# Skid Steer vs by Hand - Spread Topsoil Reno



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Good morning TLF,

Hope everyone is doing well
.
Prepping diligently to line up all of the pieces to my reno - I have a question for you guys - 
I'm getting roughly 2 dumps worth of topsoil to spread around my front lawn. 
OM and soil fertility are fine, I just have some low spots that need tending to plus I want a nice spread of the good stuff before the reno.

I have 2 quotes to get this down - one by brut force/wheelbarrow/hand raked
The other by skid steer.

Which way would you guys and why?

Thanks!


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## bencrabtree27 (Jan 8, 2019)

skid steer.. it will help with compacting the loose soil before seed... unless you want to do it by hand and roll it, two dumps is a lot to do by hand...


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

I would think skid steer size matters, if big I think it might create problem ruts that even if leveled now could settle and reappear.
Layout matters to, if a long haul around the back of the house is different than being able to dump centrally. Even having a small piece of equipment to fill wheelbarrows would be a huge labor reducer.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

how big is the area you're leveling? I'm doing 4k next week and plan on by hand, too many spots where the steer won't be able to go. Plus, for the area I have it would take me more time to get the hang of it than to use a leveling rake.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

If you click on someone's profile you can see lawn SQ footage in this case 17k which is a good bit.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Thanks all - so it's 6,500 sq feet @Thick n Dense 
It's a fairly open front yard with not many obstacles - only sprinkler heads which I'll mark off. The excavator friend I have is highly skilled. He clear cut and graded my backyard. Get compliments from random people on the street about it.

I'm only reno'ing the front for now @BobLovesGrass 
I'll ask him the weight on his skid - hopefully its a smaller, track one. Wish he had a harley rake...but I digress!

@bencrabtree27 This is exactly what I was looking to hear. My neighbor cut down 2 trees in her backyard and reno-ed it...probably 5k sq feet...they did it by hand and after a good T-storm it started running off. They did a bunch of stuff wrong like tilling the existing but you could tell if it was compacted a bit - she wouldn't have that much run-off.

Skid: $700
By hand: $1,200...that $500 difference is a second dump of topsoil...


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

You may be able to rent the harley rake attachment for the skid. There is a Bobcat rental place in Greenbrook on 22. If your buddy has a bobcat, you could try there.


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

How many yards of material? How high do you need to go to fix these low spots?


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

48 yards.

Most of the yard is level but got some bowls. Maybe 3-4 inches deep.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

gm560 said:


> You may be able to rent the harley rake attachment for the skid. There is a Bobcat rental place in Greenbrook on 22. If your buddy has a bobcat, you could try there.


Thank you for this suggestion. May def have to pursue this route!


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Landscaper just came down to $850. Well that makes things interesting.

The main benefits of hand doing it I see are getting more rocks out and not adding compaction.

Plus final grades are better set by hand.

It's a toss up now!


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

48 yards! That's a lot. The landscaper going down to $850 on that labor is cheap.

I'd probably still lean the skid steer. There will be a lot of settling if done by handtools. The skid steer will compact it pretty well and it'll settle quicker. Only the top 1" needs to be loose, which the harley rake will do well with that if you end up renting it.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Yeah it's a lot of material for sure but I need it. Trust me.

If builders only knew how to set final grades...but most don't...

Plus if I want to reel mow this in the future then this needs to be on point

My wish is for the skid to spread it. Let me fallow for 2-3 weeks and then have him come back and Harley the day of seeding. That would be ideal!


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## 95mmrenegade (Jul 31, 2017)

My wife and I did 5 tandem loads 20 tons a piece with 2 wheel barrows and a kubota tractor. I would recommend something with tracks instead of tires. Watch out for weight, a full size bob cat might be too big and create ruts. For that small of job you probably only need a dingo with tracks and a bucket.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

95mmrenegade said:


> My wife and I did 5 tandem loads 20 tons a piece with 2 wheel barrows and a kubota tractor. I would recommend something with tracks instead of tires. Watch out for weight, a full size bob cat might be too big and create ruts. For that small of job you probably only need a dingo with tracks and a bucket.


That's impressive. I guess I could rent a dingo and DIY. Didn't think about that.


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## 95mmrenegade (Jul 31, 2017)

JerseyGreens said:


> 95mmrenegade said:
> 
> 
> > My wife and I did 5 tandem loads 20 tons a piece with 2 wheel barrows and a kubota tractor. I would recommend something with tracks instead of tires. Watch out for weight, a full size bob cat might be too big and create ruts. For that small of job you probably only need a dingo with tracks and a bucket.
> ...


We could spread 20 tons in 90 minutes, could have easily done it faster but we had to move the dirt from the front yard to back yard and had a very narrow walkway.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

It's final.

Going to have them do it by hand to avoid any compaction.

Will have them roll it too.


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