# Settling from New Construction



## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Afternoon everybody and Happy Monday!

As I briefly described in a previous topic I posted, my wife and I recently built out house in March of last year. When the tif419 was applied, they did not take the proper approach to apply the grass; tilling, rolling, etc. Now I am not an expert by any-means, but I do know that they could have done a better job. We have half clay and half limestone where the house sits. The place where the builders got the sod from didn't remove any of the rocks and just threw the sod on there. :x

Now that we have been in the house for almost 16 months, I have noticed while mowing, and visualizing the future of what i want my yard to look like, that settling is occurring in my front and back yard. Low spots are becoming more apparent and has forced me to begin the planning stages of filling in those spots as it makes it difficult to get a clean cut around 1.5'. This is frustrating and forces me to keep my grass at 2 1/8' so you can't see the low spots when people drive by. I have done a little research and I have gathered that sand is going to be my best friend throughout the process, not to fill in more than half an inch, and DO NOT reseed as it is tif419 Bermuda. That is pretty much all that I know at this point.

Now this is a project for later on in the year, maybe early next year, once I have wrapped my head around the project and fully understand the right process so I can execute this properly. Does anybody have any protocols or guidelines that one could send me on the subject? I mean, i don't even know what the best time of year would be to under go this project (since it's Bermuda, I'm assuming summer?). None the less, I want to ensure that I grasp what it required of me to make sure I do this properly.

Thanks for the guidance in advance and I'm sure this won't be the last post asking for more advice.

Tex


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## DaltonAbner (Jun 5, 2017)

I'm in the EXACT same boat! The whole reason I joined! House was built. We moved in last week and they put down a tiff. Where do I start!? Any and all help would be awesome! I haven't even got my first mow in yet.


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## southernguy311 (Mar 17, 2017)

Phase 1

Sand to level
Prodiamine to prevent the weeds
Celsius to kill weeds

Phase 2
Reel Mower to mow your bermuda
Fertilizer to feed your Bermuda
PGR(Primo) to keep it manageable

Phase 3
Neighbor Domination

That's all you need lol.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

southernguy311 said:


> Phase 1
> 
> Sand to level
> Prodiamine to prevent the weeds
> ...


I would add Fertilize to Phase 1


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## southernguy311 (Mar 17, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> southernguy311 said:
> 
> 
> > Phase 1
> ...


Can't disagree there. However, sometimes fertilizer can create a situation a new Bermuda owner can't keep up with.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

southernguy311 said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > southernguy311 said:
> ...


During the sanding process it can help it get through the sand but otherwise I agree with you :thumbup:


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> southernguy311 said:
> 
> 
> > Phase 1
> ...


lol, I love it; phase 3 domination. That is my goal! I am up for the challenge for the maintenance, however, I do not have a reel mower as of yet due to my yard having these low spots..

My questions regarding the sand are as follows:

1. is there a particular kind of sand I should look for at the big box stores?
2. What is the limit of sand I can apply to one spot? For instance, I have spots that sink down maybe 1-2 inches. Can I throw the sand in there at once? Or is it appropriate to apply 1 inch now, and another inch later (as long as the grass blades aren't smothered?)
3. When is the best time in the growing season to undertake this process?

Thanks!


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## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

1. is there a particular kind of sand I should look for at the big box stores? You will need to have sand delivered via and dump truck or cubic yard bags - *How big is your yard will determine how much you need....as a general rule you need 1 cubic yard per 1000Sq ft. - Also a reel mower will scalp much less than a rotary any day of the week. even more so once its leveled
*

2. What is the limit of sand I can apply to one spot? For instance, I have spots that sink down maybe 1-2 inches. Can I throw the sand in there at once? Or is it appropriate to apply 1 inch now, and another inch later (as long as the grass blades aren't smothered?)
*You would be best to scalp the grass as low as possible first then apply sand and use brooms and a drag mat....theory being the sand will settle into the low spot and very little will be in the high spots. Then the grass grows back and knits easily through the sand. It will look rough for a week or two but now is a great time to tackle this project. I feel like you can practically bury the grass and it will grow back through. I covered and buried an area in my yard approx. 300Sq Ft with 5"-6" inches of top soil with the intentions of laying new sod. Lo and behold it basically grew back through before I got a chance to sod it again. *

3. When is the best time in the growing season to undertake this process? *Now, since its warm season growing time, just need to locate the sand, and get a few things to complete the project. There are several sand leveing threads and videos on TLF, if you do some searching you will find plenty of info*.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Depending on the size of your lawn, the bags you buy in box stores would get very expensive for the amount of sand you would need. For example, a 50lb bag of Quikrete All Purpose Sand at Lowe's is about $3. I recently had 7 tons of sand delivered to my driveway for $145. That much box store sand would have cost me over $900. Box store sand is great for spot leveling here and there, but usually cost prohibitive for a lawn leveling project of any scale. I would call around to places that deliver things like bulk mulch and driveway gravel. Just to give you an idea on cost, I think I paid $11-12/ton for the sand, plus $65 for delivery.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

MrMeaner said:


> 1. is there a particular kind of sand I should look for at the big box stores? You will need to have sand delivered via and dump truck or cubic yard bags - *How big is your yard will determine how much you need....as a general rule you need 1 cubic yard per 1000Sq ft. - Also a reel mower will scalp much less than a rotary any day of the week. even more so once its leveled
> *
> 
> 2. What is the limit of sand I can apply to one spot? For instance, I have spots that sink down maybe 1-2 inches. Can I throw the sand in there at once? Or is it appropriate to apply 1 inch now, and another inch later (as long as the grass blades aren't smothered?)
> ...


