The Sod Project a.k.a. "Hell Week" - Part 3

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I detailed in part 1 the purpose behind this project and in part 2 the amount of prep work needed to prepare for it.  Finally after doing all the prep work I was ready to lay the sod.  Laying sod has to be one of the most back breaking jobs I have done.  The up and down, up and down, up and down makes it hard work.  This is the second time I have laid sod, the first was my front yard 10 years ago.  I can say that 10 years makes a difference on your body.

I had a total of four pallets of grass to lay down, and each pallet covers 500 sq. ft.  I also had the challenge of matching up the new grass to the existing grass.  I must have measured pretty well because I ran out of grass with just a little left to do.  I picked up 20 more squares at my local nursery to finish the job.  

Well I survived my own hell week.  It was so much work to get done in just a week, but I am happy that I did it.  My back held up pretty well, but my right knee has been sore for over a week.  I have been watering the grass every day for the last week and it is starting to green up nicely.  Hopefully over the next few weeks it will take root.

I started laying in the far end of my yard it was nice and cool that morning. 

I used a small hatchet to trim the sod nice and tight to the rock wall.  

It worked well.

Working my way up the hill.

I left two areas unsodded, this is one of them.  

I am going to plant some knockout roses and flowers here.

 

Here is what it looked like after all the pallets were laid. You can see the small area I had left.  You can also see the grass is yellow because this was laid last and was at the bottom of the pallet.

Here is that same area after a week of watering, much greener.

The hill is still there, but so much better than before.

I used black garden soil to blend the old grass to the new.

This should grow together and disappear.

Same area after a week of watering.

A view from the garden looking out.

Opposite side, looking towards the garden.