# Bermuda Lawn Leveling by a Pro



## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

I'm in the Atlanta area and we have a known company that specializes in leveling lawns here (http://www.levellawns.com/)

I want to level my ~6000sqft bermuda lawn to be able to mow lower. Sod is 4 years old and is in good shape with the typical dips that cause scalping here and there. I posted a couple of pics from May last year. I've been using a rotary 56V mower and mowing at 2+ inches but if I level I'll seriously consider moving to a reel this spring. They came in and gave me a proposal (attached). This includes Scalping, Aeration, Uflexx granular fert, Bolster granular, top dressing, leveling. My understanding is their top dressing material is a mix of river sand and some organic material (not masonry sand as most recommend on TLF).

The quote is just over $1,500 for 6k sqft so it's higher than what I would've expected but these guys appear to know what they're doing, and I've seen a video of their work (



) and my neighbor who's a professional landscaper said they do an impressive job. I was looking into doing the leveling project myself but I have many obstacles such as:

1. My mower will not scalp that low so I may need a service to come in to scalp & bag ($150?)
2. I need a service to come in and aerate ($200?)
3. I need to buy a leveler ($150?)
4. Six (6) yards of sand or same mix that they use ($300?)
5. Doing 6k sqft is a major undertaking and I don't have a riding mower or ATV to drag the leveler ($ for rent?)

I'm getting a second quote from another pro but they don't scalp & bag so I'd have to take care of that separately.

My current thought process is to use a pro this spring to get the lawn leveled (major effort), and then in future years I can just get a leveler off of Amazon and hand level using sand as needed (minor effort). Is that how it works?

Thoughts on pricing, plan or other advice?


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## walk1355 (May 31, 2018)

I think this is an amazing price for the amount of effort this takes. I literally just called them to see if they are willing to come to Madison, AL. The lady on the phone told me probably not, but she would talk with a manager to see if this was possible.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Awar said:


> Thoughts on pricing, plan or other advice?


I don't think that's a bad price. Sure, you could probably do it yourself for less, but you would need to invest in some specialty tools.


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## brianuab (Jun 6, 2018)

https://www.sandmantopdressing.com/
I didn't use them but I ended up doing mine by myself (family helped too). They provided me a quote which seemed reasonable for 3k sq ft.


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

I'm doing mine this summer. $100 for the aerator rental. $350 for the sand. I already have a reel mower and can do the scalp myself. However, I'll have to hand truck that sand all over my lawn with a gorilla cart, then manually drag it. I'm actually nervous about how much work it will be. Might try to borrow my neighbor's lawn tractor (offer him $50-100?).

At $1500 (probably $2k for my size yard), it's a tempting price for the amount of work this project entails. I think I would probably still decide to do the labor myself, but definitely tempting.


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## twolf (Jan 25, 2019)

I think $1500 is a fair price. But you can probably do the same for half the price.

I leveled 10K lawn last year in Atlanta area. My lawn was 3 years old with all the same problems of poorly aligned sod and clay dirt settling differently here and there.

Masonry sand 10 cu.ya. $500
Drag mat $120 
Gorilla cart $120
Landscaper rake $40
Wide brush $30
Aeration service $100 (they had a wonderful machine, but did very bad job, and I had no time to make them re do) 
Set of new (lower) wheels for EGO mower $40 (this was for spring scalp, but that was part of the plan)
1/2 bug of N fert $15
3 days of intense labor including removing cores after aeration. The wife and kids were helping. Neighbors were having fun watching.

I think I could have used more sand, but still that made a big difference. I mean to repeat this next year (decided not to do it this year), to make it even more leveled. I think our clay soil makes it never ending process.


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## Owens_Geo (Jun 24, 2018)

It's a good price. I personally am a glutton for punishment, and have a strange satisfaction out of doing the work myself. If I had a little more sense, I would defiantly outsource. I think most of this isn't logical, just stare at your lawn and ask yourself if your comfortable with someone else in your lawn. Lol best of luck.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

walk1355 said:


> I think this is an amazing price for the amount of effort this takes. I literally just called them to see if they are willing to come to Madison, AL. The lady on the phone told me probably not, but she would talk with a manager to see if this was possible.


Appreciate the input



Ware said:


> I don't think that's a bad price. Sure, you could probably do it yourself for less, but you would need to invest in some specialty tools.


I am worried about the amount of labor I would have to put in, and I don't have anyone to help. I thought about just doing my front yard as it would be manageable but I really want to do the entire lawn!



brianuab said:


> https://www.sandmantopdressing.com/
> I didn't use them but I ended up doing mine by myself (family helped too). They provided me a quote which seemed reasonable for 3k sq ft.


