# Mentally Preparing to Level Yard



## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

We're still in dormancy here, but I am preparing for what I need to do come spring. I've lost half my bermuda progress to a bit of construction that took place in my yard this winter. That means I will need to sprig in order to fill in. I will also need to fill in dips in the yard, up to two inches in places. Can I go that deep with sand, or should sand strictly be for less than 1" leveling?

During the construction process I needed to get some top soil and the stuff must of been a large amount of silt, because it left massive foot prints when walked on after raining and compacted down significantly.

I will probably have sand delivered and rent a mini skidsteer.

Our construction project was building a pool, which resulted in machines driving across and digging through our yard.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/45fjods73ecYKh5k9


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I don't have anything to add but I feel your pain with the lawn destruction. Today mine was covered in chunks of insulation that was rained on and bits of stucco. Renovating it is gonna be a task. Good luck with your sprigging and leveling. I would imagine you could do both at the same time. Sprig and then level and keep the sprigs wet. I think conventional wisdom around here isn't to go deeper than 1" per season but I also have some areas near my concrete that will be getting a little deeper. From my perspective, worst case scenario is I have to do it again next year and best case is that it takes care of the deep spots in one shot. It's Bermuda so it's gonna grow back either way.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I wouldn't recommend using a skid steer on your good grass as it will tear it up. If you have areas of lawn that need 1" of sand you could do it in steps throughout the season and should be good by Fall. You can get free sprigs from verticutting a healthy growing lawn and those areas you verticut should fill in within 2-3 weeks if done while the grass is growing vigorously.


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## dbarlow (Jul 8, 2018)

I'm looking forward to sanding my yard also. From my understanding 2" will be to thick to do at once, and you may need to break the time over a few different sandings so you don't smother the lawn. I'm no expert, just what I've heard.


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

I'm not sure there is a depth limit to avoid with sand. Bermuda loves sand more than anything. We've cut sod from greens and fairways and left a path 2-3" deep where the sod was removed and filled with only sand. You can't tell where the spots were. I filled concrete truck ruts in my front yard with sand. Some were 3-4" deep in places. I wouldn't hesitate to put that much sand down


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## Buffalolawny (Nov 24, 2018)

Thick sand either becomes hydrophobic or drains too quick


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Buffalolawny said:


> Thick sand either becomes hydrophobic or drains too quick


Yep, very thick sand can. Bermuda roots are very long. 3-4" sand in places will make zero difference in how the grass will perform. Look at golf green construction


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

So what kind of sand do I want? If I bought bags normally I'd get the play sand for sand boxes. But the landscape supplier has different kinds of sand piles.


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## driver_7 (Jun 28, 2018)

randy said:


> So what kind of sand do I want? If I bought bags normally I'd get the play sand for sand boxes. But the landscape supplier has different kinds of sand piles.


A lot of folks here have used "masonry sand", the type they use to form mortar for brick laying. When I ordered sand from a local nursery last year I specified "masonry sand", he didn't know by that name name, but he knew I needed a coarse variety sand that was screened to be rock free. It looked like the exact same stuff that was delivered across the street when they were laying the brick on a new-build house.

TL;DR: Get something coarse that isn't river sand and has ZERO rocks in it. You don't want to be digging little pebbles out of your yard for years to come. Masonry sand is what you're looking for.

Good luck! I'm also preparing myself for 7 yards of sand to level my yard again this spring. :shock:


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

Someone mentioned that getting a mini-skidsteer was a bad idea because it would tear up the lawn. But if I do this right after scalping/aerating with a track mini-skid and am careful not to make aggressive turns, how bad could it be? I plan to just use the skid to drop sand in different places and then to spread and level by dragging a fence / manually raking it in.

7-10 yards is a lot. I just manually moved closed to 10 yards of egg-sized river rock for landscaping and it was a massive project.


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## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Skid steer is also quite heavy and could add ruts that then need to be filled with said sand. I am heavily considering using a Georgia buggy to spread the sand, substantially lighter than skid steer. But even that when loaded down with sand could leave ruts, I'm honestly torn on method of disrupting sand to the yard.


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

Look at this thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en3Q67UZ8gg With a track, the weight is distributed. I bet there are even lighter ones too.


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