Awesome, thanks for laying it out for me. I'll go ahead and begin looking at prices for bulk and bag. Much appreciated!


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Ware said:


> Depending on the size of your lawn, the bags you buy in box stores would get very expensive for the amount of sand you would need. For example, a 50lb bag of Quikrete All Purpose Sand at Lowe's is about $3. I recently had 7 tons of sand delivered to my driveway for $145. That much box store sand would have cost me over $900. Box store sand is great for spot leveling here and there, but usually cost prohibitive for a lawn leveling project of any scale. I would call around to places that deliver things like bulk mulch and driveway gravel. Just to give you an idea on cost, I think I paid $11-12/ton for the sand, plus $65 for delivery.


I'm working with 3,500sq/ft of turf. However, off hand without walking the yard, I'll need about 300-500 sq/ft of area to be leveled. Out of curiosity, how many sq/ft were you leveling when you purchased the bulk sand?

Regardless for the future that information is helpful as I'm sure more settling will occur for the next few years. When that happens I may need to go that route.

Thanks!


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Just level the whole 3500. You will be surprised at how fast the sand disappears. If you are going to take the time to level then just do it all. 3500 is not too much. I leveled 7500 at once. Its a lot of work but easier to just do the whole thing especially with the mat or dragging device of your choice.

You can add a lot of sand. Probably more so at once with warm season than my cool season. Just remember that its a multi year or event deal. One leveling job will do a lot, but will not be an end all deal. Heck Ware has leveled several times. I personally have done it 3 times and want to do it again.

Here is a picture of a chunk of sod I removed for a flower bed. This picture shows 1 inch (I measured it) of sand in a spot that I have been leveling over the past 2 years. I have to add sand in layers. Underneath that its bad clay soil.


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## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

I agree buy three or four cubic yards of sand and do the whole thing


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

That works for me. I'll start getting prices locally. Thanks everybody!


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Tex86 said:


> That works for me. I'll start getting prices locally. Thanks everybody!


I agree with these guys - I think you'll be glad you went ahead and did the whole thing. :thumbup:


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## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

And don't be scared to bury that Smurf with the sand. I have completely buried Bermuda before, some areas had 3+ inches of sand. I fertilized bare sand several times with Ammonium sulfate and it came in perfectly. As for the perfect sand - it's the cheapest sand. I topdress my ball fields with yellow masonry sand. It's cheap and coarse and does the job. For fast manipulation of the grow in, ammonical nitrogen sources are heavier hitters than urea because there is no reliance on the presence of urease to convert the urea to nitrate. Have fun!


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## DaltonAbner (Jun 5, 2017)

Thanks for all the help guys! Cant wait to get started. Another question i have would be getting my turf cut low. When the sod was laid we got enormous amounts of rain. I want to get started mowing everything but should i stick to 1/3 rule to get it down to around 1'' or just start cutting low and often?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

DaltonAbner said:


> Thanks for all the help guys! Cant wait to get started. Another question i have would be getting my turf cut low. When the sod was laid we got enormous amounts of rain. I want to get started mowing everything but should i stick to 1/3 rule to get it down to around 1'' or just start cutting low and often?


If the sod is established, I would go ahead and scalp it down to somewhere below the HOC you want to maintain, then start mowing at your desired HOC. :thumbup:


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

thegrassfactor said:


> And don't be scared to bury that Smurf with the sand. I have completely buried Bermuda before, some areas had 3+ inches of sand. I fertilized bare sand several times with Ammonium sulfate and it came in perfectly. As for the perfect sand - it's the cheapest sand. I topdress my ball fields with yellow masonry sand. It's cheap and coarse and does the job. For fast manipulation of the grow in, ammonical nitrogen sources are heavier hitters than urea because there is no reliance on the presence of urease to convert the urea to nitrate. Have fun!


10-4. I am contacting a buddy if mine who works at a quarry and see if he has any. Even though it seems cheap, I'm always for a discount! :thumbup:


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## DaltonAbner (Jun 5, 2017)

Ware said:


> DaltonAbner said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for all the help guys! Cant wait to get started. Another question i have would be getting my turf cut low. When the sod was laid we got enormous amounts of rain. I want to get started mowing everything but should i stick to 1/3 rule to get it down to around 1'' or just start cutting low and often?
> ...


AH man thats so scary haha I want to do it but dont want to kill it off!


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