Thanks! I looked them up and they don't serve my area. Almost 2 hours away.



adgattoni said:


> I'm doing mine this summer. $100 for the aerator rental. $350 for the sand. I already have a reel mower and can do the scalp myself. However, I'll have to hand truck that sand all over my lawn with a gorilla cart, then manually drag it. I'm actually nervous about how much work it will be. Might try to borrow my neighbor's lawn tractor (offer him $50-100?).
> 
> At $1500 (probably $2k for my size yard), it's a tempting price for the amount of work this project entails. I think I would probably still decide to do the labor myself, but definitely tempting.


I appreciate the numbers! Again I'm scared to take on this project by myself. It would take me a few days so paying someone to do a better job is probably well worth it for me.



twolf said:


> I think $1500 is a fair price. But you can probably do the same for half the price.
> 
> I leveled 10K lawn last year in Atlanta area. My lawn was 3 years old with all the same problems of poorly aligned sod and clay dirt settling differently here and there.
> 
> ...


I appreciate you sharing your experience. I am looking forward to the see the expression on the neighbors' faces!



Owens_Geo said:


> It's a good price. I personally am a glutton for punishment, and have a strange satisfaction out of doing the work myself. If I had a little more sense, I would defiantly outsource. I think most of this isn't logical, just stare at your lawn and ask yourself if your comfortable with someone else in your lawn. Lol best of luck.


I love doing my own work too, but this project is intimidating due to the physical effort, unpredictable weather with a bunch of sand sitting in my driveway, waiting for the weekend to do it, etc...

*Two questions for all:

1. Am I right by thinking if I get a pro to do it this year then next year onwards I can just do minimal "touch up" leveling myself? I can get a leveling drag mat that I can pull manually and then buy just enough sand to address the problem areas...
2. What do you think of the mixture that this company is proposing: 50% river sand & 50% organic material? Is this going to last or once the organic material breaks down I'm back to a bumpy lawn?*


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

No organic matter as topdressing. It will shrink and leave holes. There is no call for applying that much organic matter. A growing lawn makes plenty of its own.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

First off thanks for sharing this!
I just got a quote for my 8K front lawn to do the following;
Deep core aeration
apply 50/50 mix top dressing (they have a machine that spreads it)
Price of $460 which includes a 15% veterans discount

I have to scalp and bag before hand myself.

I priced out the 50/50 mix from living earth at $28 a yard (vet discount also) so $252 for the top dressing and another $85 for delivery. So $337 just in material and I would have to do all the work myself. In my mind the $460 quote is very appealing to say the least but I have to clearly ensure the price quote ensures I will get 1 yard of material per 1K of lawn. If this all lines up I will go for it! In addition it leaves me room to possible repeat before the year is out.

In my mind this approach can be repeated and in 2-3 years the desired results achieved...

Thoughts please??


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

ctrav said:


> First off thanks for sharing this!
> I just got a quote for my 8K front lawn to do the following;
> Deep core aeration
> apply 50/50 mix top dressing (they have a machine that spreads it)
> ...


This is so cheap I don't understand how they'd even make money on such job!

You're also getting a 50/50 mix and this appears to be the common top dressing material by those leveling companies. You may want to ask them to quote you a higher percentage sand mix, at least that's what I'm planning to do.

Also do they aerate the same day? Don't they have to pick up the plugs before they run over your yard with their heavy machinery?


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> No organic matter as topdressing. It will shrink and leave holes. There is no call for applying that much organic matter. A growing lawn makes plenty of its own.


thanks @Greendoc i'll give them a call and see if they can offer a higher percentage of sand.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Awar said:


> ctrav said:
> 
> 
> > First off thanks for sharing this!
> ...


Thanks for the sand suggestion! My lawn at least in the ditch area needs nutrients so it's either 50/50 mix or peat moss which would add $200 to the bill...


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## elm34 (May 10, 2017)

ctrav said:


> Awar said:
> 
> 
> > ctrav said:
> ...


Are they just top dressing it or are they going to use a drag as well to ensure it's level?


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Are they just top dressing it or are they going to use a drag as well to ensure it's level?
[/quote]

Aeration and top dress with a machine that spreads it. I could go over it with a drag mat but will wait and see how it looks. Thanks for the idea...


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> No organic matter as topdressing. It will shrink and leave holes. There is no call for applying that much organic matter. A growing lawn makes plenty of its own.


Correction: I called the company who provided the quote and they use *USGA RIVER SAND* as leveling material. I corrected the original post.

