How will this lawn look in 2 months time? Hit subscribe and I'll show you! 👍😎 This is a sponsorship-free channel - join the member zone to help keep it that way - thank you! members.gosforthhandyman.com/
@@GosforthHandyman Andy, you and Mrs Mac are champions! An inspiration. Fantastic attitude, very likable and talented too! The wooden batons look to be a great method of levelling. but how does the grass grow over the wood? Why isn't there a horizontal bare patch a couple of cm wide over the wooden baton? Thank you 👍
We did pretty much the same as you in our small lawn last year, after we’d received a quote for £1,500 from a landscaper to “send some lads over to dig it up, but with no guarantee the seed will take” - saved ourselves almost £1,500 and have a nice lawn
I thought it was Michael Jackson doing the moon dance when you were treading in that topsoil Andy. As always such a wonderfully instructive and intelligent vignette. You see so many properties both new build and old built with a download slope towards the foundations or ground level..always something to bear in mind. Still very tidy and thorough and Mrs Mac ..... she's a diamond of a grafter !
Great video. Its not often you can watch the entire start to finish of this type of work in a single video. Well filmed, and explained fantastically. Your channel has come so far since those early days. Nothing but the best of wishes to you and your fam!
Instead of paying someone to remove stumps - get my sons in - they love destroying things. Took a week to remove 2 huge sycamore stumps left over. Lawn looks great and I loved the Irish jig flattening it by you and Mrs Mac. I'll be getting mine done in a couple of weeks - youngest is a landscape gardener, so it'll be a good job to stick in his portfolio seeing the mess he has to deal with. Just waiting for the scaffolding bits to go.
Top tip: tape a couple of boards to your boots to walk in the seed to soil. You'll be able to do that in a few minutes instead of using only the size of your feet.
That tiller sequence was beautiful! It looked extremely satisfying. Consider goggles though, Andy and Mrs Mac. Great video, I’ve got these sorts of jobs ahead on my own 90 year old property.
Bit late for you but a good tip for using grass seed is to soak it in warm water overnight, drain it and let it dry before spreading, this kick starts the germination process early so sprouts quicker.
Just done a similar job I put a slight crown on the top to just let it drain. I also had a mattock which was a brilliant tool for getting the roots out hard work.
Good job Andy. Mrs Mack is a trooper & gets stuck in. Couldn't see my wife doing anything like that. I know how hard that work is because I had to do a similar thing when we got rid of some 30 year old fir trees from our front garden. Roots everywhere & quite deep. Keep them coming Mr & Mrs Mack.
Really recommend the Roughneck micro pickaxe. They are very cheap but so useful in the garden. It would have been ideal for this root job. Buy one and you will use it all the time. Also a 5ft/60 inch 14llb chisel/point digging bar are an essential tool in the garden etc. They chop through roots like you had for fun but come in handy again for so much, be it digging out stuff in the garden or shifting things thanks to the leverage. Again one of those why didn't I get this years ago tools.
Incredible job on the new lawn. 100% agree with you on the plastic lawns as well. They seem to be going into gardens at a very worrying pace. Always look terrible as well
@@GosforthHandyman we did out old lawn it was about 2m wide but something like 17m long. It took ages to dig up and sort out, but so pleased with the results. We then moved to a place with artificial grass 🤣
The video really did underestimate the work that you done in the preparation phase. At some point we do really want to hear from your absolute hero in this project Mrs Mac.
Several years ago, I took down a 100+ year old Douglas fir that was in my yard (it was diseased & dying and I didn’t want it falling on my house or someone else’s). The tree guys did a great job grinding down the stump. When I put in new grass the next year, I dug down over 2feet removing wood chips from the stump. But even tho I removed so much of the wood chips, the grass in that area has struggled to stay alive. I’ve since learned that leaving wood chips in the ground changes the Ph levels such that the grass either doesn’t grow or is very patchy.
I bought the same tiller a couple of months ago for my garden. I hadn’t dug it like you but it churned through the old lawn like a hot knife through butter. Fantastic bit of kit for very little money 😀.
Top tip if heavy rain is due you can put a light top dressing on grass seed. Have my own gardening business have grassed hundreds of lawns over the last 20 years.
