# Re-sodding a lawn. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-sodding-a-lawn/219410 "2003-12-16T22:19:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hauss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5fc32e/32.png) [@hauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hauss)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-sodding-a-lawn/219410/1 "2003-12-16T22:19:32Z")
If you have a “weed lawn” (lawn made of various green weeds), what do you need to do first before actually laying the new sod? (Treat it/kill it? Tear it up? Dig up a layer of soil and re-soil?) If the answer is different for different grass and climates, then this question will be in relation to laying St. Augustine on a S. Florida, US “weed lawn”. Also, I was wondering if there is a difference in procedures for re-sodding a “weed lawn” as opposed to a regular, weed-free lawn. I will do my own research on the 'net, but I was hoping for some expert advice and personal experiences here. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-sodding-a-lawn/219410/2 "2003-12-16T23:23:25Z")
I’d hardly attribute the word “expert” to my advice, but what you need to do is make sure the existing lawn is dead. Brown dead. For this you need a herbicide. Roundup is what is used in my part of the country. After the existing lawn is killed, you should turn the ground with a rototiller. Add some topsoil if your dirt is deficient (either too much clay or sand). Then re-sod. Since you don’t have to worry about snow or a growing season down your way, I suppose you could do this any time of the year. What I just described is what I was told to do when I was going to do this with my first house. I sold the house and moved instead.