Lawn leveling advice

[tnt_motorsports]

Good day BITOG’ers
Let me start with my wife thinks this whole idea is a bad plan. “Let me go on the record as saying this is a bad idea”. Ok I hear her but help me out!

I’ve done some research on lawn leveling and I’m looking for feedback on anyone who’s done it. I have a pretty bumpy yard and want to smooth it out. I’ve cut down some trees and have trees along the back of my property that are causing the most grief. I’ve tried rolling my yard to no avail and I aerate annually, sometimes in the spring and fall.

On the leveling here’s what I’ve preliminarily decided and I’m looking for direction or feedback…
My local compost facility offers a “garden soil” that’s 45/45/10 mix of soil builder compost / potting soil / sand. I think this would be better than straight compost. Both are available in bulk locally.

I bought a Driveway rake on Amazon to level out the material.

I’ll use my 10P John Deere cart and lawn tractor to move the material in loads and then flatten it out with the driveway rake.

I did a small trial tonight with a bag of top soil and sand. I realize this mix is different than what I’m proposing to use but it was a quick trial. Anyway, It worked ok except my grass is too long. Mother Nature decided 90+ in Iowa in September was a good idea so I’m hesitant to cut it shorter just yet. The driveway rake bounced a fair amount because I didn’t put a concrete block on it. Again my grass is long and I was more concerned with destroying it during the small 4’ x 4’ test patch.

Any hands on experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[wag123]

From the experiences of people I know who have planted Bermuda Tif (think golf course greens), you have to top dress repeatedly with sandy loam and water it into the turf. The water washes it into the low spots. This must be done several times (8-10) over a couple year period, then once or twice a year thereafter. Eventually this will give you a ruler flat lawn. With Tif the lawn needs to be ruler flat because it needs to be cut very short (think 1/2") with a reel mower. Bermuda is not what you want to grow where you live, but the method of leveling will be the same.

 

[Warstud]

I have a pretty bumpy yard and want to smooth it out. I’ve cut down some trees and have trees along the back of my property that are causing the most grief. I’ve tried rolling my yard to no avail and I aerate annually, s

If the trees are the problem then you'll have to dig up the roots

 

[atikovi]

As for someone that practices minimal yard maintenance, why is a "bumpy yard" a problem? Isn't that how things in nature are? Imperfect.

 

[Hall]

As for someone that practices minimal yard maintenance, why is a "bumpy yard" a problem? Isn't that how things in nature are? Imperfect.

If your driveway was full of so many potholes that you can't avoid them, would you fill them in/fix your driveway ?

 

[tnt_motorsports]

From the experiences of people I know who have planted Bermuda Tif (think golf course greens), you have to top dress repeatedly with sandy loam and water it into the turf. The water washes it into the low spots. This must be done several times (8-10) over a couple year period, then once or twice a year thereafter. Eventually this will give you a ruler flat lawn. With Tif the lawn needs to be ruler flat because it needs to be cut very short (think 1/2") with a reel mower. Bermuda is not what you want to grow where you live, but the method of leveling will be the same.

Thanks for the tips. Not looking for ruler flat but maybe close .

Just my $0.02

 

[tnt_motorsports]

If the trees are the problem then you'll have to dig up the roots

Yes most roots are gone, trees removed. I need to flatten out the aftermath.

Just my $0.02

 

[atikovi]

If your driveway was full of so many potholes that you can't avoid them, would you fill them in/fix your driveway ?

You don't drive your car on the lawn.

 

[Oro_O]

You don't drive your car on the lawn.

But human ankles are way more fragile than automotive shock absorbers. It’s a legit concern.

We have an area of law we walk, sit, and entertain on a fair bit in the summer. Bumps and low spots can be really annoying and even injurious to older people. This is a problem I’ve wrestled with like the OP.

 

[Creekside]

Stop. Hire someone with a skidsteer that grades for a living. If you want to add topsoil do it at that time. You will waste enough material to likely justify the machine hire.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Stop. Hire someone with a skidsteer that grades for a living. If you want to add topsoil do it at that time. You will waste enough material to likely justify the machine hire.

Exactly this. Fall is coming, a perfect time to seed or sod. Skidsteer to grade the entire yard flat and add any soil you want/need. Then seed or sod and be done with it.

How much turf area are you trying to level? Hand loading a small lawn cart is going to take forever and I’m not sure the results are going to be very good.

 

[thastinger]

Any of that "soil builder" you put out will decompose by half. Hire a skid steer with one of those toothed rollers on the front and let them professionally level out what you have, once that settles in you can use sand to get it perfect if you want.

 

[SHOZ]

I've been filling low spots over the last few years. Generally just when I got extra dirt and then spread it out thin. But the best way is to remove the sod from the high spots and put it in the low spots. Lot of shovel work though.

 

[Drew7a]

Rent a Harley rake.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Previous owner took a lot of trees out in my yard and had stumps ground down. I fill holes all the time in those areas.

I have the bonus Moles that raise areas, create tracks and mounds and make soft spots to step into. Lots of traps and kill multiple ones through out the year.

 

[E150GT]

I need to do this as well. I didn't prep my yard for sod. I had a dead tree removed and the stump ground down. I just tried to level out the left over wood chips as best I could. I also removed a few stepping stones the day of sodding and there are some good dips. I tried a small area using compost but that didn't work to well. YouTube videos seem to suggest something like 50% fine soil and 50% sand.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Listen to the wife.

 

[Thermo1223]

My yard is like a testing ground for howitzers, darn groundhogs and bunnies. I feel your pain.

 

[SHOZ]

Previous owner took a lot of trees out in my yard and had stumps ground down. I fill holes all the time in those areas.

I have the bonus Moles that raise areas, create tracks and mounds and make soft spots to step into. Lots of traps and kill multiple ones through out the year.

I really have moles bad this year. The cats were digging them up for a while. Now it's got to be right in front of them or disturbing their nap...

When you look at a tree and then reduce it to ash that is what was taken out of the soil all that will be left of it after it's been completely reduced. You will notice most trees mound up the soil around them as the roots grow. So when the roots decompose the mound collapses. But any above ground wood that was removed will be taking minerals permanently away, creating a depression after a couple decades.

My neighbor has a big maple right next to his driveway. It's roots go under that asphalt and in the spring during the thaw that driveway will be heaved up about a foot there with a big crack in it. .

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Exactly this. Fall is coming, a perfect time to seed or sod. Skidsteer to grade the entire yard flat and add any soil you want/need. Then seed or sod and be done with it.

How much turf area are you trying to level? Hand loading a small lawn cart is going to take forever and I’m not sure the results are going to be very good.

I have ~10-12,000 SQFT to do when I take out the drive and house etc... I have planned on 8 Yards of material. I suspect it will take me a day to do this project, trucking the loads around the various parts of the yard and then dragging them flat with the driveway rake. FWIW, I usually put down 5-6 yards of mulch in the gardens in about 3 or 4 hours.

I am concerned that a Skidsteer will cause more harm than good. I have a mature lawn already that I don't want to tear up. If I was starting with fresh ground I agree completely, with a lawn is it still the same answer?

Just my $0.02