I have never seen anyone level their lawn as precisely as you did! That extra work will pay off in the future as you will always have proper drainage away from the house. You might get a soil test kit and check the ph of the bald spots. I agree about the plastic grass! It looks fake when it's new, it doesn't feel right if you lie down on it, and like almost everything plastic it doesn't age well.
Nice one, I think you hit the nail on the head earlier in the cons when you mentioned the lack of instant gratification (when comparing turf to seed) - people just want results now, and that's why the artificial companies win out. People need to develop patience and put the effort in rather than quick fix bodgery. Well, that is my opinion anyhow :)
About 25 years ago I went to a meeting in the conference centre of Chelsea Football Club. During the lunch break, I spoke to one of the groundsmen about the pitch. Apparently, after every football season, they kill all the grass with weedkiller. Then they flatten the soil as you did and resow. They then cosset the growing grass, eg with regular watering etc, and the pitch is ready to be played on by the start of the new season. So grass seed is the way to go, as you say!
Great tutorial Mr Mac. I learnt more about lawn prep, than dozens of so called experts who always advise putting more and more lawn sand down to bring the uniform level up to the highest bump. And never a spirit level to be seen !
Love the care you're putting into your lawn, throwing turf down without any work is so self-defeating. The grading is also vital and often neglected. I had no idea those tiller machines were so cheap and effective.
Cannot agree more that the removal of roots and other lawn matter process is essential, we had our lawn turned over (and seeded) when we had an extension built and whilst I am happy with it, there are some areas that have subsided over the course of a few years where old unremoved roots have obviously rotted away. I now watch Premier Lawns for tips on lawn care so recommend you check them too.
Excellent job, I would be tempted to add a path down the middle. Only because I tend to find grass compacts where you walk the most and dies but you can fork to stop.
thank you for the hard work that you and you wife have done! in showing me how hard it is to create a great lawn.. well done and keep it up looks beautiful by the way..
Watching this on 18th July 2022 at 8.30 am. The temperature today is predicted over 30, Im pleased to see you managed to get that done before this very hot period. Although watching you and your mrs determination to get it done I reckon somehow or another you would still have been working. I really enjoy the way you talk about things and your resilience is inspiring.As well as your content being informative and well explained to a DIY er like me.
Hi, you forgot to add in how much grass seed the birds are going to eat before you get the grass up. I know your estimate was half a bag, but you will need the whole bag end up with enough to make a nice turf.
What a wonderful lawn! The years of satisfaction you'll get from a good quality, level lawn make the effort spent now seem minimal despite the backache at the time. I'm glad I'm not the only one whose garden fork lost a battle with a root. 🙂
You should mow at an angle not straight. Looks so much better also leave it little longer than most helps self shade gets greener and softer in between your toes.
When I had to do a small amount of root removal, I found that the recip saw with a 12" blade was great for breaking longer roots down. They levered out much more easily. The lawn looks wonderful. Lovely transformation.
There could have been a very entertaining time lapse dance routine from you and Mrs Mac but hey ho, work to be done!! Well done, I've tried seed in the past and not met with success so it has been turf each time for me in recent times.
Great result 👌 my dog has severely damaged my lawn by doing his business on it every day, this video gave me inspiration and motivation to adress the issue ! Totally agree with plastic lawn, what an utter non-sense. Excellent content as usual, keep going !
I'm also not a great fan of plastic grass but it it works well in childcare centres where there is a lot of daily traffic. It also cushions falls to a degree, and little stones, etc are easy to see.
I literally bought a £50 Vonhaus rotivator this weekend to break up compacted hardcore under some paving that I removed. It was amazing, best tool I’ve ever bought. Used it again after removing the hardcore to break up the clay soil underneath and mix it with manure for planting. 10/10
I just did a resurface of my lawn, On week 5 & it’s looking good. Yours is doing very well . I’d say birds pecked those bare areas . Overseed them areas & cover seeds with some top soil . & don’t get too obsessed with the grass. (Harder than it sounds) Enjoy it , you’ve worked hard 👍
I got myself one of those little tillers in 2020 when on furlough, its a brilliant little thing for £50. It took up all sorts of bricks, metal, roots and everything between. Great work on the house and garden btw it looks mega 👍
Great job, exhausted just watching. Thats hard work digging up roots. On the cultivator i found it was just skipping on the top of the soil, i cable tied a large kettle bell to the bottom to add weight and then did a great job digging up the soil.