On another note they offered me a little discount so I'm closer to pulling the trigger now. If I can only convince a neighbor to do this on the same day they would offer another 10% off :mrgreen:


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

Awar said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > No organic matter as topdressing. It will shrink and leave holes. There is no call for applying that much organic matter. A growing lawn makes plenty of its own.
> ...


I know the company you are referring to. Good product and a good company. With that said, river sand is river sand, screening is the only difference, meaning how much trash is left in it. The USGA label is pure marketing.

I consider leveling to be sand only. With leveling, you are filling in low areas, sometimes a few inches in depth. River sand for this all the way. Top/sod dressing, to me, is just that, a half inch or less to fill in minor depressions and natural movement of earth on top. For that I use a 30/70 mix from Green Brothers here in the metro ATL area. It's a 30% mixture of chicken manure, organic dust from the tub grinding of mulch, peanut shells, a couple other things I don't recall, etc., and 70% river sand. It adds nutrients as well as polishing off an already leveled yard. The mix gives the grass a kickstart with the nutrients and is low enough in volume not to have any measurable affect from shrinking as it decomposes. The downside is not being able to reel mow right after due to the peanut hulls. They do decompose rather quickly though. My two cents and worth what you paid for it. :lol:


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Mister Bill said:


> Awar said:
> 
> 
> > Greendoc said:
> ...


Appreciate your input. I called Green Brothers and I think in the future I'll consider using their material for top dressing / maintenance purpose.

Now I'm starting to look for a reel mower! I'm too scared to purchase used unless it's in "like new" condition. I don't like messing around with my tools and hate things breaking down on me. Which also means $$$. Being a grasshole is not a cheap hobby!


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

Appreciate your input. I called Green Brothers and I think in the future I'll consider using their material for top dressing / maintenance purpose.

Now I'm starting to look for a reel mower! I'm too scared to purchase used unless it's in "like new" condition. I don't like messing around with my tools and hate things breaking down on me. Which also means $$$. Being a grasshole is not a cheap hobby!
[/quote]

:thumbup:


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Honestly, if you have the disposable income to pay someone to do a really labor-intensive job like levelling, I'd totally spring for the cash to do it. Sit back and enjoy a cold drink while someone else's crew knocks it out for you in a day. After spending 2 days of just spreading 10 yards of sand in my lawn after a scalp, I was dusted for a few days afterwards, and I'm not terribly out of shape. The fact that you can have that major task done in 1 day gets your yard to a level (pun intended) where the next levelling session would be much easier to do by yourself, and you'd have another season of lawn care under your belt.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Honestly, if you have the disposable income to pay someone to do a really labor-intensive job like levelling, I'd totally spring for the cash to do it. Sit back and enjoy a cold drink while someone else's crew knocks it out for you in a day. After spending 2 days of just spreading 10 yards of sand in my lawn after a scalp, I was dusted for a few days afterwards, and I'm not terribly out of shape. The fact that you can have that major task done in 1 day gets your yard to a level (pun intended) where the next levelling session would be much easier to do by yourself, and you'd have another season of lawn care under your belt.


You're speaking my language... It's not like I find cash under my pillow every morning, but I'm good with paying an additional $700 or so for someone else to do the labor AND do a much better job than I would. And like you said I'll do the minor touch-ups going forward.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I don't blame you - if there was someone local to me that I trusted to a good job, I would consider it.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Update: I scheduled with Atlanta Level Lawns to perform this service late April. I will try to document the process by video and photos in case it helps others on this forum.

Their rep said this is the process:
1. Lawn to be cut at 1.5" before they show up & I will mark sprinkler heads
2. Scalp and bag clippings
3. Core aerate but will not pick up plugs
4. Granular fertilizer + bolster
5. Apply river sand
6. Drag to level and fill areas

I have two questions based on that:

(a) is it okay to not pick up the plugs after aerating? They're going to run over those with their heavy equipment.
(b) is it appropriate to put down the granular fert and then apply the leveling material and drag around the yard? Wouldn't that cause the fert to be spread out inconsistently?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Plugs will probably break up okay in the dragging process. Some here would probably say collect the cores before adding sand.

I like to wait to fertilize after everything is smooth, but I would probably just let them do what they do.

Reminds me of those old mechanic shop labor rate signs where the price goes up if you watch, offer advice, help, etc. :lol:


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

@Ware I know exactly what you're talking about with the mechanic shop rates :lol:

I'll ask if they can fertilize after finishing, but if I remember correctly he said the crew that will core aerate will put down the fertilizer, and then another crew will show up to put down sand and drag. Maybe I can run my sprinklers in between!


