Lawn replacement cost

Replacing a lawn with new sod costs $1.60 to $5.00 per square foot all in, typically around $3.00, once the old grass is stripped, the ground is graded and prepared, and the sod is laid. A 2,000 square foot front lawn is therefore $3,200 to $10,000, and most come in near $6,000.

The expensive decision is not which grass. It is whether the lawn needs replacing at all, because renovating a lawn that is still mostly grass costs a tenth as much and often gets the same result by the following summer.

What it costs

The first three rows are what the all-in figure is made of: stripping at $0.30 to $1.00, preparation at $0.30 to $1.50 and sod at $1.00 to $2.50 a square foot. A flat, open lawn with good soil and a truck at the curb sits at the bottom. A sloping lawn with clay, a narrow side gate and a dumpster in the driveway sits at the top.

Renovate or replace

Walk the lawn and be honest about what is growing.

Renovate when more than about half of it is still the grass you want, the thin patches are scattered rather than whole areas, and the ground is roughly level. Dethatching, aeration, overseeding and a season of proper feeding will close it up for $600 to $1,500 on a typical lawn. See lawn aeration cost for that route.

Replace when any of these is true:

• Weeds or a creeping grass have taken over, more than half the area, or anything like Bermuda grass invading a cool-season lawn. Overseeding into it is money thrown on top.
• The grade is wrong. Water sits against the house, there are hollows you twist an ankle in, or the lawn has sunk below the path. That needs soil moved, which means the grass comes off first.
• The soil is the problem. Builder's fill, heavy compaction a fork will not go into, or thatch deeper than an inch. Grass on top of that keeps failing however it is fed.
• It is the wrong grass for the site. Sun grass under trees that have grown, or a thirsty lawn in a place that now has watering restrictions.

If the problem is only shade or only a dog's route to the fence, fix that area and leave the rest.

What to replace it with

Sod is the fast answer at $1.60 to $5.00 all in. It is usable in a few weeks and it holds a slope. The installation itself, and why the first two weeks of watering decide it, is covered in sod installation cost.

Seed is the cheap answer at $0.70 to $2.80 all in, because the removal and preparation cost the same and the seed costs almost nothing. It needs a whole season and the right month. For a large backyard that nobody needs to use this year, it is the sensible choice.

Artificial turf at $6 to $18 a square foot is a different product rather than a lawn. It makes sense for a dog run, a deep-shade corner or a small yard where water is scarce. It is weighed properly in artificial turf cost.

A low-water landscape at $5 to $20 a square foot replaces the lawn with gravel, mulch, drought-tolerant planting and drip irrigation. It costs more than grass up front and far less to run, and in the arid West it is often the option a water utility will help pay for. See xeriscaping cost.

A common and good compromise is to keep a smaller lawn where people actually sit and play, and convert the strips, slopes and verges nobody walks on.

Getting the old lawn off

This is where replacement quotes quietly differ.

Stripping with a sod cutter takes the grass and an inch or two of roots off in rolls. It is fast and clean, and it removes soil, so a lawn that was level with the path ends up an inch or more below it unless topsoil goes back. Budget for that topsoil.

Hauling is the hidden cost. Stripped turf from 2,000 square feet is roughly 8 to 12 cubic yards and several tons. Disposal fees, trips and a dumpster are why removal can reach $1.00 a square foot on a small or awkward site.

Killing in place with a non-selective herbicide, then rotavating the dead lawn in, costs far less and keeps the organic matter. It needs two applications two to three weeks apart for creeping grasses, and it only works where nothing that spreads by runner survives.

Smothering under cardboard and mulch, or clear plastic in full summer sun, takes six to ten weeks and costs almost nothing. It suits a conversion to planting beds better than a new lawn, because the soil underneath is left uneven.

Timing matters more than method. Replace a cool-season lawn in late summer to early fall, and a warm-season lawn in late spring, so the new grass has a full growing season before its first winter or its first drought.

Frequently asked questions

How much of the lawn has to be dead before replacing it makes sense?

Roughly half. Below that, renovation usually wins on cost and result. Above it, or where the living part is mostly weeds, overseeding just grows more of what is already there, and replacement is cheaper within two years.

Can new sod be laid straight over the old lawn?

No. The old grass rots under it, the new roots never reach real soil, and the level rises above the paths. Contractors who offer it are saving the removal cost, which is exactly the step that makes the new lawn take.

Will my water utility pay me to remove my lawn?

In much of California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Texas, often yes, at $1 to $4 a square foot. Almost every program requires approval before any work starts, a minimum area, and replacement with low-water planting. Many exclude artificial turf, and most exclude a new grass lawn.

What happens to the old turf once it is stripped?

It is usually hauled to a green-waste facility and billed by the load. If you have room, it can be stacked grass-side down in a corner and left for a year, when it becomes usable loam. That saves the disposal cost and gives you topsoil to put back.

Should the sprinkler system be changed when the lawn is replaced?

Check it before the new lawn goes down, not after. Heads buried or broken during stripping are easy to fix while the ground is open. If the lawn is shrinking or becoming planting beds, those zones should be converted to drip, which is far cheaper to do now than to dig up new grass for later.