Hi, whilst your lawn looks really nice, you are right about birds and your plastic bag "scarecrows" were effective. We tried a different method we were told about and put cotton thread across the seeded lawn using lollipop sticks so the thread was raised just above the soil, birds were disconcerted and flew down then away without landing. Of course it may not work for others though it did for us. Now we have imitation grass laid on visqueen on impacted dolomite and it is in feel and looks, like real grass, with good drainage. As we are pensioners disabled with arthritis, it was either that or concrete. For most folk, I agree with you but since birds land on the lawns, they must have seen it like the real thing.
When I last planted a garden in clay soil. I hit each clod with the side of the spading fork while it was relatively fresh. And the clods just crumble. Doesn't work when they are soaking wet or sunbaked into "bricks" by the Texas sun. Leaving them over the winter also works. The freeze thaw cycle usually brakes them up if you do that.
How will this lawn look in 2 months time? Hit subscribe and I'll show you! 👍😎
This is a sponsorship-free channel - join the member zone to help keep it that way - thank you! members.gosforthhandyman.com/
If only a few more people in the world put even 10% of the effort you put into things the world would be a far more pleasant place to be.
Aw thank you!
For sure 👋🏽👋🏽
Congratulations to you and Mrs Mac for making such a fine job on the house. Your garden will no doubt be equally impressive.
Cheers! Garden might take a few years 😁
The method of levelling with the wooden batons was genius! Great end result
Cheers! Quickest method we've found. 👍
@@GosforthHandyman Andy, you and Mrs Mac are champions! An inspiration. Fantastic attitude, very likable and talented too! The wooden batons look to be a great method of levelling. but how does the grass grow over the wood? Why isn't there a horizontal bare patch a couple of cm wide over the wooden baton? Thank you 👍
@@Marktb363 you just remove the wooden batons once you’ve levelled the ground and fill in the void.
We did pretty much the same as you in our small lawn last year, after we’d received a quote for £1,500 from a landscaper to “send some lads over to dig it up, but with no guarantee the seed will take” - saved ourselves almost £1,500 and have a nice lawn
Good job using the levelled buried boards and large T bar to establish level... Excellent idea...
@17:25 Love it! Great editing!!
Gliding across the lawn.😂✔👍
😁👍
I’m with you on the plastic lawns Andy, absolute abominations!
I thought it was Michael Jackson doing the moon dance when you were treading in that topsoil Andy. As always such a wonderfully instructive and intelligent vignette. You see so many properties both new build and old built with a download slope towards the foundations or ground level..always something to bear in mind. Still very tidy and thorough and Mrs Mac ..... she's a diamond of a grafter !
Totally agree about the plastic lawn!
You guys are brilliant. Love the look of joy on Mrs Mac’s face when you got the Tiller!
Too right! We were getting a bit worried up to that point! 😁
Great video. Its not often you can watch the entire start to finish of this type of work in a single video. Well filmed, and explained fantastically. Your channel has come so far since those early days. Nothing but the best of wishes to you and your fam!
I didn't realise how quickly seed grows. Looks amazing
Yup came through really quick! Good growing conditions. Nice and warm and plenty water. 👍
It's bloody England mate. That soil could grow anything! Here in Australia... well, that's a different story.
It looks fabulous, I bet you and Mrs Mac are looking forward to everything being done.
Cheers - too right!
Great job and great advocate for natural materials
Instead of paying someone to remove stumps - get my sons in - they love destroying things. Took a week to remove 2 huge sycamore stumps left over. Lawn looks great and I loved the Irish jig flattening it by you and Mrs Mac. I'll be getting mine done in a couple of weeks - youngest is a landscape gardener, so it'll be a good job to stick in his portfolio seeing the mess he has to deal with. Just waiting for the scaffolding bits to go.
Fantastic stuff - good luck with yours. Nice when the scaffolding finally goes!
