Lawn Cost in Adelaide

As a guide, lawn cost in Adelaide is about $85 per square metre for instant turf, including GST. For a lawn of 70 square metres, a decent family back yard, that comes to around $6,000. The figure covers preparing the soil, supplying the material and laying the turf.

It assumes reasonable access and ground that's ready to work. Every lawn is still quoted on its own, because what has to come out first, the levels and the access can all move the price. The rest of this guide covers what moves it, using lawns we've laid.

Instant Turf Cost per Square Metre

Use the per square metre figure as a starting point, not a calculator. A smaller lawn costs more per square metre, because the setup and the deliveries don't shrink in step with it.

Why We Always Prepare the Soil

You'll see much cheaper lawn prices around. Most of them only cover rolling the turf out on whatever ground is there, or putting some loam over the top to level things off. We don't lay a lawn that way, so every price in this guide includes the soil preparation.

Before a roll goes down, the old grass and weeds come out and the ground is levelled. Then a mix of washed sand and compost is dug into the existing soil. The sand opens up heavy ground so water soaks in rather than running off, and the compost gives the new roots something to grow into. Turf laid straight onto compacted or uneven ground never knits together properly, and it shows every dip and hump within a season.

On a garden makeover in Oaklands Park, the old lawn, gravel paths and red bark were dug out first. Organic compost was dug in where the lawn and garden beds would go, and the subsurface irrigation went in before the Male Sterile Kikuyu was laid.

Kikuyu or TifTuf

Kikuyu is the cheaper of the two and the tougher. It handles kids, dogs and heavy traffic, and it repairs itself quickly.

TifTuf Bermuda Couch costs a little more, about $180 extra on a 70 square metre lawn. It needs around 38% less water than older couch varieties once it's established. At a Willunga South winery, TifTuf went in around the Weeping Mulberry, and a Stihl iMow robotic mower keeps it cut. TifTuf handles a lower, more frequent cut than Kikuyu, which suits a robotic mower.

What Pushes the Price Up

• An old lawn or weeds to remove. They have to be killed off and dug out, or they grow back through the new turf. Whatever can't be spread on site is carted away, and the tip fees go into the price.
• Levels. A sloping or uneven yard needs more soil moved before it's flat enough to lay.
• Access. If a machine can't get in, the digging and the sand and compost move by hand or with smaller gear, and that takes longer. Where a big truck can't get in, the materials come in smaller loads, which adds delivery cost.
• Irrigation. An automated pop-up sprinkler system for a small lawn starts from around $2,000. It isn't in the prices above, but it's the best way to keep new turf alive through an Adelaide summer.
• Edging. A brick or steel mowing edge keeps the lawn out of the garden beds and is priced by the metre.

Keeping the Cost Down

• Tell us your budget upfront. Knowing what you're comfortable spending lets us suggest an area and a turf that fits it.
• Choose Kikuyu over TifTuf where water use matters less than the price.
• Do the lawn alongside other garden work. The machine, the deliveries and the setup are shared across the job rather than paid for twice.

For how we lay a lawn and look after it while it establishes, see our lawns page. If the lawn is part of a bigger garden job, our landscaping cost guide has guide prices for paving, decking and a small backyard build.

Lawn Cost FAQ

General information only. Every site is different, so get advice for yours before you start work. Prices are a guide only, as at the date published. See our disclaimer.