Leveling a Bumpy Lawn

When buying a new home, you will definitely imagine a perfectly flat lawn in front of the entrance. And if it so happened that the yard is not at all level, as expected, then it’s time to start leveling it.

A smooth lawn around the house is not only a beautiful view of your property, but also your safety. And the fact that a smooth lawn pleases with its beauty is a common truth.

Recurrent Causes of Lawn Unevenness

Unfortunately, even a well-groomed lawn for one reason or another loses its evenness and minor bumps and pits appear. Experts identify 5-6 main reasons for the loss of a lawn of its attractive, even appearance.

Thawing snow and ice
If heavy precipitation fell in the form of snow in winter, then drifts and heavy ice accumulations could form. This usually occurs in depressions and wet areas of the lawn that are invisible to the eye. Under the weight of these snowdrifts and the abundant wetting of these places due to the thawing of snow / ice, pits appear.

Heavy objects and machinery on the lawn
For some reason, you (or not you) can leave something heavy on the lawn for a long period – it can be some building materials, a powerful lawn mower, a box that was swinging in a barn, etc. Under the weight of this object, especially during the rainy season, depressions are formed in the soil.

Pests, moles, mice
Various animals that can live in a kidney on the territory of your yard can dig holes, arrange new conditions for a home, etc. This can be expressed in the appearance of “unexpected” small mounds and pits. Here you have to contact a pest control specialist to save the lawn. Otherwise, your leveling work will constantly be “broken” by the inhabitants of the lawn.

Natural subsidence of the soil
For various reasons, the thickness of the soil layer, groundwater, the heterogeneity of the soil cover of the lawn can be the reasons for the natural appearance of irregularities on the surface of the lawn. This is a fairly slow process and can become visually noticeable 2-3 years after leveling the lawn. But this should also be taken into account.

Other causes of bumps and pits
If your lawn is used by children for play, or if you like to have an outdoor picnic on your lawn, then do not be surprised by the appearance of uneven ground. Also, if the drainage is poorly set up and the rain “finds” vulnerabilities on the surface of the lawn, then the water will form grooves that over time will be so obvious that you have to take action.

Lawn Leveling Steps

There may be more or less stages of lawn leveling, depending on the actual state of the lawn and the existing problems in the area around the house. Let’s consider the main ones.

Lawn mowing

To begin leveling your lawn, you must first prepare it for this procedure. It will be difficult for you to have a good understanding of the unevenness of the yard if it is overgrown with grass. Therefore, mowing the grass in the area is step number 1. Of course, you should not get rid of the grass completely, just enough to leave the stems a third or half an inch high. Depending on the amount of work, you can use either a hand-held lawn mower or riding lawn mowers for convenience and speed of work.

Clearing straw from the lawn

An abandoned lawn is often “rich” in straw, leaves and other debris that has accumulated on the soil surface. Clean this trash with a rake. It is not necessary to remove every reed. It is enough to make the lawn look clean and comfortable for further processing.

Prepare the soil and fill in the grooves on the lawn

Soil for lawn placement
Soil for lawn placement

So, when you have found all the holes in your lawn, you need to fill them with specially prepared soil. And there is nothing difficult here. The composition of the soil is as follows: 2 parts of ordinary sand, two parts of fertile soil and one part of fertilizer for plants (if there is humus, this is generally excellent.) Mix everything evenly and fill all the holes with a shovel. Lay so that the soil is slightly raised above the general ground level, about half an inch. If at the end of this work you still have some soil left, then apply it evenly over the lawn.

Leveling the lawn with a special tool

Now you are ready to go directly to leveling the lawn. To do this, you need a lawn leveling tool to make the lawn as smooth as possible, and to work conveniently and quickly. Yes, an ordinary rake may work if the yard is small. However, after trying a good lawn leveling tool, you will feel the difference.

Lawn leveling tool in action
Lawn leveling tool in action

Activate lawn sprinklers and final check

After you have leveled your lawn, you should turn on watering. If you do not have an automatic lawn sprinkler, then you can use a special watering can, which will distribute the water not as a stream, but like rain. After this procedure, allow the lawn to absorb water for 30-60 minutes. During this time, some irregularities may appear, which are associated with the looseness of the soil. Therefore, you should go through the lawn leveling tool again to permanently correct any irregularities in the lawn.

Your lawn should now look nice and even. Give it a couple weeks for the grass to grow. In the future, you just need to keep track of the height of the grass, cutting it in time.

Q&A

How much does it cost to level a yard?

If you think it is better to invite specialists to level the lawn in your yard, then it will cost you from $ 1,000 to $ 2,500 and even more. It depends on the volume and complexity of the work. The exact price will be given to you by the specialist of the lawn leveling company after he has examined your yard.

Can I use sand to level my lawn?

You need to never utilize pure sand to level a lawn. Grass growing in the sand is likewise more prone to dry spell and cold injury. Prevent putting sand on a lawn by itself. Using a dry topsoil and sand mix is far better for leveling uneven areas than putting sand on a lawn without mixing.

How do you top dress an uneven lawn?

Apply up to 1/2 inch of leveling mix on top of the low areas. Do not include more than 1/2 inch since this can smother the yard. Rake the topdressing to spread it out uniformly. Brush the yard backward and forward with a push broom to work the leveling mix down while lifting the turf blades up.

Should I roll my bumpy lawn?

If you want a flatter lawn, rolling it may ravel a couple of animal tunnels but only impacts the first 1-2 inches of soil. The function of rolling is to mostly get seeds or sod to develop themselves in your soil. If you have a hard bump in your yard, rolling will not get rid of it.

References: thespruce.com/level…, bobvila.com/articles/how…