Absolutely thrilled with the work from Sydney Gardeners! The team transformed our overgrown backyard into a beautiful, low-maintenance garden. They were professional, punctual, and paid attention to every detail. Highly recommend their services!
Strip it · Level it · Haul it · Recycle it
Turf Removal
Services Sydney
Some lawns can be saved. Yours might not be one of them — and that's fine. We cut the old lawn at the roots, roll it up like carpet, cart it away, and leave a clean, level slate for whatever comes next.
Rated 5 out of 5 by our customers
- Turf cutter — clean, level strips
- Disposal included, green waste recycled
- Couch & kikuyu treated first
- Open 7 days, 7am–6:30pm
Request a removal quote
Your suburb and rough lawn size. We'll come back today.
Google reviews
What customers say about our turf removal
Real reviews from our Google Business Profile, word for word.
Sydney Gardeners helped us clean up our backyard after months of neglect. The team was punctual, friendly, and worked efficiently. Our lawn and hedges now look fantastic. Would happily use them again.
My usual gardener wasn't available to me so I decided to go with the guys at Sydney Gardeners. I was surprised with how quickly they managed to do the job (I have a large backyard with hedges).
Sydney Gardeners were amazing at working on my lawn and the rest of my backyard. They were very friendly and enthusiastic to complete the job.
The guys at Sydney gardeners serviced my gardens with a professional manner, it's rare to find a quality gardening service in Sydney that is this good now-days.
Incredible service, excellent communication skills and a pleasure to work with! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to maintain or brighten up their garden! Thank you
- On this page
- Ballpark cost
- What's next
- How it comes up
- The job
- Pricing
- FAQ
Ballpark the rip-out in ten seconds
Pick a lawn size — or slide to yours — then tell us the job and the access. Rough range from current Sydney rates, disposal included.
Lawn size
$570 – $950rough job range, disposal included
≈ 2.1 tonnes of old lawn — 3 ute loads. We bring a truck.
A guide from current Sydney rates — not a quote. Soil depth, tree roots and what's hiding under the grass move the number; the real quote is free.
Get the real number — free quoteThe clean slate
What's going in its place?
Turf removal is really a prep job in disguise — the right depth, level and finish depend entirely on what's coming next. Tell us the plan and we'll show you what "ready" looks like.
Tap a plan — the prep changes
Prep for new natural turf
Strip, level, feed, relay
Old turf comes off at 25–40 mm, the ground is levelled with fresh topsoil and a starter feed, and new rolls go straight onto clean soil — which is the whole reason new lawns take. Never lay new turf over old grass; it roots into thatch and dies in a season.
- Cut at 25–40 mm
- Topsoil + starter feed
- Relay same week
Pairs with our turf installation & lawn seeding services.
The satisfying part
How a lawn comes up
A turf cutter slides a blade under the grass at 25–40 mm — below the roots, above the good soil — and the lawn comes up in strips that roll like carpet. Clean edges, level ground, and deeply satisfying to watch.
More Google reviews
Sydney homes and businesses we've looked after
Unedited reviews straight from Google — the same crews, the same standard.
Would highly recommend to anyone looking for any gardening maintenance needs
Great communication and exceptional workmanship. The team arrived on time and did an amazing job with pruning, planting, and lawn care.
Great service, extremely timely and professional. Thanks!
These boys did a great job, very responsive, very professional.
I highly recommend Lachlan and the team at Sydney Gardeners. Not only do they do great work, but more importantly they are reliable! Lachlan was also more than happy to help me out when I needed an extra service squeezed in just before Xmas.
Lachlan and his team have been looking after my Strata Property for over 2 years now. He is diligent with his timekeeping, punctual, provides attention to detail and does not hesitate to go above and beyond to provide satisfaction to our strata residents and property management team.
I'm very happy with Lachlan and his team at Sydney Gardeners. They did a professional, clean and well-rounded job. I would highly recommend their work.
Been getting great service and value from Sydney gardeners now for a number of years, always great high quality work in my feature gardens. Attention to detail is second to none. No job to big for these boys to tackle.
Can't thank Lachlan and the rest of the team enough for the professionalism and outstanding service I have received. I have been using their services for the past 18 months and I am always impressed with the results of their work. Highly recommended.
Sydney Gardeners provide exceptional services. Their team is professional, efficient, and knowledgeable. They transformed my garden beautifully, exceeding my expectations. Highly recommended for all gardening needs!
My first time using Lachlan from Sydney Gardeners. I had overgrown high hedges to be significantly cut back and I was impressed with the finished job. I will be using them again and recommend him for all your gardening needs.
I highly recommend Sydney Gardeners to anyone seeking professional garden design and maintenance services. Their commitment to excellence, creativity, and client satisfaction is unparalleled, and I am thrilled with the beautiful garden they've created for me. Thank you, Sydney Gardeners, for turning my garden dreams into reality!
Lachlan did a great job mowing my lawn!
Greatest gardening service ever, couldn't be happier.
Great job on my garden
Lachlan and his men have been doing my garden for some years. My hedges and trees are beautifully trimmed every time. I share the same experience with the majority, those with excellent reviews.
Lachlan and his team were fantastic. They were professional and did the job in a timely manner. He gave me some great insights on how we could develop our business garden.
Very happy with the job Lachlan did mowing and pruning at our home. He was very pleasant to deal with and did a great job with prompt service. Thank you
Lachlan provided high quality gardening services including trimming of trees on our property in Mosman. We were very happy with the excellent communication, efficiency and professionalism. We would be happy to recommend Lachlan to friends and family.
Highly recommend. They took over from long-time gardeners for our apartment building and Sydney Gardners standard is far greater and less expensive.
