• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
DIY Doctor

Main navigation

      • All Projects
      • Brick, Block, Masonry and Concrete
      • Damp, Condensation, Rot and Woodworm
      • Doors, Windows and Conservatories
      • Electrical
      • Fencing, Decking, Paving and Patios
      • Floors, Walls, Ceilings and Lofts
      • Garages, Sheds and Outbuildings
      • Gardening and Landscaping
      • General Building, Self Build and Renovation
      • General Repairs and Cleaning
      • Green Living and Eco DIY
      • Ground, Foundations and Drainage
      • Heating, Central Heating and Boilers
      • Joinery and Carpentry
      • Materials, Fixings and Fixing
      • Painting, Decorating and Finishing
      • Planning Regs, Project Management and Safety
      • Plastering, Plasterboard and Rendering
      • Plumbing
      • Roofing and Gutters
      • Tiling and Tiles
      • Tools, Appliances and Access
      • DIY Tips
      • Bathroom DIY Videos
      • Decorating Videos
      • Green and Eco Friendly Videos
      • Kitchen Videos
      • Building Foundation Videos
      • Electrical Videos
      • Hand and Power Tools Videos
      • Plumbing Videos
      • Building Videos
      • Fitting Blinds Videos
      • Heating and Central Heating Videos
      • Security Videos
      • Carpentry and Woodworking Videos
      • Flooring Videos
      • Kitchen Videos
      • Damp and Damp Proofing Videos
      • Gardening Videos
      • Plastering and Drylining Videos
      • Find a Tradesman
      • Contract Download
      • Working With Tradesmen - Ultimate Guide
      • Home Improver Protection
      • Price Doctor
      • Tool Store
      • Book Store
      • Tool Reviews and Product Reviews
      • Blog
      • DIY Competitions
      • About DIY Doctor
      • What we do
      • Trade Shows and Exhibitions
      • Master Classes
      • Contact Us

Home > DIY How To Projects and Tutorial Guides > How to Repair a Damaged Lawn

How to Repair a Damaged Lawn

How to repair a damaged lawn and achieve a perfect garden. Lawn care can be broken down into simple steps such as dealing with damaged patches of grass, treating weeds, looking after the edges or smoothing out dips and bumps. Find out how to care for your lawn and make the necessary lawn repairs when need in this simply project.

Don't want to do this job yourself? Let us help you find a tradesman local to you

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer
Project Page Menu
  • How to Tutorial
  • Video
  • Find Tradesmen
  • Help

A healthy lawn is an asset to any garden, but a damaged lawn can look awful. A lawn won’t just get better on its own – it needs care and attention, and some work. There are a variety of problems which can reduce your lawn to an unsightly patch of ground, but they are all fixable.

First of all, you need to assess the damage to see if it is worth investing a lot of time and energy in fixing the lawn, or whether you are better off starting again from scratch. Look over the whole lawn area – if it is over 60% weeds and moss then you should seriously consider re-turfing.

Mowing, Feeding and Scarifying

Before you start to treat your lawn, you need to ensure that it is as healthy as possible. First of all, you need to mow the lawn to a height of about 10mm. If the lawn is very long, make sure you reduce the height gradually over a few mows. Correct mowing will improve the look of your lawn straight away.

Feed your lawn with a lawn fertilizer. Then, after a few days, run a scarifier over the lawn – this will comb the grass, and remove a lot of moss and dead undergrowth (known as thatch). You can rent a scarifier from a garden centre or tool hire centre. If the weather is dry it is a good idea to water the lawn the day before scarifying. If you have a very small lawn, you can scarify it yourself by raking it over firmly with a springbok rake.

Remove the accumulated matter produced by scarifying, by going over the lawn with a mower with grass collector (ensure the blade is set high enough not to actually cut the grass), or rake over and collect by hand.

Allow the lawn to recover for a week after scarifying, then mow it again. Always mow in a different direction to the scarifying – that way the grass that has been combed up won’t just flatten down again.

Treating Weeds In Your Lawn

Three days after mowing, weed the lawn. A few weeds in a small lawn can be removed by hand, but if you have large patches of buttercups, daisies, moss or dandelions, the best solution is to use a selective weed killer to spray the whole area. Use a watering can or garden sprayer to treat the whole lawn on a dry day, but avoid doing it in the hottest part of the day as it will scorch the grass.

