# Looking to level lawn (Bermuda)



## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

Hi there,

Last year I moved to North Georgia (From south Florida) and got my first taste of something other than St. Augustine. I immediately became enamored with lawn care. This year I wanted to take my small yard to a whole other level. I'm very close to pulling the trigger on sanding my yard however I wanted to get all of my ducks in a row.

Info:
Grass- Common Bermuda
Irrigation- Yes
Mower- Manual 7 blade reel (willing to upgrade after leveling)
Current HOC- Lowest setting but it's surely not .5". My guess is ~1"
Size- Front ~1300 sqft, Back ~ 700sqft
Aerated about 3 weeks ago

1. With such a small yard I'm going all manual, no tractor to pull a drag mat. If I got a small 3x3 drag mat, could I pull it myself? Or would a levelawn rake be better?

2. My yard, from the driveway/sidewalk, slopes up 4-5" before flattening out...is that a problem? The slope should be apparent in the first pic where I'm flat on top, and my daughter is on the slope.

3. The lawn is relatively thin, though I'm watering, fertilizing, and mowing every other day. Thoughts on overseeding when I sand?

That's pretty much it for now. (no pics of the backyard as it's in rough condition. My 10 year old dog was diagnosed with throat cancer and given x months (6 months ago). She until she passes, it doesn't make sense to mess with it)

Thanks, and I love the forum!

-Chris

Edit- The hole in the middle is from a busted sewer pipe. It happened in February and I didnt have it replaced because it wouldn't take in winter.The builder is coming out to repair tomorrow.


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

First off, WELCOME to TLF!!

With 2K of lawn you should be able to do what you plan without many issue. A small drag mat should work fine for you and I think the LevelLawn won't work for your situation as Ware had an issue with it "digging" in on thick sand. I think it's more suited for spot leveling.

I also think you probably have Tifway as it looks like a fairly new home and you already have a thick stand of grass so I'm guessing it's sodded. DO NOT add any seed. What you have will thicken up by the end of the year as long as you keep it fed and watered.

The slope doesn't look too severe to me and should cause too many issue unless you get a real heavy rain. The lower you can mow it before sanding the better as it will help you get it more level.

Feel free to ask any other questions that pop into your head!


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

I have a 5ft mat and u can do it, even petite wife chipped in. If u have help, you can have a bud hold a 2x4 end and accomplish similar.

Slopes can be frustrating when it pours, good chance some will succumb to gravity....amount of grass there can minimize runoff.

So you know, those lovely sewer cleanout lines, may want to Google for a flush sewer cap/lid so you don't have to navigate around or worry about a trip hazard. I was surprised that the existing cap (what u see) is easily removed and you can cut the green sewer pipe down, put the cap back on.. if it's warranted.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I agree with both of these guys, especially the part about looking into other options for that sewer cleanout cap.

My 48" Levelawn came with 2 handles - a tee handle and a 6ft pole handle (the pole handle attachment point is removed in the photo below). I installed the tee handle and it did tend to dig in a little on my heavy topdressing. It worked great on lightly topdressed areas though. I would like to install the pole handle and give it another try - I'm thinking I could transfer some of the downward force off of the head with the pole handle.


----------



## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Ware, wished u lived in GA....need a test run with that! To me, The drag mat on smaller lawns gets awkward (slinky?) ...each time you have to pick it up....waste of energy.


----------



## jbrown (Feb 22, 2017)

Welcome Chris, I live in North Ga as well, your lawn looks great, keep up the good work.

JB


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

jayhawk said:


> Ware, wished u lived in GA....need a test run with that! To me, The drag mat on smaller lawns gets awkward (slinky?) ...each time you have to pick it up....waste of energy.


I also ordered this 5ft dragbrush at the same time (on a whim), and I think I like it even more than the Levelawn. :thumbup:


----------



## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

I'm anticipating needing to sand a couple of times. I would have to order the drag mat (versus buying a landscaping rake). Would it make sense to wait on the drag or would a rake suffice for this first go around?

Since the cleanout cap is exposed, this might be a great time to cut it down to level and put a flush cap on it! Never thought about that!! Thanks.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

You will probably want some sort of rake for the initial knocking down/smoothing of the sand - then something to brush or drag it to work it down into the canopy and put a smooth finish on it. For a lawn your size, you could probably get away with a regular push broom for this. I can understand not wanting to spend a lot on tools for a very small lawn.


----------



## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

Thanks Ware!

Realistically we'll only be in this house another 1.5 years so I guess it does t make sense to go crazy. My next home will be .3-.5 acres of flat yard! Lol

Now to have the sand delivered!


----------



## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

I threw some 34-0-0 down last Sunday. It's rained a ton this week. After working the sand in, should I throw some more nitro down?

Project officially getting started tomorrow! I'm going to just use a rake and broom as to not wait for a drag to be delivered in a week. Maybe I'll start a thread about my newbie experience.


----------

