A new lawn is only as good as the ground underneath it — turf laid over poor prep looks fine for a season and then shows every flaw the soil had. Ōhauiti has plenty of genuinely bare ground going in right now on the hillside subdivisions, alongside established sections needing an old lawn replaced. Either way we prep properly, because that’s the part nobody sees once the grass is green.
Tell us the starting point and rough area so we can scope the prep properly.
The turf itself is the easy part.
Old grass, roots, and compacted soil all need clearing and levelling before turf goes down, or the new lawn just inherits every fault in the ground. Bare hillside topsoil needs different prep again — often thin and compacted from construction traffic.
A shaded, established section needs a different turf variety than an open, sun-exposed hillside lot, and getting this wrong shows up within a year.
A new lawn’s root system is shallow and vulnerable until it knits into the soil, and watering during that window decides whether it takes.
It’s rarely the turf’s fault. It’s what’s underneath it.
Turf rolled straight over old grass or compacted soil looks perfect for the first few weeks, because the roots haven’t had to work yet. The problems surface once they do.
Uneven ground telegraphs through as bumps and low spots that pool water. Compacted soil stops roots going deep enough to survive a dry spell. Old grass left underneath rots and creates soft patches.
Prep is most of the job, even though it’s the least visible part. Clearing, levelling, breaking up compaction, and working in topsoil where needed all happen before a single roll of turf arrives on site.
Once the ground is right, the turf itself does most of the work — it’s not a fussy product, it just needs an honest surface to establish into.
From cleared ground to established turf.
Every install follows the same sequence — skipping a step is what causes problems six months later.
Old lawn and green waste leave with us. Site clearance is part of the job, not an extra — you’re left with a finished lawn, not a pile to deal with.
Ōhauiti runs from a settled, flatter core to sections still being built out on the hill.
An established property near Ohauiti Road usually means replacing a tired, root-bound old lawn on ground that’s already level. A section on the newer hillside subdivisions toward Oropi is a different job entirely — often genuinely bare ground straight off construction, sometimes on a real grade, with thin compacted topsoil that needs proper cultivating and occasionally some regrading before anything can establish well.
We check what’s actually under the ground before quoting. A hillside lot and an established lawn replacement need very different amounts of prep work.
Fixed once we’ve looked. Green waste and GST are both already in it.
We quote after seeing the ground, not off a phone description. Prep needs vary enough between sections that an accurate price means a proper site look first.
Timed around when turf establishes best, not a fixed season.
Autumn and spring give new turf the easiest start. Mild temperatures and reliable moisture mean less stress while roots establish — a summer install on an exposed hillside section needs a lot more watering discipline to survive the heat.
We moved onto a section with nothing but cleared dirt and a house, on a real slope. They regraded the worst of it, prepped it properly, and laid turf that established evenly across the whole lot. Six months on you’d never guess it was bare ground.
Mostly about the job rather than about us, which is how it should be.
Light use is usually fine after about two weeks, with full establishment by six weeks.
No, clearing the old lawn and debris is included as part of the install.
We match the variety to your section’s sun, shade, and exposure — there’s no single default we use everywhere.
Yes, every price we give includes GST.
Yes. Construction topsoil is often thin and compacted, and a real grade sometimes needs regrading before turf goes down.
Daily light watering for the first two weeks, tapering off as the roots establish — we’ll leave a specific schedule for your section.
No, the old lawn needs to be cleared first — turf laid over existing grass fails within months.
Yes, levelling, grading and terracing where needed are part of the prep process for hillside sections.
Most people add one or two of these, since we’re already on the property.
