This results in patches of bare soil. These areas then erode even deeper with rainfall, wind, and activity, resulting in depressions when compared to the surrounding area of healthy lawn.
This was the primary source of unevenness in my front yard. Other sources of bumps can include buried objects such as wood debris from construction this should be removed , people walking on lawns that are too soft like in the early spring or after heavy rains , and animals. Animals, both wild and domestic, sometimes dig holes in lawns. If the bumps are from burrowing animals, like ground hogs or moles, they will have to be removed or repelled.
Lastly, ant mounds can be a cause of significant bumps. These will be readily apparent, due to the presence of ants. Basic equipment needed to level your lawn is pretty simple: a hand rake, landscape rake, plastic leaf rake, a large push broom, a shovel, an edger, and a wheelbarrow. Here is a video of one in action. Used by golf course greens-keepers, this is the ultimate tool for distributing leveling materials.
It removes stones, breaks up small clumps, and creates a super smooth surface. It does a much better job at final leveling than just a landscape rake or push broom. My Standard Golf Levelawn purchased in It has performed exceptionally well. Before you get started, assess the severity of the problem.
Do you have mostly small bumps and unevenness or is your lawn like the surface of the moon? The severity will dictate your approach. Small holes and depressions can usually be addressed by topdressing or just filling them in and re-seeding. A water-filled roller can also be used. Fill the roller about a third full of water and go back and forth over the lawn.
Topdressing is the least invasive approach and works well for leveling mildly uneven areas. These are the basic steps:. There are two main choices for a lawn leveling top dressing: sand or a sand-soil mix. For leveling purposes, pure sand is the quickest and easiest. Sand provides excellent structure and leveling properties, will help with drainage, and can cling to the clay in the soil.
Be aware that too much sand can leave your grass dry and thirsty because the water will slip right through.
Check out my article on leveling with sand. Sand-soil mixes, on the other hand, come in a variety of compositions, or you can mix them yourself. Sand alone brings no nutrients or microbial value. The best top dressing for your application should be dictated by your existing soil which your soil test will tell you , and the extent of your leveling.
For small animal holes, sometimes just filling the disturbed soil back in and topping them up with topsoil is a good repair.
Over-seed with a similar grass to what is already growing in your lawn. Feed and water the seed diligently. Check out my article on overseeding here. For ant hills, I recommend using a spray, like this one. What if you have a few really low spots in your lawn an inch or more deep? Instead, you should consider removing the sod, correcting the cause of the sinking, and then back filling with new soil with enough extra to allow for settling.
The removed sod can be put back in place. Follow the steps below:. Finally, if your lawn looks like the surface of the moon, you likely need to resort to more extreme measures. Topdressing or the sod cutting method will likely not be sufficient to solve the problem.
You may need to regrade the area and establish a new lawn. This was the case for me in my backyard, as you can see from the pictures. Part of the yard was sloping towards the house and half of the yard was too steep to be usable.
I did the majority of the work by hand which I found to be the best option for a yard this size. I was able to be a lot more precise than a machine would be. You can see I did have a tractor, but that was mainly for removing an old patio and digging the foundation for a new one.
The first rule of grading is that the ground should always slope away from your house. It should drop at least two or three inches every ten feet.
The maximum slope in a lawn should be no more than twelve inches for every four feet. If the drop is greater than a foot you should plan to build a small retaining wall or cover the slope with a ground cover or ornamental grass. Here are the basic steps:. If using sod, make sure the grass is thoroughly rolled to stabilize the lawn and reduce foot prints in the coming weeks. Be sure to water well to help the grass reestablish itself. Add fertilizer to encourage root growth.
Keep foot traffic off of newly sodded or seeded areas as much as possible and set up some sort of barrier to keep people and pets from stepping on the area for at least a couple of weeks. Time your repairs carefully. For basic repairs, try to time them for the spring. This will allow your grass time to grow in and will also provide the moisture necessary to help set the soil. Although Spring is the best time, with respect to moisture, it can also be the worst time. Do not attempt leveling in the winter when the grass is dormant.
Once your lawn is level, it goes a long way to take preventative measures to not add new bumps or depressions. The two main things you can do are:. After reading this article, I hope you can appreciate my lawn leveling obsession, and perhaps learned a few things.
Stay tuned for more leveling updates! Also, check out my recommended gear section here for all the tools and products I use. This is great professional information on how to solve problems of uneveness in a lawn. Hello to all, the contents present at this website are truly remarkable for people knowledge, well, keep up the good work fellows.
I live in mulbarton Johannesburg South Africa. Where can i buy a levelling rake n how much does it cost. My back yard has mostly clay soil.
It is 3 years old we bought the house new. When the builder installed the lawn, they applied sandy loam but then waited over a week to put the sod in. Rain created divots and mounds all over. My back yard is the worst and is 3,sqft.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback. I would start with a soil test also in your case. Good luck! I had standing water in one spot, so they dug a trench all around the house.
