# Recommendations? - Law leveling in Prosper [north of Dallas, TX]



## Frederick_Punter (Feb 7, 2021)

Hello everyone!

My first post.....in any forum like this ever. Apologies in advance if I miss something....

Closed on a new house a little over a year ago. The lawn is [junk] Bermuda......its also lumpy and full of ankle busters. Some of the sprinkler valve access points are in bad spots or not level with the surface. The shade from my fence has prevented any grass growth at all in some places......lots of work to do. This spring I'm looking to level it out some and over seed.......I know it will probably take a few applications to get it looking good. I am fairly certain that I need some top soil in addition to [possibly] some sand. Does anyone have any history sourcing these in the Prosper/Frisco area? SiteOne Landscape Supply and A-1 Grass, Sand, and Stone are the closest places that might have what I need as far as sand and/or top soil. Locations are on Dallas Parkway, north of 380.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! Looking forward to the growing and mowing season!


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## adidasUNT8 (Jul 23, 2020)

Hey man. WIshed I knew of some options closer to you. I picked up some enriched topsoil and sand from a place in Aledo, which is about an hour away from you. I too had a bunch of ankle breakers before I started to level last year. If your lawn is bermuda is in decent health, I would probably just do sand in those areas as the enriched topsoil will break down and not settle in as nicely as sand does. Others will probably be more knowledgeable, but I had a decent year last year with leveling my yard. I did it 2 times. once in May and again in July when it's still growing strong. the first run was 50% enriched topsoil and 50% sand. I made a screen filter for the topsoil to get the rocks and sticks out. You can youtube search this to find options. Make one to fit over your wheelbarrow. Also if you want to have the best looking bermuda, you'll want to invest in a reel mower. I started out with a fiskars manual one, that had great results until the bermuda started growing in too thick towards mid summer. Always got compliments on it. Cut it right about an inch or a tad over. To have a great looking lawn you'll need a fairly flat yard and a decent reel mower. Probably be cutting it every 3 days or so, but to me it's become a good stress relief and the results are definitely worth it! Have patience with the lawn leveling. It's a process and it will probably take 2/3 seasons depending on how uneven your yard may be. You'll notice after the first leveling, how much better the lawn tracks. Just make sure to not apply too much sand/topsoil to where the bermuda blades are covered. Also, you'll want to wait until the bermuda is strong and growing fast, so you'll probably want to wait until April/May to do the first treatment. If you sift out the rocks and sticks, it'll settle in nicely in just a couple days. I used a levelawn rake to smooth out the surface after applying the soil/sand and it was so much easier after using that. Hope there was some helpful information in here somewhere for you. There's a lot of helpful people in here as well! Good luck!


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## adidasUNT8 (Jul 23, 2020)




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## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

Fredrick,

You most certainly have some type of sod...ex Tifway 419 - I would highly recommend not overseeding what you have now. You can fix what you have with good cultural practices laid out on this site. Most everyone has issues with thinning grass in certain parts of the year from shaded area from houses, fences, trees etc... those issues usually go away as the sun rises in the sky during the summer. If not, homeowners will add planters, gardens, concrete etc... to those problem areas.


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## Frederick_Punter (Feb 7, 2021)

adidasUNT8 said:


