# My Bermuda Lawn Leveling by Level Lawns Atlanta



## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

As the title says, I had Level Lawns Atlanta come in and level my bermuda lawn today. They scalped, aerated, applied bolster liquid, applied Uflexx granular fertilizer, spread sand and drag screened.

The first crew came in at 8:30am and did the scalping, aeration and applied bolster liquid. Then at noon a truck came in and delivered the sand. Then the second crew came in at 4:30pm and applied the granular fertilizer, spread the sand and leveled.

Here are the pics in sequence:





















































Everything went well and the experience in general was very good.

I feel they can improve their communication about the schedule and arrival time window. The first crew was supposed to come in yesterday but they postponed due to getting 2 inches of rain the day before. They never called to reschedule, I had to call and ask. Then the first crew showed up this morning as expected, and the plan was for the second crew to come in tomorrow morning. But then I saw a truck dumping sand in the street (not our driveway) and by the time I came out he had already dumped it. It made me nervous that neighbors or the HOA may complain. He said that the second crew will come in the afternoon, and they sure did.

I was worried about the quality of the sand, so I called their office and asked for confirmation that the sand is screened and will not have rocks and pebbles etc... They said it's good quality and USGA approved so I will not have problems reel mowing. When the sand came in, I went out and checked it and it sure was clean and free of debris. However after completing the job and I watered my lawn, I see those little pebbles in some areas. It makes me think those are not from the sand that came by dump truck, but from the sand that the second crew brought in and spread (maybe 1 yard). I did pick up some larger pebbles but those aren't that many. Any thoughts on whether I should be concerned if I decide to reel mow after 3 weeks or so.

I will update this post with progress photos, maybe pick a couple of angles and show weekly progress...

Hope this helps if you're considering this company or other pro services for leveling.


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## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Interesting about the small pebbles. I recently leveled my lawn with what was supposed to be screened masonry sand. When I went to the facility and looked at the sand, there was also no small pebbles. But after the sand was watered in on my lawn, they started to float to the top.

Curious as to what peoples reply will be to the reel mowing question as I was thinking the same thing.


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## Ccualumni (Jul 8, 2018)

How much did they charge for that service? I want my lawn level, but worried about the cost.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

nice! I feel like they've always had a good reputation in the metro, but are pricey from what I've heard. To be concerned with the pebbles digging your reel would depend on how low your hoc is, and how big the pebbles are.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

anthonybilotta said:


> Interesting about the small pebbles. I recently leveled my lawn with what was supposed to be screened masonry sand. When I went to the facility and looked at the sand, there was also no small pebbles. But after the sand was watered in on my lawn, they started to float to the top.
> 
> Curious as to what peoples reply will be to the reel mowing question as I was thinking the same thing.


@anthonybilotta I was shocked when I saw those. Like you I inspected the sand and ran my fingers through it and found nothing. This is a full size close-up.





Ccualumni said:


> How much did they charge for that service? I want my lawn level, but worried about the cost.


@Ccualumni $1515 for 5,000 sq-ft after they gave me the $49 bolster for free. Then I got a 5% discount for paying cash. Here's my initial thread with more info: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15476



McDiddles said:


> nice! I feel like they've always had a good reputation in the metro, but are pricey from what I've heard. To be concerned with the pebbles digging your reel would depend on how low your hoc is, and how big the pebbles are.


@McDiddles I don't have a reel mower yet but should be getting one in the next couple of weeks. I would think 3/4" HOC would be nice for my lawn. Some of the larger pebbles that I'm picking up by hand can definitely cause issues but I'm hoping those little ones just sink in and remain at dirt level.

I wonder if I should call and complain, and maybe email them that the quality of sand provided is not suitable for reel mowing, which was one of my requirements before they did the job.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

@Awar did they REEL cut the lawn at any point? I have seen them do that to get the turf even lower after the initial scalp with the Walker.

Stinks about the pebbles. Possibly if you call
And complain that they would give you a little discount maybe but you will probably need to pick up the pieces yourself to make sure you don't hit them with your new reel.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

SGrabs33 said:


> @Awar did they REEL cut the lawn at any point? I have seen them do that to get the turf even lower after the initial scalp with the Walker.
> 
> Stinks about the pebbles. Possibly if you call
> And complain that they would give you a little discount maybe but you will probably need to pick up the pieces yourself to make sure you don't hit them with your new reel.


@SGrabs33 I've seen a video where they reel mow to scalp lower, but they did mot bring a reel mower for my yard. It wasn't in the proposal either so I did not complain.

I'm going to spend some time in the yard with a bucket and picking up larger pebbles. I think I'll call them and make a point. If they don't cooperate or at least understand my concern I might document it by email with photos and let them know that if I have reel damage due to stones they'll be hearing from me.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Update:

So the manager from Level Lawns came in on Saturday and inspected the work. He was disappointed with the quality of the sand used and also thought a couple of areas are still a little bumpy and can be improved.

