I've been looking into one of the early stages which is to cultivate (or rotary hoe) the existing soil...no issues there. I've got about 100mm above that to work with, which I believe will be about 75mm of organic soil and 25mm of turf. Fu recommends a minimum depth of 300mm to cultivate again after the organic soil is spread around, but I think the deepest cultivator I can find on the Kennards site is down to 200mm.
I've also discovered that at least some of the house PVC piping (namely stormwater) is probably a borderline 200mm below the existing surface. I haven't even looked at the sewer piping out the back yet, but have a feeling it may be a similiar depth.
So for my preparation:
- 1. Am I going to need to look for a larger (and hence more expensive) option to cultivate to 300mm?
2. Although not ideal, if I only cultivate to 200mm, what potential future damage am I going to do to the turf? (ie. roots won't be as deep and hence it will suffer more in the heat)
3. What is a recommended approach to avoid destroying the PVC piping - digging around it with a fork/shovel?
In terms of further planning, is there a maximum time between when I do the soil prep and when the turf should be laid? I'm thinking ideally the soil prep is day 1 and the turf is day 2, but if that's not possible then how long can I leave it before I've wasted time and money on the soil prep?