How To LEVEL Your LAWN Using SAND (Includes 3 Week UPDATE!) | Topdressing for a FLAT Lawn

This video covers how I used mason sand to help level my lawn. The real goal of a sand leveling project is not actually to "level" but to create a flat surface to mow on. Your first step is to mow your lawn down to a low height of cut to make the sand easier to move. I chose to core aerate before applying the sand so I could help with soil compaction and allow the sand to mix better with the existing soil. After aerating, I spread the sand out in piles as evenly as I can using a gorilla cart. Then I knocked the piles down with a landscaping rake so they could dry out. Finally, I just used a drag mat and level rake to spread the sand out over the lawn and create a flat surface.
#lawninsider #bermudagrass #lawnleveling #topdressing #aerating #lawncare #DIYlawncare #reellowbermuda
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Products Used in Today's Video:
Landscaping Rake: amzn.to/2OCRfiI
Gorilla Cart: amzn.to/3fYgebD
Leveling Rake: shorturl.at/arGvX
5x3 Drag Mat: amzn.to/3g1cy8V
3x3 Drag Mat: amzn.to/3s8IYRw
T-Nex on Amazon: amzn.to/3Be3dmo
T-Nex on Do My Own: shrsl.com/324xa
Other products I use:
lawninsider.com/lawn-products/
I may receive compensation if you choose to purchase any of the products linked above. This comes at no extra cost to you.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:38 Lawn Prep Tips
2:33 Materials Used in the Leveling Project
4:57 Distributing the Sand Across the Lawn
6:36 Using the Landscaping Rake and Drag Mat to Level the Sand
8:50 Watering Tips
9:23 24 Hour Leveling Update
10:38 Level Rake Tutorial
12:27 3 Week Front Lawn Leveling Update
15:11 3 Week Back Lawn Leveling Update
15:47 Conclusion

[@ImStuckInStockton]

The one time your neighbor's lawn looks better he comes out and mows all over you. Strategic domination. Respect.

[@LawnInsider]

Power move for sure 😂

[@scottlarkin4748]

Your neighbor mulching his lawn during your video was cute lol

[@LawnInsider]

Haha actually my neighbor’s lawn guy.

[@appiconll]

Well, hopefully, he grabbed a shovel to help out.😂

[@gilrodriguez1981]

Great video as always. Always appreciate your tips and videos. Love the shirt as well. Just ordered it. I hate paying shipping and would pick it up in person just to see the lawn lol. Praying for rain next week for our area

[@ATO.21]

Love the shirt. I've got to have one.

[@robertlevy4613]

It’s pretty damn great

[@SD-wo2gx]

Great yard, it's something to aspire to!

[@LawnInsider]

Thank you! It’s getting there. Should really be rolling here in a week or two.

[@LTX-Shep]

Great video. Nice going.

[@LawnInsider]

Thank you!

[@robertlevy4613]

Sand leveling is something I want to do so badly but I’m military and probably won’t be in this house for more than 3-5 years so i can’t justify it. One day I’ll get to do this

[@fw1421]

Seems like a lot of effort for the typical tiny Texas yard.

[@lawnpanda]

Tnex is the bomb

[@rdevadip]

Great video! I enjoy your content and look forward to learning each time you put out a video. Quick question. Do you have to do anything to protect your sprinkler system from getting sand inside of it when leveling? Doesn’t seem like you do but I’m curious if you do or have run into any issues with sand in your irrigation system. Thanks in advance!

[@LawnInsider]

The most you would have to do was bring up a sprinkler head. I’ve only had to do that once. Aside from that, I don’t take any extra precautions with the sand and I’ve never experienced any other problems. Thank you for watching!

[@rdevadip]

@@LawnInsider thank you!

[@enzomoya1689]

Looks great Rhett. What would you say is best to put down for the bare spot in that corner to help fill in better?

[@LawnInsider]

You could sprinkle a little extra fert, or top dress with a little compost or top soil, but I’m just going to let nature run its course.

[@astrosfan5288]

What do you do if the spots are too high to even out with this kind of lawn leveling? I’m talking like a 6 inch height difference in some spots. Others are 2-3 inches. Drives me crazy how they put my lawn together.

[@randyvelarde7448]

Nice vid. How many times have you leveled? And how many more will you do. Just curious if this should be done annually even if ur lawn isn’t scalping or is pretty level. Thx

[@LawnInsider]

I’ve leveled 4 times. This time obviously fairly light. You definitely don’t have to do a full on leveling project annually, but it wouldn’t hurt to top dress. If your yard is already where you want it you don’t have to do it at all.

[@4x4x420]

I don’t see a level or a laser. Your lisp is cute tho. 😂😂😂

[@Anthony-bg2pe]

Lawn looks awesome. Do you know what SOD you have? I have been doing pretty good with the Bermuda that my home builder used but kind of considering a Re-Sod.

[@LawnInsider]

I’m not 100% sure, but pretty confident it’s just Tifway 419.

[@RioTheHitman]

Have you ever tried putting the sand in a peat moss spreader?

[@LawnInsider]

I haven’t. I’m actually really curious about that. I’ve seen a lot of videos with the Landzie peat moss spreader.

[@RioTheHitman]

@LawnInsider Yah Im curious as well I may give it a try soon

[@Rknight20]

Hey Rhett. How long does it take for the sand to settle in your yard? Also, how long do you water each zone until it’s settled? I did my first leveling two days ago by Georgetown on a new build property. My yard looks like a beach. 😊 they said they used 8 yards.

[@LawnInsider]

How long it takes to settle depends on a few factors. Mainly, how much sand was put down, how often are you working it in after the initial leveling, how much water is being put down, and if/when you last fertilized. I would say under normal circumstances almost all of the sand will be gone around week 2.

