# Leveling Lawn - These Dragmat/Level lawn alternatives ?



## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

Hey folks,

I want to level my lawn this weekend as the weather is great. I'm going to use about 3 cubic yards of white mortar sand.

I ordered the level lawn tool from R&R products but they tell me that it is back ordered and it won't be here for another 3 weeks 

So...I'm trying to improvise. I was wondering, would these work for leveling ?

Drainage Mat - https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Black-36-in-x-36-in-Rubber-Anti-Fatigue-Comfort-Mat-KFTRM9191-1/206355967?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-306932650-_-206355967-_-N

Aluminum Fence
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TuffBilt-Beechmont-Heavy-Duty-4-ft-H-x-6-ft-W-Black-Aluminum-Pre-Assembled-Fence-Panel-73008974/202891632

The idea is to tie a rope to these, put some weight and pull like a mule.

I can put together something with 2 x 4s if my shortcut doesn't work.

I've searched high and low for renting the level lawn / drag mat in Charlotte but haven't found anything.

Appreciate any advice!


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## Harley (May 3, 2020)

Check this out:
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14949


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

What a cool idea ! Thanks so much for sharing


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

What part of charlotte do you live at? Where did you end up ordering your sand from?


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

burnhagw said:


> What part of charlotte do you live at? Where did you end up ordering your sand from?


I'm in South Charlotte, Waverly area.

I haven't ordered yet but plan to order it from Siteone tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions?


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

@silverrainbow , I'm in Matthews. You are more than welcome to borrow my drag and rake for the weekend if you'd like.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

Gilley11 said:


> @silverrainbow , I'm in Matthews. You are more than welcome to borrow my drag and rake for the weekend if you'd like.


That would be awesome ! Let me send you an email.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> burnhagw said:
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Nice, I'm in Waxhaw, not very far at all from waverly. How much is SiteOne charging you? I just paid $20.50 per yard for red mortar sand. The rain storm last night was awesome, really helped water my sand and fert in more.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

burnhagw said:


> silverrainbow said:
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The storm last night was crazy!

I'm getting 3 Cubic yards in bags and they quoted me $450. If they were to dump sand, that would have been cheaper but I've not done this before so I'm being cautious with how much I can manage.

What's the size of your yard and how many cubic yards did you order?

I have about 4000 sqft to cover but I'm going with two two Cubic yards for myself. My neighbor is going to use 1 Cu yard for his 1600 sqft.

I'm wondering if I should order more.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

$150 per cubic yard... :shock:


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

Redtwin said:


> $150 per cubic yard... :shock:


It does feel little excessive. I'm going to call them and get itemized cost.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

That's the same price as the bulk sand at Lowe's...$50/.33cu yd. Those are resale prices, you can call around and do MUCH better. I've gotten the Lowe's bulk sand purely out of convenience.


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

If you're using basic tools like a shovel and wheelbarrow, budget about one man hour per cubic yard to move and spread. There's a thread about sand prices, and on average, it's about $40 per yard without delivery, and most recommend a cubic yard per 1000 Sq ft. White masonry sand is more expensive than brown masonry sand in my area.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> burnhagw said:
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I went with McCollum Trucking and paid $20.50 per yard for red mortar sand.

I bought 4 yards and did my front yard which is 3500 sqft, but I had a few spots I didn't level because I'm getting a concrete extension and had two spots with brand new sod. I think I used 3 yards, and then my neighbor took the last yard and filled in sod cracks with it. I bought a gorilla cart from lowes and it made moving the sand so easy. My wife and I did the job and it took us roughly 4 hours.

My backyard needs to be leveled and is about 4000 sqft, but I wanted to do the front first to see how it turns out since it was my first time.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

I called around and got some quotes. Siteone is a little expensive. 
White mortar is $47 a yard + $110 delivery + $80 for the three bags.

C33 is about $34 and I'd spend $400 in total. If I did a dump truck instead, it'll be $100 less.

I called some other suppliers and got a quote for of around $265 for C33 in a dump truck.

It sounds like I should be able to do this project in a day so I'll probably order a dump truck.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> I called around and got some quotes. Siteone is a little expensive.
> White mortar is $47 a yard + $110 delivery + $80 for the three bags.
> 
> C33 is about $34 and I'd spend $400 in total. If I did a dump truck instead, it'll be $100 less.
> ...


I would go and check the sand out first. I don't think you want C33 sand. If I remember correctly, C33 had a rocks and crap in it. I went in person to inspect the sand to make sure it's what I wanted.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

burnhagw said:


> silverrainbow said:
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Oh ok. Good to know. I heard C33 is slightly better as it is coarse. I'll go check it out today.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> burnhagw said:
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If you're able to check it out, I would, just to make sure it's what you want. I went to a couple places, and one place had red mortar sand but it was not really clean like the one I went with, so I was glad I went and check it first.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

I made a trip to the supplier. I did notice some pebbles in C33 but these were really small and there weren't too many. Here are the pics of two different samples from the same mound.





I also compared red mortar sand which seemed to have same coarseness. White mortar in comparison was much finer which does not seem to be the right choice.

Here's the pic of red mortar.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> I made a trip to the supplier. I did notice some pebbles in C33 but these were really small and there weren't too many. Here are the pics of two different samples from the same mound.
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Me personally, I wouldn't touch that top photo. The second photo though looks like a different sand all together, but you said it's from the same mound.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

It's the same mound .
I'm think Red mortar isn't a bad choice.


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## Harley (May 3, 2020)

silverrainbow said:


> I made a trip to the supplier. I did notice some pebbles in C33 but these were really small and there weren't too many. Here are the pics of two different samples from the same mound.
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Why do you think white might not be the right choice?


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

Harley said:


> Why do you think white might not be the right choice?


It seemed to be very fine. Last week I got about 10 sand bags of white sand and spread it over a small area and leveled it with a broom. The areas that seemed to be leveled and packed a few days back aren't quite leveled today. I'm guessing that a little more coarseness may help. Again I have no experience with this so I may be wrong.


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## Harley (May 3, 2020)

I'm with you. I went to the rock yard today and looked at the white top dressing that they use on golf courses ($33/yd) and yes it is very fine. I also looked at the red sand and it was more course ($20/yd). The guy at the yard said the red would work just fine. I'm curious as to why the golf courses prefer the fine sand. :dunno: Perhaps the fairways are already level and the white let's them fine tune it.


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> It's the same mound .
> I'm think Red mortar isn't a bad choice.


The red mortar I got was super clean. I was very happy with it. After last nights heavy rain and tonight's heavy rain, the sand hasn't shifted, which I'm really happy about.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

burnhagw said:


> silverrainbow said:
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I think I will get the red mortar sand. The only problem is I put some (10 sand bags) of white mortar and in my front yard for testing and I'm not sure what mixing will do to it 😬


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## burnhagw (Oct 17, 2019)

silverrainbow said:


> burnhagw said:
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I've read that you typically want to keep using the same sand going forward, but in saying that...with your few bags down..I don't think it would be a big deal if you just use mortar sand going forward. If you want to see what my yard looks like in person, just DM me.


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## silverrainbow (May 4, 2020)

burnhagw said:


> I've read that you typically want to keep using the same sand going forward, but in saying that...with your few bags down..I don't think it would be a big deal if you just use mortar sand going forward. If you want to see what my yard looks like in person, just DM me.


I'd love to see it! I'll send you a DM.


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