Sod Installation In Preston, Cambridge
A worn, patchy front lawn at a red-brick bungalow in Preston, Cambridge, cut out and replaced with farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod over two days, 28 and 29 August 2026, and photographed by our crew from the first measurement to the sprinkler running on the new lawn.
The Job at a Glance
This is one of the landscaping projects across Waterloo Region we have photographed: a front lawn at a red-brick bungalow in Preston, with a mature maple shading the middle of the lawn, replaced by our crew and photographed from the first morning of the job to the first watering. The service itself is described on our Preston sod installation page.
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Before
What we saw: Thin, patchy grass across the front lawn, worn to bare, dusty ground along the sidewalk and in the shade of the mature maple. What grass was left was sparse and uneven rather than one lawn.
If this looks like your lawn: For this lawn the fix was a full cut-out and regrade rather than patching the bare spots. Frame 1 in the gallery below shows this lawn on the early afternoon of 28 August 2026, with the sod cutter already on the grass.
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The Quote
The estimate covered: A full cut-out of the old turf rather than patching, the bed graded level to the sidewalk and to the walkway up to the porch, and farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod across the whole front lawn, fitted around the maple.
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: On the afternoon of 28 August the old turf was cut with a sod cutter, peeled off in strips around the maple and along the sidewalk and cleared away, and the bare bed was raked and graded level to the sidewalk and the walkway.
The result: By mid-morning on 29 August the new Kentucky bluegrass sod covered the whole front lawn, fitted tight to the sidewalk, to the driveway beside it and around the trunk of the maple, with a sprinkler already running on it.
Why Kentucky Bluegrass Was the Right Sod for This Preston Lawn
Right On Sod installs 100% farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass, the same turf described on our Cambridge sod installation page. Three reasons it suits a lawn like this one.
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Cold-Hardy for Ontario Winters
The challenge: Cambridge lawns sit frozen for months and go through repeated freeze-thaw cycles every spring, and this lawn had already thinned and worn through before the crew arrived.
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 Fills Its Own Gaps
The challenge: The old lawn had worn thin along the sidewalk edge and in the shade of the maple, and bare ground stays bare until something fills it.
Why bluegrass: Kentucky bluegrass spreads by underground rhizomes, so the rolls knit together at the seams and the turf closes small gaps on its own. That matters most along the sidewalk edge and around the trunk of the maple, the two places where this lawn had worn through.
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Roots In Fast With a Simple Watering Routine
The challenge: This sod went down at the end of August under sunny, late-summer skies, 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: With daily watering for the first two weeks or so, Kentucky bluegrass sod roots into the soil in two to three weeks, which is why the sprinkler was already running on this lawn in the first frame from 29 August.
Right On Sod
How We Replaced This Lawn, Step by Step
Assess the Lawn and Quote the Job
The first frame, from the early afternoon of 28 August, shows what we assessed: thin, patchy grass worn to bare ground along the sidewalk and in the shade of the maple, with a crew member walking the lawn with a measuring wheel and the sod cutter already on the grass. Rather than patch it, the estimate covered a full cut-out, a level grade to the sidewalk and walkway, and farm-fresh Kentucky bluegrass sod.
Cut Out and Haul Away the Old Turf
The second frame, taken a little over ten minutes after the first, shows the sod cutter already through part of the lawn, with the old turf peeled back in strips around the maple and along the sidewalk and a wheelbarrow waiting by the tree. Cutting the turf out rather than tilling it in means the tired grass and its thatch leave the property instead of being buried under the new sod.
Grade the Bare Bed Level to the Sidewalk and Walkway
By mid-afternoon on 28 August the whole front lawn was down to bare soil, raked and graded level from the porch to the sidewalk and around the trunk of the maple. A bed that sits flush with the concrete is what lets the new sod meet the sidewalk and the walkway without a lip or a dip.
Lay the Kentucky Bluegrass Sod and Fit the Edges
The crew did not photograph the rolls going down on this job: the frames jump from the graded bed on the afternoon of 28 August to the finished lawn on the morning of 29 August. That last frame shows the result of the laying: rolls fitted tight to the sidewalk along the front, to the driveway beside the lawn and around the trunk of the maple, with the seams closed so the rolls knit into one lawn.
Water In and Hand Over Care Instructions
By mid-morning on 29 August a sprinkler was running on the new lawn, with the sidewalk and the driveway already wet from it. 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: Four Frames From the Job
Four photographs taken by the crew over two days, in the order they were taken: the worn lawn and the cut-out on the afternoon of 28 August, the graded bed later that afternoon, and the new Kentucky bluegrass sod under the sprinkler on the morning of 29 August.
Preston, Cambridge, 28 and 29 August 2026
Tap any frame to open it full size.
What Our Local Clients Say
Ready for a Lawn Like This One? Get Your Free Preston Sod Quote.
Do not spend another season patching a lawn that has worn through. 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 Preston lawn and we will get you a free quote.