Great quality work and professional service. Was very happy with the job that was done! Will definitely be using these guys again 😊
Lachlan did a great job mowing and edging the property. Only just starting using them. Very happy
Great gardener with a very strong work ethic and excellent attention to detail. Well priced and timely.
Lachlan is very professional and hard working. Highly highly recommend.
Great service, friendly staff, my garden looks amazing.
Thank you so much. You guys did a great job. I will be a continuing customer.
Professional and polite. They did exactly what I wanted. Highly recommend.
Amazing service, highly recommend!
Prompt and excellent service
Excellent service and quick, helpful responses.
Super helpful!!
Honest triage
When a lawn is past saving
There's a point where repairing a lawn costs more than replacing it — and most lawns that reach us are past it. If more than half the area is weeds, bare dirt, or a running grass you never planted, a season of patching and feeding usually buys you the same tired lawn next summer. Stripping it and starting clean is faster, cheaper per year, and the result actually lasts.
The kikuyu clause
Couch and kikuyu are the reason "just dig it up" fails. Their runners survive below the cut line and come back up through new turf, garden beds, synthetic edges — anything. We treat running grasses before we strip and check again after, which is the unglamorous step that decides whether your new surface stays yours.
The right tool for the ground
Most lawns come up with a turf cutter — clean strips, level finish, topsoil left where it belongs. Compacted or root-bound ground gets a rotary hoe; big conversions and synthetic bases get a small excavator. What never happens: new turf laid over old grass, or stripped turf dumped in landfill — ours is recycled as green waste, every job.
A lawn removal is really a delivery: one clean, level, weed-free slate, ready for the good idea you've been putting off.
- Running grasses treated before the blade goes in
- Cut at 25–40 mm — your topsoil stays
- Ground levelled, edges cut clean against paths
- Every strip loaded out — disposal in the price
- Old turf recycled as green waste, never landfilled
30 kg
What one square metre of lawn weighs, cut
25–40 mm
The cut depth — your topsoil stays put
100%
Of removed turf recycled as green waste
The job
Turf removal, done in the right order
1. Look & measure
We measure the lawn, check what's under it, note the access, and quote the job in writing — free.
2. Treat the runners
Couch and kikuyu get treated ahead of removal day, so what comes back isn't the lawn you paid to remove.
3. Cut & roll
The turf cutter slices at 25–40 mm and the lawn rolls up in strips — clean lines, level ground, topsoil intact.
4. Load & recycle
Every strip goes on the truck — around 30 kg a square metre — and off to green waste recycling. Disposal's in the price.
5. Level & prep
Ground raked level and finished for what's next — topsoil for turf, compacted base for synthetic, or bed-ready soil.
6. The follow-up
A check a few weeks on for any runner regrowth — the step everyone else skips, and the reason ours stays gone.
Pricing
Turf removal prices, straight up
Priced by area, access and what's next — with disposal always in the number, because a quote without the tip fees isn't a quote.
Front lawns & courtyards
From ~$350
Small areas stripped, levelled and hauled — the minimum call-out, done properly.
Typical suburban lawns
$570–$1,350
The usual back-lawn-to-whole-block range, disposal included — pinned exactly by the free quote.
The tip fees are the trap
A typical back lawn is two to three tonnes of cut turf. DIY hire cutters are cheap right up until you're standing next to the pile working out whose ute is doing eight trips. Our price includes the truck, the loading and the recycling — the pile is our problem.
Rates for everything else we do live in the Sydney gardening price guide.
Recent work
Clean slates, delivered
What usually comes next
The rest of the job list
Where we work
All of Sydney, truck included
Questions
Turf removal FAQs
How much does turf removal cost in Sydney?
As a guide, removal with disposal runs roughly $8–$18 per square metre depending on size and access — a small front lawn from around $350, a typical suburban lawn $570–$1,350, and per-metre rates drop as jobs get bigger. Levelling and prep for what's next adds to that. Every job is quoted in writing, free, before a blade touches the grass.
Can't I just lay new turf over the old lawn?
No — and anyone who says yes is selling you a dead lawn. New turf laid over old grass roots into thatch instead of soil, sits proud of paths and drains, and the old grass grows through it within a season. Stripping the old turf is the single biggest factor in whether the new lawn takes.
What happens to the old turf?
It leaves with us and gets recycled as green waste — old turf and soil are composted, not landfilled. A square metre of lawn weighs around 30 kg once it's cut, which is why this is a truck job rather than a trailer job for anything bigger than a courtyard.
How do you actually remove a lawn?
For most lawns, a turf cutter slices under the grass at 25–40 mm, cutting it into strips that roll up like carpet — clean, fast and level. Heavily compacted or root-bound ground gets a rotary hoe or a small excavator instead. Running grasses like couch and kikuyu are treated first so they don't regrow through whatever comes next.
Will kikuyu or couch grow back after removal?
They'll try — runners survive below the cut line. That's why we treat running grasses before stripping and recommend a follow-up check a few weeks later. Skipping that step is how people end up with kikuyu coming up through their new garden beds, synthetic lawn edges and pavers.
Do you prepare the ground for synthetic grass?
Yes — synthetic needs more than a strip: the ground comes out deeper and is replaced with a compacted road-base and fines layer for drainage and a flat finish. We strip, excavate and prep the base ready for your synthetic installer, or coordinate the whole swap.
How long does turf removal take?
Most residential lawns come up in a single visit — a typical back lawn is a morning's work including loading. Access is the variable: rear yards with no side gate, stairs, or lawns above street level take longer because every strip travels by barrow.
Should I remove my lawn or try to fix it?
If more than half the area is weeds, bare patches or the wrong grass, removal and replacement is usually cheaper than a season of repair that may not take. Thin lawns with good grass can often be rescued instead — we'll tell you honestly which side of the line yours sits on when we quote.