I showed him the dozens of pebbles that I had picked up during the week (between 1/4" and 1" size). He spent 30 minutes around the yard and picked up more. He said that most of the pebbles will sink into the dirt and will not cause issues. He also said that in a couple of weeks after I mow once or twice I can call them and they'll come back and redo some areas (spot leveling). Not sure how I can make sure the new sand they bring will be better, unless they screen it on-site!

Maybe after I get my Swardman I should mow higher than 1" a few times with the ground a little wet so the rollers will push down any leftover pebbles into the dirt? *Any other ideas?* I plan to eventually mow at 3/4" or so.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Update 4/29/2020 (T+8 days):

I can see much more green, and progress sounds about right for 8 days. Not sure whether they did not use enough sand or it was the couple inches of rain we got last week that impacted some areas that feel bumpy. Either way they will return for spot leveling within a couple of weeks.

These are backyard pics taken 4/29, you can compare with the 4/21 pics above:


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## CanadianGrassMan (Apr 25, 2020)

Looks good thanks for sharing. Any updates pics?


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

@Awar, Since no one else has asked, I'll be the dummy. What is "bolster liquid"? I searched the TLF and got zero matches outside this thread. Is "Bolster" a brand name? Is it a new category of lawn treatment I haven't heard about?

bolster (verb) "to hold up or serve as a foundation."
bolster (verb) "to provide evidence or information"
bolster (noun) "a structural bracket or arch"


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

CanadianGrassMan said:


> Looks good thanks for sharing. Any updates pics?


@CanadianGrassMan The cooler than usual Spring slowed down recovery & progress but we're finally seeing 80s so it's coming along better now. These are from yesterday at 3/4" HOC.







hsvtoolfool said:


> @Awar, Since no one else has asked, I'll be the dummy. What is "bolster liquid"? I searched the TLF and got zero matches outside this thread. Is "Bolster" a brand name? Is it a new category of lawn treatment I haven't heard about?
> 
> bolster (verb) "to hold up or serve as a foundation."
> bolster (verb) "to provide evidence or information"
> bolster (noun) "a structural bracket or arch"


I did not research what it is exactly but it's supposed to improve the soil in weak areas such as near foundations or fence lines. They sprayed it using a hand held pump sprayer.


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## CanadianGrassMan (Apr 25, 2020)

Looks good! How feel about the leveling job?


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

CanadianGrassMan said:


> Looks good! How feel about the leveling job?


@CanadianGrassMan its definitely better than before but still has some areas that need work. They offered to come back and tackle those areas but I'm not sure if I want more sand on my lawn this season as I want to enjoy my reel new mower!


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## lsk5013 (Aug 14, 2020)

@Awar - how did the rest of the season go? Any other updates you could provide would be great as I'm looking to have Level Lawns come out for an estimate and do exactly what they did for you, but in our backyard this coming March/April once it warms up a little more here in Atlanta. Thx!


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

lsk5013 said:


> @Awar - how did the rest of the season go? Any other updates you could provide would be great as I'm looking to have Level Lawns come out for an estimate and do exactly what they did for you, but in our backyard this coming March/April once it warms up a little more here in Atlanta. Thx!


@lsk5013 if you look at my journal (link in my signature) you can see photos with progress of my lawn after the leveling effort. In general it went well but here are things I would do differently after going through this experience:

1. Use masonry sand instead of river sand, but if you're using Level Lawns you don't have that option. The main reasons are that river sand has a ton of pebbles some of which were large enough and can damage a reel mower blade. I spent hours picking up pebbles over the 2-3 weeks after leveling. Also I think river sand brought in some weeds as I saw more nutsedge last season than any other year.

2. I would delay the work a little to make sure temperatures are higher and bermuda grows faster. I think mid May would've worked better.

3. I would've asked them to do another pass with the leveler to better work the sand down.

My lawn did well and I was able to cut at 1/2" for some time but then it started scalping to I went up to 3/4". I will try to do some leveling myself this season using masonry sand and a leveling rake. It may take 2-3 days to spread a few yards of sand but that'll probably be worth it and allow me to cut at 1/2" this season.


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## blitz28179 (May 28, 2020)

Awar said:


> lsk5013 said:
> 
> 
> > @Awar - how did the rest of the season go? Any other updates you could provide would be great as I'm looking to have Level Lawns come out for an estimate and do exactly what they did for you, but in our backyard this coming March/April once it warms up a little more here in Atlanta. Thx!
> ...


Did you use any growth regulator last season?


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

blitz28179 said:


> Awar said:
> 
> 
> > lsk5013 said:
> ...


Yes but only after bermuda grew fully through the sand. I was using Podium which is similar to the populer T-Nex.


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## Atlanta Turtle (Apr 22, 2021)

Dear Awar, thank you for this thread. I have a very lumpy lawn (sodded in 2019), and Level Lawns Atlanta is coming out in a few weeks. Very excited!


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