# M-sand for leveling



## booneatl (May 19, 2017)

I'm planning to finally level and order sand this year. Found a nearby quarry that makes manufactured sand or m-sand.

I believe they make it by pulverizing granite.

Do you guys see any issues using this to level or has anyone tried it?

It's $26 a ton vs $40 a ton from other sand dealers near me.

I stopped by to see it and they also offer it washed and screened. The unwashed/screened had too many small pieces in my opinion but the washed and screened seemed consistent with beach sand.


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## Buffalolawny (Nov 24, 2018)

Nope buy twice as much


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## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

My only concern would be for the reel mower blades because granite would have to be tough on them.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Do you have any pictures of the sand in question? Or a link to the website that may have pictures? I wouldn't be too worried about the wear on the reel as sand is tough on reel blades too, I can't see granite sand being any worse.

I just looked it up and it seems like it is used for a base for pavers and hardscape's. Not sure if that would be good for the lawn or not.


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

Regarding "leveling" can it be done on a yard that has a slope towards our street? I just assume it's only for yards that are flat. 
Thanks!


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

LowCountryCharleston said:


> Regarding "leveling" can it be done on a yard that has a slope towards our street? I just assume it's only for yards that are flat.
> Thanks!


It depends on how much of a "slope" we are talking about here


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

LowCountryCharleston said:


> Regarding "leveling" can it be done on a yard that has a slope towards our street? I just assume it's only for yards that are flat.
> Thanks!


You can think of leveling more as smoothing. It levels any small variations in the lawn like any dips and makes for a smoother flatter mow. You might be thinking more along the lines of grading which is a bigger process for major changes


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## drenglish (Jun 22, 2018)

Hopefully not to derail this topic, but what sand would be ideal to use in a lawn for leveling or smoothing? All of the bagged masonry sand or paver base at Lowe's and HD are still 40-50% pebbles once screened - I have a few small areas in my lawn that need filling in and really don't need a truck load of it at the moment.


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

Get Mason sand in bulk. Most places that sell bulk top soil will also have Mason sand. Generally better quality than bagged stuff but don't be afraid to check it out before purchasing


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

drenglish said:


> Hopefully not to derail this topic, but what sand would be ideal to use in a lawn for leveling or smoothing? All of the bagged masonry sand or paver base at Lowe's and HD are still 40-50% pebbles once screened - I have a few small areas in my lawn that need filling in and really don't need a truck load of it at the moment.


If you are just looking for bagged sand then I would recommend either Play sand or the All Purpose Sand that you can find in the isle with all the Concrete. Both are pretty fine and have very minimal large particles in them. I have found that the AP Sand has some of these small grey flakes of stone in them but they are nothing compared to what the paver base sand has in them.


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## drenglish (Jun 22, 2018)

Thanks MightyQuinn, I was on the wrong side of the store then for sure.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

I am in the same boat with sand choice. I need about 6 tons.

Red mortar $25 a ton, tan concrete $30 a ton or white beach $35 a ton. Site 1 has sand for $22 a ton.

I'm leaning toward the beach sand because I know it will have the smallest particles. $60 dollar difference in cost might be worth it. However, I have a habit of buying the "top end" when middle of the road will do.


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## booneatl (May 19, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> Do you have any pictures of the sand in question? Or a link to the website that may have pictures? I wouldn't be too worried about the wear on the reel as sand is tough on reel blades too, I can't see granite sand being any worse.
> 
> I just looked it up and it seems like it is used for a base for pavers and hardscape's. Not sure if that would be good for the lawn or not.


When I went to the actual quarry where this is mined (about 10 minutes from my home ) a quality control guy brought me a bucked of the washed and unwashed m-10 sand that they process. He told me this was the finest material that they manufactuer. I wish I had taken some with me but I just ran my hands through both buckets.

Here is a pictue from the internet and it looked just like this. It was wet at the time and I believe he said the color would be lighter when dry. 


Here is a link to their website but they don't really have pictues of the material. 
https://www.martinmarietta.com/products/aggregates/fine/


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## smurg (May 30, 2018)

Wfrobinette said:


> I am in the same boat with sand choice. I need about 6 tons.
> 
> Red mortar $25 a ton, tan concrete $30 a ton or white beach $35 a ton. Site 1 has sand for $22 a ton.
> 
> I'm leaning toward the beach sand because I know it will have the smallest particles. $60 dollar difference in cost might be worth it. However, I have a habit of buying the "top end" when middle of the road will do.


You don't necessarily want the smallest particles. Here's an excerpt on USGA green construction:



http://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/article/murphy-size-9-7-2012.pdf


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

I bought 2 bags of quikrete all purpose sand last week at lowes and the pebbles make it almost unusable, if you're going with bagged sand get the bags of quikrete washed plaster sand it is much finer and has no pebbles.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

erdons said:


> I bought 2 bags of quikrete all purpose sand last week at lowes and the pebbles make it almost unusable, if you're going with bagged sand get the bags of quikrete washed plaster sand it is much finer and has no pebbles.


I agree that there are some small pebbles in the bag but I run it through a Sifter before putting the sand on the lawn.


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## smurg (May 30, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


> erdons said:
> 
> 
> > I bought 2 bags of quikrete all purpose sand last week at lowes and the pebbles make it almost unusable, if you're going with bagged sand get the bags of quikrete washed plaster sand it is much finer and has no pebbles.
> ...


I did the same for soil addition from bags. Some of those bags of soil look more like mulch, so if you're topdressing it's a must. If it's for fill, not as bad, but probably still too high on OM. I did 1/4" for soil, but sand will need a bit smaller mesh.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Yeah, I use the 1/4" for soil and 1/8" for the bagged sand.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

smurg said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > erdons said:
> ...


That's a good idea, didn't even think about that I was just kinda manually removing all the bigger pebbles.


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

I got 10 yards of masonry sand for some spot leveling and drainage work I'm doing. $35/yd is the best price I found. Good stuff too!


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

My 36" lawnlevel rake should be here soon too. @Ware convinced me it was worth the purchase price.


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## ruxie88 (Dec 20, 2018)

cglarsen said:


> My 36" lawnlevel rake should be here soon too. @Ware convinced me it was worth the purchase price.


I purchased one and used it a couple times over the past two weeks. Love it :thumbup:


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

daniel3507 said:


> LowCountryCharleston said:
> 
> 
> > Regarding "leveling" can it be done on a yard that has a slope towards our street? I just assume it's only for yards that are flat.
> ...


Ah great thanks. Now I better understand leveling is something that I'd like to do. Is there a magic formula in terms of the lbs of sand to use for the area you want to level? Thanks


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## lvlikeyv (Jan 26, 2019)

LowCountryCharleston said:


> daniel3507 said:
> 
> 
> > LowCountryCharleston said:
> ...


I'm curious about this as well.

I think I remember someone saying something about 1 yard for every 1,000 sf. Gurus, does this jive?


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

lvlikeyv said:


> LowCountryCharleston said:
> 
> 
> > daniel3507 said:
> ...


1 yard per 1000 sq ft is correct.


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## lvlikeyv (Jan 26, 2019)




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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

cglarsen said:


> I got 10 yards of masonry sand for some spot leveling and drainage work I'm doing. $35/yd is the best price I found. Good stuff too!


That's the same sand I used last year and same price. You must be close to me :lol:


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