Laying New Sod On A Older Yard

Question

We just had remodeling work done inside the house followed by new concrete walks and driveway. We didn’t count on our lawn being torn up by the construction traffic. Parts of the yard became mud, so we spread some sand over those parts and then decided to just resod the entire lawn. I did not want to remove the existing grass since the mud problem would become worse and probably approach a divorce situation, as the Mrs. was already upset at the mess in the house. The new sod was laid over the existing, but semi-torn up old lawn. Was this OK? My yard guys are telling me the new sod will not grow. I’m doing all the watering as per instructions and have fertilized lightly with a liquid ‘Miracle grow’ fertilizer. It’s been two weeks and some sod squares are brown but most appear to be OK. Did I mess up by laying over the existing grass?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the lawn guys may be right. You really should have taken up the existing grass first, which you could resuse, and prepared the ground, installing the sod on top of the bare soil. Here is an article that you may find helpful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/lawn-care/lgen/installing-sod-instructions.htm