> Hey man. WIshed I knew of some options closer to you. I picked up some enriched topsoil and sand from a place in Aledo, which is about an hour away from you. I too had a bunch of ankle breakers before I started to level last year. If your lawn is bermuda is in decent health, I would probably just do sand in those areas as the enriched topsoil will break down and not settle in as nicely as sand does. Others will probably be more knowledgeable, but I had a decent year last year with leveling my yard. I did it 2 times. once in May and again in July when it's still growing strong. the first run was 50% enriched topsoil and 50% sand. I made a screen filter for the topsoil to get the rocks and sticks out. You can youtube search this to find options. Make one to fit over your wheelbarrow. Also if you want to have the best looking bermuda, you'll want to invest in a reel mower. I started out with a fiskars manual one, that had great results until the bermuda started growing in too thick towards mid summer. Always got compliments on it. Cut it right about an inch or a tad over. To have a great looking lawn you'll need a fairly flat yard and a decent reel mower. Probably be cutting it every 3 days or so, but to me it's become a good stress relief and the results are definitely worth it! Have patience with the lawn leveling. It's a process and it will probably take 2/3 seasons depending on how uneven your yard may be. You'll notice after the first leveling, how much better the lawn tracks. Just make sure to not apply too much sand/topsoil to where the bermuda blades are covered. Also, you'll want to wait until the bermuda is strong and growing fast, so you'll probably want to wait until April/May to do the first treatment. If you sift out the rocks and sticks, it'll settle in nicely in just a couple days. I used a levelawn rake to smooth out the surface after applying the soil/sand and it was so much easier after using that. Hope there was some helpful information in here somewhere for you. There's a lot of helpful people in here as well! Good luck!


I appreciate the insight. I want to add some good material to the current soil as my dirt sucks currently. Did a soil test last spring and it wasnt good. I know this will take a few applications for sure! Core aeration before each application to hopefully help the material work its way down. A reel mower is on the list. Way too bumpy to even think about that right, unfortunately.


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## Frederick_Punter (Feb 7, 2021)

adidasUNT8 said:


>


Looks good! Nice work!


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## Frederick_Punter (Feb 7, 2021)

MrMeaner said:


> Fredrick,
> 
> You most certainly have some type of sod...ex Tifway 419 - I would highly recommend not overseeding what you have now. You can fix what you have with good cultural practices laid out on this site. Most everyone has issues with thinning grass in certain parts of the year from shaded area from houses, fences, trees etc... those issues usually go away as the sun rises in the sky during the summer. If not, homeowners will add planters, gardens, concrete etc... to those problem areas.


Ive got hardscape plans for some of the heavily shaded parts. I have some really bad spots that need some love. My last soil test came back with some bad results. Gotta get the dirt right too!


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## ILoveGrits (Sep 22, 2019)

I got 10 yards of masonry sand from Lowery Sand last year for $450 delivered.


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## adidasUNT8 (Jul 23, 2020)

ILoveGrits said:


> I got 10 yards of masonry sand from Lowery Sand last year for $450 delivered.


getting it delivered would be the best part! I split up about 8 yards last year over a couple leveling sessions and it wasn't fun.


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## Frederick_Punter (Feb 7, 2021)

ILoveGrits said:


> I got 10 yards of masonry sand from Lowery Sand last year for $450 delivered.


Ill check them out as well. Thank you!


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## capscrazy (Jun 26, 2020)

Hey man - Prosper here also.
I used AMA Landscaping for the sand/soil mix and labor last year. Going more aggressively with it this year. Call them and ask for Eric (tell them I sent you). Great dude!



Frederick_Punter said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> My first post.....in any forum like this ever. Apologies in advance if I miss something....
> 
> ...


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## Kdaves12 (Aug 10, 2020)

adidasUNT8 said:


> Hey man. WIshed I knew of some options closer to you. I picked up some enriched topsoil and sand from a place in Aledo, which is about an hour away from you.


Are you talking about Clear Fork Materials? How was your experience? I've used them a few times now. The last time I used them, I grabbed a 90/10 mix of Top Dressing Sand & composted dairy manure (recommended by them). I would say for the MOST part, it was great product. a little more pebbles than I was expecting with as little compost as I ordered. My only guess when that happens, those pebbles might have come from the remaining debris picked up by the track skid from a previous load.

All in all, I was pleased.


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## adidasUNT8 (Jul 23, 2020)

Kdaves12 said:


> adidasUNT8 said:
> 
> 
> > Hey man. WIshed I knew of some options closer to you. I picked up some enriched topsoil and sand from a place in Aledo, which is about an hour away from you.
> ...


Yeah. I've been pretty happy with Clear Fork Materials. I'm hearing that the prices all around are going up. I picked up sand from them last time. I think this next time my neighbor are going to go half in for about 10 yards of masonry sand. Save the hassle of unloading it from the truck.


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