One side in my back yard is high where the fence separates the two houses. Too many houses have spots with standing water, their solution is dig a trench in the middle of the yard leaving a eye sore. I appreciate your comments on how to level your lawn. Will follow your instructions. Yes, I think rollers have their place.
I have been doing some research and am planning to incorporate rolling into my leveling regimen. Updates to the article are coming. Wonderful information! I was looking for information on how to level the lawn by hand and I think the knowledge I obtained willl go a long way. Hello Kevin, I am looking for yard leveling company that I can trust in all aspects to do a great job of leveling my back yard. At my age I do not feel that is something I can do myself. Is it possible for you to recommend a company for me.
By adding dirt on top of the grass, that covers part of the grass blades and puts the root deeper than before. Will that grass be affected by this? The lower parts will have to be done repeatedly over time.
As the grass recovers add another layer. I live in north Texas with a yard that mostly consists of clay and limestone. My backyard is small and slopes too much outward. I understand sloping is a good thing but it slopes too much. On the side of my house, not only does it slope, it also floods in some parts as well.
It is very uneven and I think it is erosion from the three downspouts. My questions, 1. If I add more dirt to level a few inches 6 to 10 inches?
On the side of the house, would it make more sense to level with sand and create a rock garden? I figure potted plants are my best bet. That is a complicated set of issues. The only thing I can contribute is that your first priority should be to drain water away from your house. All of our downspouts only new house I will ever move into were pointed away from foundation but onto cheap splash guard.
It caused so much erosion that it made a foot deep hole on one corner of our house. You should do lots of research or consult an expert on how to identify and fix the downspout issue.
Also, if you put stone on your perimeter you may trap water that currently drains off your property and increase your flooding problem. Hello my friend. I have a very very bumpy front lawn with approx measurement of 5 x 7 mtrs2 and it has next to no traffic on it.
I having read your post and liked it and also found it very informative. I was wondering would it be ok to rake all of the top of the old grass and soil off, to leave a bare top and start again relaying and seeding a new lawn. I dont mind the graft that will be needed and I am a spritely 60 year old lol. Any advice would be appreciated.
Many thanks Garry Duffy. Check out my article on Soil Amendments for more info. Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue.
No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Measure and mark the area if you intend to build on it. Use a tape measure or spool of string to map out the length and width of your planned structure.
Drop colored survey flags at the corners of your leveling site to indicate where its outer perimeter lies. You can also mark your site with a little spray paint, or objects you find in the vicinity, such as large stones or sticks. Eliminate all potential obstacles from your leveling site. Go around and manually remove any vegetation, rocks, large debris, or other materials you find littering the ground. Dig up the sod covering your work area.
Use a shovel to manually remove the top 1—3 inches 2. Alternatively, you can slice the turf into 1 ft 0. One of the many advantages of this tool is that the spinning blades automatically turn living plant matter like grass into mulch. Acquire enough soil to build up your site as needed. For smaller leveling tasks, such as filling in gulches and depressions, you might pick up a few bags of topsoil from your local gardening center, or transplant soil from an unused part of your surrounding property.
For larger projects like building a deck or patio, it will help to use a motorized tiller to break up the soil on your work site and make it easier to relocate.
This piece of equipment can save you a considerable amount of time and energy breaking up and blending soil, sifting out rocks and debris, and cutting through underground roots. Part 2. Drive a stake into each corner or edge of your leveling site. Use the dimension markings you made earlier for reference. Position your stakes 1—2 feet 0. You can use stakes of any size, so long as they're tall enough to mark your intended level-grade line.
Connect each neighboring pair of stakes with a length of nylon string. Tie one end of the string to the upper portion of your first stake. Then, unravel the spool as you walk to the next stake, snip the string, pull it taut, and tie it off. Repeat this process for each stake in your planned boundary line.
If one of your strings sags, it may throw off your readings once you attach a level. Nylon is much stronger than other common string materials like cotton or jute, which makes it less likely to sag or break.
Attach a string line level to the center of your first section of string. A string line level is a type of spirit level designed to be fitted horizontally onto a marking string.
Simply align the slots on either side of the level with the string and snap it into place. Be careful not to tug on the string as you set up your level, or you could accidentally pull your stakes out of alignment. Then, remove the level, attach it to the next section, and make any necessary adjustments. Part 3. Till the area inside your level-grade line or fill it with transplanted soil. Use a shovel, landscaping rake, or flat spade to gradually redistribute the soil from higher areas to lower areas until your entire site has a uniform appearance.
As you work, keep an eye on your string lines for reference. To deal with large areas more systematically, draw out your leveling site as a grid, using the stakes you put down earlier to represent the criss-crossing lines. Measure and mark high and low spots within the squares based on how much soil they need to gain or lose. Check the level of your work site with a scrap board and a carpenter's level.
Lay the board down flat near the center of the site and set the level on top. If the bubble is poised directly between the indicator lines, the ground is perfectly level. Otherwise, continue spreading and smoothing until it is. Be sure to check the level in multiple spots to confirm that it's the same all around.
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