Sod Installation In Pioneer Tower West, Kitchener
A bare backyard around a pool in Pioneer Tower West, Kitchener, turned into a lawn with fresh topsoil and farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod between 26 and 30 June 2026, photographed by our crew from the first rake to the finished lawn.
The Job at a Glance
This is one of the landscaping projects across Waterloo Region we have photographed: a backyard with a pool terrace at a brick home in Pioneer Tower West, replaced by our crew and photographed from the first morning of the job to the first watering. The service itself is described on our Pioneer Tower West sod installation page.
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Before
What we saw: The yard came to us as bare, compacted soil: tyre tracks across the whole backyard, a scatter of weeds, and not a blade of lawn left between the house, the pool terrace and the shed. The shed was still in its house wrap and the pool terrace sat above the bare ground behind a stone retaining wall.
If this looks like your lawn: There was no old lawn to strip here, so the job started with topsoil rather than a tear-out. Frames 1 and 2 in the gallery below show the yard on the late afternoon of 26 June 2026.
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The Quote
The estimate covered: A load of fresh topsoil, barrowed in from the driveway and graded flush to the patio, the stone retaining wall and the shed. Farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod across the whole backyard, from the pool terrace to the side yard by the iron fence.
Also included: Watering-in guidance for the first weeks and our 100% sod warranty: any piece that arrives unhealthy is replaced free of charge. Estimate requests get a reply within 24 hours.
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The Solution
The work: The crew raked over the bare yard on 26 June, then barrowed in a load of fresh topsoil from the driveway on 27 June and graded it flush to the patio, the stone retaining wall and the shed. On 29 June the Kentucky bluegrass rolls went down, barrowed to the stone steps between the terrace and the main yard, with the terrace beside the pool laid by evening and rolls staged along the fence for the main yard.
The result: By late morning on 30 June the whole yard was laid, from the pool terrace and the side yard to the main lawn, with the hose out across the new sod.
Why Kentucky Bluegrass Was the Right Sod for This Pioneer Tower West Lawn
Right On Sod installs 100% farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass, the same turf described on our Kitchener sod installation page. Three reasons it suits a lawn like this one.
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Cold-Hardy for Ontario Winters
The challenge: Kitchener lawns sit frozen for months and go through repeated freeze-thaw cycles every spring, and a lawn wrapped around a pool has to come back green in time for the first swim of the season.
Why bluegrass: Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-season grass that is cold-hardy, so it comes through Ontario winters and greens up again in spring.
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Knits Together and Self-Repairs
The challenge: A yard this size goes down as row after row of rolls, and on the morning of 30 June the roll lines were still faintly visible across the main lawn.
Why bluegrass: Kentucky bluegrass spreads by underground rhizomes, so the rolls knit together at the seams and the turf fills small gaps on its own. That matters most at the edges here: the stone steps, the two round service covers set in the lawn and the long line along the retaining wall.
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Takes Sun and Foot Traffic on a Simple Routine
The challenge: The main lawn sits in open sun between the patio, the retaining wall and the house, with the terrace steps landing on it, and new sod is only as good as its first weeks: rolls that dry out before they root stay loose on the soil.
Why bluegrass: Kentucky bluegrass wants four to six or more hours of sun a day and recovers from wear by spreading from its rhizomes. With daily watering for the first two weeks or so it roots into the topsoil in two to three weeks, which is why the hose was already out across the lawn on the morning of 30 June.
Right On Sod
How We Replaced This Lawn, Step by Step
Assess the Yard and Quote the Job
What the first frames show on 26 June: bare, compacted, tyre-tracked ground across the whole backyard, with the pool terrace above it behind a stone retaining wall and the shed still in its house wrap. The estimate covered fresh topsoil graded to the hardscape and farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod over the whole yard.
Cut Out and Haul Away the Old Turf
There was no old lawn to strip here: the yard came to us as bare soil with a scatter of weeds, so there was nothing to cut out or haul, and the crew went over the bare ground with a rake. Frame 1 shows a crew member with a rake on the bare ground on the late afternoon of 26 June, and the frames pick up again with the topsoil on the driveway the next morning.
Grade Fresh Topsoil to the Patio, Wall and Shed
On the morning of 27 June a load of fresh topsoil sat on the driveway and was barrowed through to the yard, then raked flush to the patio, the stone retaining wall and the shed. By early afternoon the main yard was graded and the crew was still barrowing from the pile on the driveway.
Lay the Kentucky Bluegrass Sod and Fit the Edges
On 29 June the rolls went down: barrowed to the stone steps between the terrace and the main yard in the morning, with the terrace beside the pool laid by evening and more rolls staged along the fence for the main yard. Each roll was fitted tight to the steps, the wall, the patio edge and around the two round service covers set in the lawn. Tight seams are what let the rolls knit into one lawn.
Water In and Hand Over Care Instructions
By late morning on 30 June the whole yard was laid and the hose was out across the new sod. New sod needs daily watering for the first two weeks or so and roots in two to three weeks, and the homeowner got watering-in guidance to see it through. Every install carries our 100% sod warranty.
Photographed by the Right On Sod crew
Start To Finish: Twelve Frames From the Job
Twelve photographs taken by the crew on four days between 26 and 30 June 2026, in the order they were taken: the bare yard on the late afternoon of 26 June, the topsoil barrowed in and graded on 27 June, the rolls going down on 29 June and the finished lawn on the morning of 30 June.
Pioneer Tower West, Kitchener, 26 to 30 June 2026
Tap any frame to open it full size.
What Our Local Clients Say
Ready for a Lawn Like This One? Get Your Free Pioneer Tower West Sod Quote.
Whether your yard has a worn lawn or, like this one, no lawn at all, Right On Sod replies to estimate requests within 24 hours, installs farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod and backs every install with a 100% sod warranty. Send us a few details about your Pioneer Tower West yard and we will get you a free quote.