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## cutigers08 (Aug 16, 2019)

I have an awfully bu.py lawn and was planning on doing the side and front (approx 4k sq ft) but after seeing this I checked out their website. They service Charlotte too! Already requested a quote!


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Requested a quote just for curiosity sake.

Pretty funny they ask for 1.5 inches... I'm at .4 inches currently and just want some of the major bumps and lumps taken care of.

Im not against doing it myself, but in the coming heat and the time involved it might be worth the cost if someone will actually level thicker somewhere else and not a thin top dressing.


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## CrackedCornCrack (Jan 25, 2020)

@Awar , I just leveled about 18,000 sqft of turf with sand....I would say you made a perfect decision to have pros do it. It was incredibly difficult work and kind of stressful not knowing if I'm destroying my yard or helping it. I'm in pretty good shape and this morning after getting gas I sat in my car eating pop tarts and pouting about the work that was ahead....

Awesome service that's close to you, I'm excited to see how it turns out.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

😂 @CrackedCornCrack

That's the breakfast of champions!


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

CrackedCornCrack said:


> @Awar , I just leveled about 18,000 sqft of turf with sand....I would say you made a perfect decision to have pros do it. It was incredibly difficult work and kind of stressful not knowing if I'm destroying my yard or helping it. I'm in pretty good shape and this morning after getting gas I sat in my car eating pop tarts and pouting about the work that was ahead....
> 
> Awesome service that's close to you, I'm excited to see how it turns out.


Wow 18,000 Sq-ft you're brave to do it yourself! Do you have help? My biggest issue is I don't have help so I have to use the pro's. I can't wait to answer questions from the neighbors!


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## cutigers08 (Aug 16, 2019)

Wife said I cant pay someone. She also said she would help...its only 4k sq ft and she is gonna regret this one! Fortunately my neighbor is gonna get me the drag net from the local rec department. I may make the 2 hr trip to get my brothers Ezgo Mule with electric dump bed.


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

twolf said:


> I think $1500 is a fair price. But you can probably do the same for half the price.
> 
> I leveled 10K lawn last year in Atlanta area. My lawn was 3 years old with all the same problems of poorly aligned sod and clay dirt settling differently here and there.
> 
> ...


@twolf, my leveling project expenses were pretty much yours exactly...except I didn't aerate. My lawn is 5700 sq ft, but I was very generous with sand in certain parts of my lawn and used 9 cu yds. I did 80-90% of the work myself. It was work, but to be honest it wasn't terrible.

We are all different when it comes to spending money, but I'd say do it yourself. Call it pride or whatever you want, but there's a strong sense of accomplishment when it comes to improving my lawn with my own hands. I have a neighbor who is always bragging about his very average lawn, but he hires someone to do all of the work. I just kind of feel that it's no fun having a nice lawn if you didn't make it nice yourself. I've learned quite a bit from forums like this one about making my lawn look great, so it's extra special to me every time someone compliments me on my lawn because I do all of the work. I could pay someone, but then I couldn't take credit for how good my lawn looks. But what do I know?

Good luck with the project. A lawn always looks better when it's leveled.


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

I'm not leveling per se but rather regrading with 12 yards of chocolate loam. I'm doing this by myself with a shovel and gorilla cart but pacing myself to 1-2 yards a day. I'm working at a steady pace of about an hour per yard, and with this quarantine, I have the luxury of pacing myself. It's also great exercise but I'm certainly feeling it when I wake up.

I did the same last year, but I had more time constraint. I'd done half myself but then I saw a neighbor hired a crew to build a patio and they were using a mini skid steer. I offered them some money to finish the last half.

I'd say if you had time and were up for it, calculate about one man hour per yard. Divide by how many capable helpers you have. Factor in any tools you need. I knew I'd be doing this over multiple seasons so I was comfortable buying the tools I needed.


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## kmajoros (Apr 29, 2019)

I'm planning to do some leveling myself this summer. One thing that I came across in my research is NOT to core aerate before leveling. This is because no matter how well you try and get those cores out, you won't be able to. This will leave mound everywhere.

I'm planning to use the Nextdoor Neighbor app and locating a few high schoolers to help out. I plan to have them load the sand and I'll dump it. Then have them help rake the rough grade out while I go back and do the final grade.

But then again...once this is all said and done, it may not be much cheaper than what the company is proposing.

Another thought is to break up the job. Do half early summer and the other half later summer or something like that.


