I'm wondering if I can just get sod and drop it completely on top of the dying St. Augustine Grass that is mostly weeds? I've read some people spray round up before laying sod?

I see that the cost of even doing my front yard with Argentina bahia seed is dirt cheap, but haven't found anybody who has ever used Argentina bahia seed before and wondering if I should consider using seed as well.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

We are 6 days into a new bahia lawn and are watering every morning deeply to encourage rooting.

When I get time and after about 3 weeks when we can have our first cutting I'll post photos of the WHOLE process. Before and after photos.

I also asked the question about seeding and was told that getting seed to take hold could take over a year. One GW member posted (tomcath) that he was successful seeding a bahia lawn but if you've seen his tomato plants you see he has an exceptional green thumb.

We like you were looking for a cheap replacement. And that also includes cost to maintain (irrigate). Bahia was our choice after much deliberation. Plus one of our neighbors just put in a new bahia lawn and it looks fantastic.

Denise

No , you cannot just drop sod on top of a weedy lawn .
Considering how much labor and effort is involved to renovate a lawn , you might want to investigate either having it done professionally with written guarantees or selecting a different cover for the site .

The watering restrictions apply to in ground sprinkler systems but not hand watering .
But how will you water enough on a rental property with the new restrictions of once a week ?

I've been reading a lot and I'm thinking about just buying roundup or some spray and spraying my lawn and killing all the St. Augustine, then going back with a rack and racking everything that's dead up. Then putting top soil on top of everything and laying down the new sod. Anything wrong with this?

As far as the watering comment, my sprinkler system in my rental has given me so many problems that it just doesn't work period. The new water restrictions of once a week, plus it seems most renters don't water the lawn that I would really like to go to Bahia.

A friend of mine who has bahia in his yard from when he purchased his home told me he has no sprinkler system, has never fertilized his yard and never has put down insecticide and showed me a recent picture of his yard and I was amazed how well it looked after it was mowed. He indicated that during the winter there's brown spots and it doesn't look so good, but when it starts to rain it grows right back during the summer.

Now, having said that... I would not do it. Dropping sod on top of weeds, well it speaks for itself. Go get an herbicide and kill it off. Rake it up in a week. Your done. Maybe even consider putting Preen down after you rake, then put your sod down. And yeah, drop your bug killer in before putting the sod down.

My question is, should I put down a really thin coat of top soil if I don't think my soil is great quality? I was told to water twice a day for two weeks and the grass will grow, should I put down any type of fertilizer or anything else?