Why buy new furniture if you can improve the old furniture? When you invest in good quality furniture, you don’t have to throw it away as soon as the fabric starts to fade. With reupholstering and refinishing, your old furniture can look as good as new. I revitalize my old furniture all the time. If you want to stop thinking of your expensive furniture as disposable and start thinking of it as something that you can periodically improve, you’re on the right track. I started this blog to provide you with tips and tricks for reupholstering, refinishing, and upgrading your old furniture.
The sod making up your lawn is comprised of grass, roots and the soil that the roots are growing in. No one wants to damage the sod in their lawn when they don't have to, but sometimes you have no choice. There are many times when you might need to dig a hole in your yard to access a pipe, utility or other feature. If you want to protect your sod while carrying out these kinds of projects, the best approach is to temporarily move it aside. That way you can put it back in place once your task is done and you have refilled the hole with soil. Doing this saves you the trouble of having to replace your topsoil and reseed the ground in the area you have disturbed. Talk to your landscaping experts, such as Monarch Landscape and Design, for more information.
What You Will Need
Stakes
String
Shovel
Wheelbarrow
Plastic Tarp
Step 1. Determine where you want to dig your hole. Drive stakes into the ground to define the shape of the hole and run strings between the stakes. This will help to keep your hole well-defined and straight.
Step 2. Position the edge of your shovel along the edge of the string, holding it straight up. Put your foot on the shovel and push straight down into the grass and soil. You want to go down roughly 2 inches.
Step 3. Raise the shovel up and out of the sod. Reposition it along the line beside your first cut and then push it into the ground again. Keep repeating this process all along the shape you defined in step one.
Step 4. If the area you have defined is fairly large, you won't want to have to lift out the entire section of sod as one piece. Instead, you should now use the shovel (in the same way you have previously) to cut horizontal lines approximately 2 feet apart into the sod. This will create easily managed strips of sod. If the area you have defined is long in the other direction as well, you might want to make some vertical cuts too.
Step 5. Choose one of the strips of sod and slide your shovel underneath to cut through the root system. This will separate the sod from the dirt underneath. You will have to use a back-and-forth chopping motion with the shovel as you do this.
Step 6. When you reach the end of the strip of sod you are working on, simply roll it up like a giant Swiss roll and place it in your wheelbarrow. Don't make the rolls too tight or you can damage the sod.
Step 7. Repeat this with all the other strips, placing them in the wheelbarrow as well. Roll them over to a shaded spot. You may need to place them on a tarp on the ground if you have more strips than can fit inside your wheelbarrow.
Step 8. Once you have completed your project and refilled the hole, you can simply bring the rolls of sod back, roll them back into place and lightly water the area.
Share7 January 2015