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## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

kmajoros said:


> I'm planning to do some leveling myself this summer. One thing that I came across in my research is NOT to core aerate before leveling. This is because no matter how well you try and get those cores out, you won't be able to. This will leave mound everywhere.
> 
> I'm planning to use the Nextdoor Neighbor app and locating a few high schoolers to help out. I plan to have them load the sand and I'll dump it. Then have them help rake the rough grade out while I go back and do the final grade.
> 
> ...


Aeration cores are rather small and break up pretty easy once you run a drag of any kind over them.


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## BUbbaSwine (May 8, 2018)

I think the plug issue depends on your soil. I wouldn't leave them on my lawn as South Carolina has that red sandy clay that becomes concrete when the summer heat hits it. If left on top, could turn into the silver dollar sized bulges that kill the grass underneath.


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## Bubba1855 (4 mo ago)

Folks, I put down TifTuf in June, about 1500 sq ft. It looks great. But it has lots of bumps. I talked to my landscaper, who did
not lay the sod, if he did leveling and he said 'yes', they do it a lot. So I did a bunch of googling including this forum. I now understand what's involved. But I have a question.
I've worked with sand before. If the sand is dry when its spread and leveled it will 'shrink' the first time it gets wet. So,
I will still have bumps, but not as bad. My question... Should I lightly water the thicker areas of sand and ask him to 'relevel'
the low spots? I know I can do it again later in the season, but it seems to me that while he's there and has the sand it would be better to put down more sand the first time.
Comments?


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## Bubba1855 (4 mo ago)

p.s. I'm 77 yrs old...so I can't do the manual labor anymore.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Bubba1855 said:


> Folks, I put down TifTuf in June, about 1500 sq ft. It looks great. But it has lots of bumps. I talked to my landscaper, who did
> not lay the sod, if he did leveling and he said 'yes', they do it a lot. So I did a bunch of googling including this forum. I now understand what's involved. But I have a question.
> I've worked with sand before. If the sand is dry when its spread and leveled it will 'shrink' the first time it gets wet. So,
> I will still have bumps, but not as bad. My question... Should I lightly water the thicker areas of sand and ask him to 'relevel'
> ...


Leveling is usually a multiple application process, depending on how bad things are. You can only put do much down at once without smothering the lawn, etc. 1/4" to 1/2" max depth at once is recommended.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I now have a machine that will put down sand even when it's wet but I'm learning through my own yard and helping friends that the leveling process is so much more involved than just putting down sand and dragging it. We leveled at my church and ended up going over there every day for almost two weeks to rake and move sand. It was raining constantly so we would not have had to do that much if the sand was dry. We still would have had to go back every third or forth day to evaluate and rake/drag it. I could not imagine what that service would cost a home owner. I've learned (as the other more experienced on this site have said) to do a light topdressing and do several over the season for multiple seasons. You can go heavy but you better be ready to get out there and help things along the way. Spot leveling the really bad parts is another option to keep the job manageable in the super hot months.


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## Tomahawk31 (8 mo ago)

twolf said:


> I think $1500 is a fair price. But you can probably do the same for half the price.
> 
> I leveled 10K lawn last year in Atlanta area. My lawn was 3 years old with all the same problems of poorly aligned sod and clay dirt settling differently here and there.
> 
> ...











Central Alabama Top Dressing And Leveling Rental And Service | Scheduling and Booking Website


We offer lawn enthusiast rental equipment to Top Dress and Level lawns, from spreading Sand, Soil and Compost. We offer a mobile and a self propelled spreader and a mini loader and a drag, service by request only.



centralalabamatopdressing.simplybook.me


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## Tomahawk31 (8 mo ago)

walk1355 said:


> I think this is an amazing price for the amount of effort this takes. I literally just called them to see if they are willing to come to Madison, AL. The lady on the phone told me probably not, but she would talk with a manager to see if this was possible.











Central Alabama Top Dressing And Leveling Rental And Service | Scheduling and Booking Website


We offer lawn enthusiast rental equipment to Top Dress and Level lawns, from spreading Sand, Soil and Compost. We offer a mobile and a self propelled spreader and a mini loader and a drag, service by request only.



centralalabamatopdressing.simplybook.me


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## Tomahawk31 (8 mo ago)

walk1355 said:


> I think this is an amazing price for the amount of effort this takes. I literally just called them to see if they are willing to come to Madison, AL. The lady on the phone told me probably not, but she would talk with a manager to see if this was possible.











Central Alabama Top Dressing And Leveling Rental And Service | Scheduling and Booking Website


We offer lawn enthusiast rental equipment to Top Dress and Level lawns, from spreading Sand, Soil and Compost. We offer a mobile and a self propelled spreader and a mini loader and a drag, service by request only.



centralalabamatopdressing.simplybook.me


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