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I'm buying a new (used) house, and was hoping to get a little input from anyone on here who has experience on this topic. The home I'm buying currently has the typical Bermuda grass yard. I want to replace it with desert landscaping, and plan on doing most of the work myself. Question is: For the basic dirt/granite/sand layer that I will be using, do I need to get a bobcat in there and dig down/out all of the old grass roots, etc., then start fresh, including some kind of plastic layer in between the fill-dirt and the 'desert layer'? Or can I just level it and over-lay the new base landscape? Said another way, here are the three options I'm thinking of: Dig out all current grasses/roots, level it, then lay-down the plastic (or other) barrier, and then gravel/sand/granite layer. Simply level it (without digging out current grass roots & such) and then lay-down the plastic (or other) barrier, and then gravel/sand/granite layer. Simply level it then lay-down the gravel/sand/granite layer without the barrier (assuming I would need to do massive weed and grass killing going forward without the barrier). The one thing I don't like about the barriers is I have this vision of tattered plastic sheets becoming visible years down the road. Any experts????? Thanks in advance! S.