Another great video Andy,love the Benny Hill clip while sewing the seeds 🤣
Cheers bud! 😂😂
Nice to see a lawn rather than just another sterile decking or patio.
Place is looking FAB! Mrs. Mac is a total gem.
Cheers - she's a grafter! 😍
Top tip: tape a couple of boards to your boots to walk in the seed to soil. You'll be able to do that in a few minutes instead of using only the size of your feet.
Great job, and big shout out for the quietly diligent Mrs. Mac 👏🏼
Cheers Mandy! 👍
That tiller sequence was beautiful! It looked extremely satisfying. Consider goggles though, Andy and Mrs Mac. Great video, I’ve got these sorts of jobs ahead on my own 90 year old property.
Cheers! It's not too bad as the guards keep most stuff at ground level. 👍
Very nice lawn
Cheers - really pleased with it!
I think Mrs Mac is a keeper! Well done
Bit late for you but a good tip for using grass seed is to soak it in warm water overnight, drain it and let it dry before spreading, this kick starts the germination process early so sprouts quicker.
You are so dedicated in everything you do. It really is a joy to watch all the progress. Lawn looks great!
Just done a similar job I put a slight crown on the top to just let it drain. I also had a mattock which was a brilliant tool for getting the roots out hard work.
Good job Andy. Mrs Mack is a trooper & gets stuck in. Couldn't see my wife doing anything like that. I know how hard that work is because I had to do a similar thing when we got rid of some 30 year old fir trees from our front garden. Roots everywhere & quite deep. Keep them coming Mr & Mrs Mack.
Really recommend the Roughneck micro pickaxe. They are very cheap but so useful in the garden. It would have been ideal for this root job. Buy one and you will use it all the time. Also a 5ft/60 inch 14llb chisel/point digging bar are an essential tool in the garden etc. They chop through roots like you had for fun but come in handy again for so much, be it digging out stuff in the garden or shifting things thanks to the leverage. Again one of those why didn't I get this years ago tools.
Thanks!
Thank you Daren! 🤘👍
Best lawn video ever. Especially the two of you treading the ground before seeding! Hilarious.
Cheers Karen! 😁
Incredible job on the new lawn. 100% agree with you on the plastic lawns as well. They seem to be going into gardens at a very worrying pace. Always look terrible as well
Great team work with the Mrs. Well done and you both deserved a pat for such a well done job!
Looking very good Andy & we loved the fancy footwork from both of you 😂😂👍.
Pleased you did this. So many people buy turf and can't be bothered growing a lawn, it's so easy and fun.
Was very tempted with turf but in the end we just didn't need a lawn that quickly and saved a fortune. 👍😁
@@GosforthHandyman we did out old lawn it was about 2m wide but something like 17m long. It took ages to dig up and sort out, but so pleased with the results. We then moved to a place with artificial grass 🤣
The video really did underestimate the work that you done in the preparation phase.
At some point we do really want to hear from your absolute hero in this project Mrs Mac.
Several years ago, I took down a 100+ year old Douglas fir that was in my yard (it was diseased & dying and I didn’t want it falling on my house or someone else’s). The tree guys did a great job grinding down the stump. When I put in new grass the next year, I dug down over 2feet removing wood chips from the stump. But even tho I removed so much of the wood chips, the grass in that area has struggled to stay alive. I’ve since learned that leaving wood chips in the ground changes the Ph levels such that the grass either doesn’t grow or is very patchy.
Yeah, I suspect that's the problem where our stump used to be. Need to test the soil. 👍
Love the lawn dancing 💃 🕺
👍😁
I bought the same tiller a couple of months ago for my garden. I hadn’t dug it like you but it churned through the old lawn like a hot knife through butter. Fantastic bit of kit for very little money 😀.
Yup - we were over the moon. I was starting to panic when all the dug-up clay was turning in to rocks. 😂
Top tip if heavy rain is due you can put a light top dressing on grass seed. Have my own gardening business have grassed hundreds of lawns over the last 20 years.
It’s beautiful lawn well done good job, I’m going to do my small garden following your advices and I got no experience hopefully it turn out ok 👍
Hiya, always look forward to your uploads
Cheers Kris!
I think that's the best way for it Andy very impressive with a grass seeds.
