It’s a question I have seen asked several times recently. The appalling bad weather – nearly 6 months of winter has probably made many ok lawns look awful.
So before you rip out your existing lawn you need to ask a few questions. There is no point replacing an entire lawn if it doesn’t need it – its hard work, expensive and takes time and a huge amount of effort.

What causes the current lawn issues?

Ensuring you know what the problems are is important before you try to rectify them.

Lawn problems can be caused by:-
children playing on the lawn
pets peeing on the lawn
garden furniture on the lawn
diseases
wear and tear – the paths you walk to put washing out
insects can cause lawn damage
Bad weather can really stress a lawn
Soggy ground damages lawns
Cutting the grass too short is a way to damage it.

Have a look at the lawn – what are the problems? Moss means damp, yellow dead patches mean bugs.
There are lots of weed and feed treatments to use if you have a lot of weeds, but if your lawn is weed free then you’re lucky and it just needs some help growing.
If any areas are underwater when its not rained for a few days then you’ve got to sort that out. If you have excessive shade then grass will struggle to grow. If removing the cause of the shade isn’t possible though you need to rethink having a lawn.

Returfing costs a lot of money and needs very careful preparation of the soil.