Cost guide
How much does turfing cost?
£15 to £30 a square metre supplied and laid covers most of Britain, while £20 to £38 applies across London and the South East. One published guide prices standard turf fully installed at £12.50, well under everybody else. Small lawns of 25 square metres run £375 to £750.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on your room.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Turf supplied only, budget to hard wearing | £3 to £10 a square metre |
| Supplied and laid, rest of the UK | £15 to £30 a square metre |
| London and the South East, laid | £20 to £38 a square metre |
| New lawn of 50 square metres outside London | £750 to £1,500 |
| Stripping the old lawn and relevelling | about £20 a square metre |
| Old turf carted away | £20 to £50 |
Published figures split from £12.50 a square metre installed up to £30, and almost the whole gap is groundwork. A quote sitting at the bottom of that range is generally turf laid on whatever happened to be there already.
What moves the price
- Measured area, priced per square metre, with the rate easing slightly above about 200.
- Ground condition, where a full strip out and relevel adds roughly £20 a square metre.
- Imported loam at £45 to £135 a cubic metre wherever existing soil is thin or full of rubble.
- Turf grade, from £3 a square metre for budget up to £10 for hard wearing rye.
- Access, since turf arrives on pallets weighing close to a tonne and barrowing through a house is slow.
Who quotes for it
8 of the 18 gardeners listed on this site take on turfing.
Most of them in one place: Shrewsbury (4), Telford (4).
Questions about turfing
How long before it can be walked on?
Three weeks in growing weather and longer through winter. Test it by lifting a corner: if the roots hold on, it has knitted. Children and dogs are better kept off for six weeks, and the first cut should take the tips only.
Is seed cheaper than turf?
Considerably, at £8 to £30 a kilo for seed against £15 to £30 a square metre for turf laid. Seed also roots more deeply in the long run. It needs a full growing season, bare soil through winter and no foot traffic, which rules it out for most gardens.