline yourself if you can
• Remove loose gravel or slabs from the lawn area if they're light work
• Measure the lawn so your quote is accurate first time

Choose the right scope

Turfing the whole garden at once is usually best value, because a lot of the cost is in setting up the day. But if budget is tight, you could:

• Turf the main back lawn now and the front later
• Make the lawn a simple shape: straight edges are quicker than lots of curves
• Use paving or gravel in a deeply shaded corner where grass would struggle anyway

Where not to cut corners

The ground is where cheap jobs go wrong. Turf laid over old grass, or straight onto compacted clay or rubble, often yellows, shrinks or stays patchy. Fixing that later means paying for the job twice.

Cheap turf is another false saving, as it can bring coarse grasses and weeds with it. We lay one good-quality, hard-wearing lawn turf and nothing lower grade, so that corner never gets cut on our jobs. See budget turf vs premium turf.