i have a garden full of rushes due to very wet clay ground,was thinking of leveling it and lay new turf. was going to cover ground with that black material to kill off everything. can turf be laid on that or must it be in contact with ground??thanks in advance...
If your ground is so wet that it grows rushes, you will need to sort the drainage before laying any turf. Turf won't grow laid directly on membrane anyway, if it would then the weeds would grow better!
Turf needs to be directly on the soil, the roots will not penetrate the membrane and will dry up and die, another option may be to put down a couple of inches of topsoil to level the ground and then lay the turf on that, that may work!
I had this problem with my back garden Paul, it was like a bog even in summer. I got rid of the old crappy top soil, put in some soakaways (naughtily connected up to the main drain), put in a few tons of new top soil and laid turf. The garden is now well drained and lawn looks lovely. (actually I didn't do any of this, the builder did)
You must get the drainage right or in twelve months time you will be left with moss... a good lawn requires lots of preparation...you reap what you sow..good luck..or try Astroturf..the membrane is a no no im sorry to say.