Stubborn weeds may need more than one treatment – follow the instructions on the weeding compound for repeat treatments.

Damaged Patches In Your Lawn

If you have brown, dead patches of lawn where animal urine or weed killer has killed it off, you will need to remove them and fill in the hole. Use an edging tool or sharp spade to cut around the damaged area and lift the turf. If possible, take a piece of good turf from an area of lawn where it won’t be noticed. If this is not possible, you can either buy a piece of turf or use grass seed. If you are filling in the patch with turf, cut it to size and place in the hole ensuring that it is level with the ground around it. Firm down, and put fine topsoil or compost along the edges. Water in well and keep watering regularly until the roots have taken.

If you have chosen to use seed to fill in the patch, fill the hole with good, fine topsoil so that it is level with the ground around it. Water and seed the patch. It is a good idea to cover the patch with tarpaulin or plastic overnight and early morning – this will keep in the warmth to encourage germination, and protect it from birds.

Damaged Edges

Keeping the edges of your lawn neat makes a surprising difference to the overall look of the lawn. Re-cut your lawn edges every spring, using an edging tool. If an edge is damaged, cut out a rectangle around the damaged area, lift the turf and turn it around so that the missing section is facing in. Fill in the hole with compost, spread some grass seed over it and water.

Dips And Bumps In Your Lawn

Top dressing the lawn will help to smooth out minor lumps and bumps – use sharp sand to do this. Use a shovel to spread the sand over the lawn in a thin layer, then brush over the whole lawn to level it and ensure that the grass is not smothered anywhere. You can repeat this over a few weeks, adding new layers of sand as the grass recovers to level the area.

Large dips or bumps will need to be dealt with in a different way, as top dressing will never get rid of them. Use an edging tool or sharp spade to cut into the problem area, in the shape of an H – then you can peel back the two sides and add or remove soil to make it level. Fold the flaps of turf back down and fill the cuts with fine soil or compost.

All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards, founder of DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology.

TwitterFacebookPin ItBuffer

Video

Back to the Top

Apologies, but we don't seem to have a video for this project yet, but we will do our best to get one up soon

Find a Reliable Local Tradesman

Back to the Top
Don't fancy doing this project yourself? We work with the industries best to ensure that we recommend only reliable and trustworthy tradesmen.
Let DIY Doctor help you find a tradesman

Find a tradesman now!


More Help

Back to the Top
Related Projects That May Help You:
  • How to Build a Compost Bin
  • How to Lay Turf
  • How to Build a Garden Pond
  • Garden and Outdoor Electrics
Give us Some Feedback!

We love feedback on our DIY tutorials it helps us to make them the best they possibly can be so if you have any comments you would like to share with us, click the button below and let us know.

Primary Sidebar

DIY Doctor deal of the week

Blue Groove Set:

Auger and flat bit 8 piece set

RRP Price: £68.04

Special Price: £29.15

Get it here now

See our other deals now!

Master Basic DIY - By DIY Doctor

Our Book - Master Basic DIY

Grab your copy now for all the DIY help you need right at your finger tips!

Buy it Here!

Signup for our Newsletter

Keep up to date with our DIY projects, tips and latest deals

Sign Me Up!

Our Sponsors

Find out about advertising on DIY Doctor

Advertisments

Other Similar Projects
  • Building A Compost Container - How To Make Your Own Compost Heap
  • Garden And Outdoor Lighting
  • How To Build A Garden Pond And Some Great Garden Pond Ideas
  • Laying Turf - Top Tips For Laying New Turf And Looking After A New Lawn

Footer

DIY Doctor

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Media/Press
  • Community Work
  • DIY Projects
  • DIY Videos
  • Superstore
  • DIY Tips
  • DIY Suppliers
  • UK DIY Forum
  • DIY Webinars

Other Stuff

  • Advertise
  • Competitions
  • T and Cs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • NHIC
  • Sitemap

DIY Doctor Social Channels

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on YouTube
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Tumblr

DIY Doctor are members of:

© DIY Doctor Ltd 2022 All Rights Reserved