# How much topsoil has to be under sod



## Oldhouseowner (Jul 24, 2007)

Hey everyone,

Just a quick one. How much topsoil do I need to have to put sod onto.

I have a bunch of concrete at different elevations in my Yard and I am hoping to break it up, add new topsoil and sod over some of it if possible. 

Just thinking of a way to avoid driving concrete to the landfill. My old Toyota Echo has done too much of that already.


Thanks

:thumbsup:


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## sportyjo (Apr 20, 2009)

*prep for sod*

The main thing with either sod or seeding is the soil prep. The worst thing for either is compacted soil which may be significant in the area under the concrete. If you have lots of clay or lots of sand you should add a good amount of quality topsoil and/or compost and till it in to loosen the soil 6-12". Sodding on compacted, poor soil is not going to be successful. Hope that helps.


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## Grampa Bud (Apr 6, 2009)

I wouldn't advise sodding OR seeding over concrete unless the concrete is 12 or more inches down. Ole SOL that warms everything else on this rock will definitely warm soil 1-2" thick over concrete one heck of a lot faster than over 12" of any kind of soil only. It will literally cook the bejesus out of sod and dehydrate plain old seed to just dust in a day or two. I speak from experience. I took out an old crumbling brick BBQ/fireplace for my father and was pooped at the end of the day. I saw that Dad had originally poured a 6" concrete base for this monster and I had no desire to try to break it up and haul it away. I dumped about 4" of new black pulverized top soil on top of it planted much seed and starter fertilizer and watered like Hell for a week. All I got was a nice black cooked dry square of 4" deep black topsoil. I put down less than day old thick fresh sod, fertilized it and watered like Hell for a week. It looked good and showed signs of taking hold. It was alright that season, but the next spring when everything else greened up I had this nice square brown patch of dead year old sod. After finally digging up and breaking up the concrete and hauling it away I put in more dirt (plain old field soil) planted seed with fertilizer and he had green grass forever.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,... I agree,... You'll need to bury it a foot or more...


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