Top job Andy. Another advantage of proper grass is that birds and animals can get to their food sources. 🌞
Cheers Ray - defo! 😎👍
I have never seen anyone level their lawn as precisely as you did! That extra work will pay off in the future as you will always have proper drainage away from the house. You might get a soil test kit and check the ph of the bald spots.
I agree about the plastic grass! It looks fake when it's new, it doesn't feel right if you lie down on it, and like almost everything plastic it doesn't age well.
The fake grass gets so hot in summer you need to water it to cool it enough to walk on
For smashing through roots, my go-to is a mattock.
Brilliant work and thanks for sharing this with us take care
👍
Nice one, I think you hit the nail on the head earlier in the cons when you mentioned the lack of instant gratification (when comparing turf to seed) - people just want results now, and that's why the artificial companies win out. People need to develop patience and put the effort in rather than quick fix bodgery. Well, that is my opinion anyhow :)
About 25 years ago I went to a meeting in the conference centre of Chelsea Football Club. During the lunch break, I spoke to one of the groundsmen about the pitch. Apparently, after every football season, they kill all the grass with weedkiller. Then they flatten the soil as you did and resow. They then cosset the growing grass, eg with regular watering etc, and the pitch is ready to be played on by the start of the new season. So grass seed is the way to go, as you say!
what a fun video to watch and incredibly satisfying finish!
Cheers Brea!
Really love this - the strategy of levelling the lawn and the technique! Thank you.
Great tutorial Mr Mac. I learnt more about lawn prep, than dozens of so called experts who always advise putting more and more lawn sand down to bring the uniform level up to the highest bump. And never a spirit level to be seen !
That was absolutely amazing. Well done.
Do those levelling boards just stay in the ground or did you dig them out and fill with soil?
We have been using the same tiller to dig out rubble filled ground to dig back for a retaining wall it really is a beast of a machine
Love the care you're putting into your lawn, throwing turf down without any work is so self-defeating. The grading is also vital and often neglected. I had no idea those tiller machines were so cheap and effective.
Cannot agree more that the removal of roots and other lawn matter process is essential, we had our lawn turned over (and seeded) when we had an extension built and whilst I am happy with it, there are some areas that have subsided over the course of a few years where old unremoved roots have obviously rotted away. I now watch Premier Lawns for tips on lawn care so recommend you check them too.
Excellent job, I would be tempted to add a path down the middle. Only because I tend to find grass compacts where you walk the most and dies but you can fork to stop.
Possibly! We're trying to force ourselves to get used to the side path but we shall see. 👍
thank you for the hard work that you and you wife have done! in showing me how hard it is to create a great lawn.. well done and keep it up looks beautiful by the way..
Great video as ever Andy.....them roots should be OK for kindling for your wood burner once seasoned mate 👍
Great video. Love the music and sequences at fast speed... Half expected Benny Hill to show up 😂
Watching this on 18th July 2022 at 8.30 am. The temperature today is predicted over 30, Im pleased to see you managed to get that done before this very hot period. Although watching you and your mrs determination to get it done I reckon somehow or another you would still have been working. I really enjoy the way you talk about things and your resilience is inspiring.As well as your content being informative and well explained to a DIY er like me.
Hello Andy and Mrs Mc, that was hard graft. You two make a great team.
Phenomenal amount of work but wow.
Hi, you forgot to add in how much grass seed the birds are going to eat before you get the grass up. I know your estimate was half a bag, but you will need the whole bag end up with enough to make a nice turf.
What a wonderful lawn! The years of satisfaction you'll get from a good quality, level lawn make the effort spent now seem minimal despite the backache at the time.
I'm glad I'm not the only one whose garden fork lost a battle with a root. 🙂
beautiful content, we all love lawns , thats what we spend most our day here in Calgary- mowing lawns 16 hours every day.
You should mow at an angle not straight. Looks so much better also leave it little longer than most helps self shade gets greener and softer in between your toes.
When I had to do a small amount of root removal, I found that the recip saw with a 12" blade was great for breaking longer roots down. They levered out much more easily.
The lawn looks wonderful. Lovely transformation.
Yup, recip saw was out a fair bit during this - very handy! Cheers bud! 👍
There could have been a very entertaining time lapse dance routine from you and Mrs Mac but hey ho, work to be done!! Well done, I've tried seed in the past and not met with success so it has been turf each time for me in recent times.
Get yourself a Mattock for getting up the roots, it's still hard work but way better than a garden fork, plus it has so many other building uses.
Great result 👌 my dog has severely damaged my lawn by doing his business on it every day, this video gave me inspiration and motivation to adress the issue ! Totally agree with plastic lawn, what an utter non-sense. Excellent content as usual, keep going !
Garden looks a treat Andy. Well done to both of you. 👍👍
Cheers - full garden update coming soon!
Excellent video! I would have thought that the lawn takes longer to grow. But 25 days seems reasonable. Thanx again!
I'm also not a great fan of plastic grass but it it works well in childcare centres where there is a lot of daily traffic. It also cushions falls to a degree, and little stones, etc are easy to see.
Love the Garden WC - Commanding view
😁😁
It looks great. I recently grass seeded a new lawn in my garden, almost ready for the first cut!
Big fat WOW! Amazing work you two.
Great informative video. Thank you
I literally bought a £50 Vonhaus rotivator this weekend to break up compacted hardcore under some paving that I removed. It was amazing, best tool I’ve ever bought. Used it again after removing the hardcore to break up the clay soil underneath and mix it with manure for planting. 10/10
Amazing bit of kit for the money!
Great vid Andy, the music is tremendous!
I just did a resurface of my lawn,
On week 5 & it’s looking good.
Yours is doing very well .
I’d say birds pecked those bare areas .
Overseed them areas & cover seeds with some top soil .
& don’t get too obsessed with the grass. (Harder than it sounds)
Enjoy it , you’ve worked hard 👍
Very respectable lawn
Lovely job . We have about 4x that with an oak in it 🫣🫣.
Loved the Timelapse of you two compacting the soil . 😆🧱👍🏽
I got myself one of those little tillers in 2020 when on furlough, its a brilliant little thing for £50. It took up all sorts of bricks, metal, roots and everything between. Great work on the house and garden btw it looks mega 👍
I got one a couple of months ago, brilliant bit of kit I dug up an area 20 metres square in an hour would have taken days with a fork!
Love the outdoor toilet!
Loved the animation.
Wonderful. Ready for Wimbledon. Loved the skating. I thought that little machine would not five minutes.
last five minutes
Bloody hell mate. Top job. Impressed at how well that tool did the job as well!
Well done. Back breaking work !
Great job, exhausted just watching. Thats hard work digging up roots. On the cultivator i found it was just skipping on the top of the soil, i cable tied a large kettle bell to the bottom to add weight and then did a great job digging up the soil.
Really nice job the lawn looks great,i totally agree with you about plastic grass
As always Andy you and Mrs Mac have done a grand job!
Work well done both of you,coming along nicely. Did appreciate the line dancing sequence with mrs Mac and yourself.
Cheers! 😂
Very helpful video TY 👍
Hi, whilst your lawn looks really nice, you are right about birds and your plastic bag "scarecrows" were effective. We tried a different method we were told about and put cotton thread across the seeded lawn using lollipop sticks so the thread was raised just above the soil, birds were disconcerted and flew down then away without landing. Of course it may not work for others though it did for us.
Now we have imitation grass laid on visqueen on impacted dolomite and it is in feel and looks, like real grass, with good drainage. As we are pensioners disabled with arthritis, it was either that or concrete. For most folk, I agree with you but since birds land on the lawns, they must have seen it like the real thing.
When I last planted a garden in clay soil. I hit each clod with the side of the spading fork while it was relatively fresh. And the clods just crumble. Doesn't work when they are soaking wet or sunbaked into "bricks" by the Texas sun. Leaving them over the winter also works. The freeze thaw cycle usually brakes them up if you do that.
Fantastic 😀 an amazing effort and result.
I love my little tiller its sorted three lawns to date and its still going strong
Fantastic - amazing bit of kit!
@@GosforthHandyman ive had mine going on 2 half years now and ive done three lawns with it in that time
You need a mulcher to chop up all that yard waste. It'll come in handy as every year there's yard maintenance.
Got one! Some will be going that route. 👍