[@rezanorouzian8198]

Two quick comments. First, I'm sure you have previously "leveled" you lawn (perhaps even more than once). So, this time around, you could have "smoothed" it; meaning you could get some dry, medium-size sand (preferably silica sand) and distribute it over your front lawn using your regular broadcast spreader. This is MUCH MUCH more efficient and MUCH MUCH less labor intensive. Second, in your probably ~1000 sqft front lawn, you have two growing tress! Man, that's going to thin out your hybrid Bermuda big time. If you want beautiful short hybrid Bermuda, you may want to consider eliminating them or replacing them with some slow-growing, dwarf trees/shrubs.

[@JW-lo2bh]

Your lawn is looking great. How do you keep it green when you live in New Braunfels and you're only allowed to mow once every 2 weeks, with no hand watering allowed? I'm in Spring Branch on Canyon Lake and my lawn, which is usually beautiful and green, is starting to look shabby due to the lack of water.

[@LawnInsider]

We can currently water once a week. I wouldn’t be surprised if it got pushed to stage 3 soon though. Looks like we may get lucky next week and get some rain 🤞.

[@bobincdas]

Are you doing anything specific on the low spot that was leveled for the bermuda grass to fill in faster?

[@LawnInsider]

No sir, just gonna let nature run its course.

[@catherineagarcia7964]

@LawnInsider Awesome channel! What kind of Bermuda is this? Thanks.

[@LawnInsider]

Thank you! This is Tifway 419 bermudagrass. Basically standard hybrid bermuda.

[@catherineagarcia7964]

@@LawnInsider Thanks. Thinking of doing iron cutter from Mountain View.

[@LawnInsider]

@@catherineagarcia7964I’ve seen some pictures of iron cutter down in the Valley. It looks awesome.

[@catherineagarcia7964]

@Lawninsider I live in central California and it gets pretty hot here. 110-112 average here with a heat wave we have coming up for two weeks. Usually we are in the 90’s to lower 100’s in summer. So Bermuda I’m thinking will be better than tall fescue.

[@LawnInsider]

@@catherineagarcia7964 bermuda will absolutely be better. As long as you can keep it watered, it’ll be ok.

[@gw163]

How much did 3 yards pf samd cost? And how many sqft is your lawn?

[@LawnInsider]

My lawn is around 4200 sq ft. The sand cost right around $300 including delivery fee and taxes.

[@Reelyardsolutions]

Do you put .75oz down per 1000 on the pgr? I’ve noticed some go pretty heavy on it sometimes.

[@LawnInsider]

Oh heck no. I just put down .25oz per 1000. Still slows it down dramatically.

[@dxd813]

Why don’t you use regular dirt instead of sand? Wouldn’t dirt be better for the yard than sand?

[@caseyarmstrong7064]

Hey Rhett, I grow the exact same grass here in zone 9b where we can get well over a 100 for weeks on end. In previous years my lawn use to get dark green. This year was also the first year I started leveling, aerating & dethathed. What a difference it made in my mowing. I water every Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays. My question is that it’s not even getting dark green, just sorta staying a light green. Only having to mow once a weeks, where in the previous years it was twice sometimes 3 times a week. My lawn weed and fertilizer guy does his job every 6 weeks, and this is also the first year for him as well. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks, great video

[@MaddogsYardnFarm]

Iron is either locked up in soil or lack of iron in soil, get a soil test done at A&M. In the meantime, get some chelated iron and apply and see how that does.

[@caseyarmstrong7064]

Is there a reason for chelated iron? I mean is there a difference? We have something called Ironite, it makes everything grow and green. Thank you for your response

[@LawnInsider]

Chelated iron is much more easily taken up by the root system. Depending on soil pH, iron may not be taken up at all unless it’s chelated. Basically it makes the iron more soluble and available for absorption.

[@caseyarmstrong7064]

Thank you Rhett, I’ll give it a GO

[@robertlevy4613]

Iron. Fire your lawn fertilizer guy and do it yourself with a backpack sprayer. You can push some serious growth with it and it’s fun

[@HangryPandaMike]

how much water did you do since we havent been getting much to no rain?

[@LawnInsider]

So far I guess it’s been watered 3 times with my irrigation system. About an inch each time. We’ve had a couple days of rain too thrown in luckily.

[@d.williams6891]

Dang, once a week watering sounds rough. Have you done a video on what products you use during the hot dry weather? I’ve been looking at the Turf Titan brand of products trying to decide if any of them are worth it.

[@MaddogsYardnFarm]

I used hydretain last year in the granular. Switched to fourplay this year which has hydretain and some other things in it. Gonna do a double app back to back and see how it does.

[@d.williams6891]

@@MaddogsYardnFarm I’ve never heard of those so I’ll definitely do some research into that and try it out. Thank you for the suggestions!

[@MaddogsYardnFarm]

@@d.williams6891 no problem. I also mixed mine with chelated iron for a darker green. We'll see if it makes any impact.

[@RioTheHitman]

What cultivar of grass do you have?

[@LawnInsider]

I’m not 100% sure, but almost positive it’s just Tifway 419.

[@tigerwoulds]

First

[@MrErpman]

I have an almost full bottle of Primo Maxx. Let me know if you want it. I think I used about .25 ounces.

[@LawnInsider]

You moving or the product just wasn’t for you?

[@MrErpman]

@@LawnInsider Just not for me. I mow about every 4 to 5 days and my grass is plenty thick. I'm retired so the mowing is good exercise.

[@MrErpman]

@@LawnInsider I'll drop it on your doorstep on my way home from church tonight along with a note.

[@LawnInsider]

@@MrErpman thank you so much!

[@MrErpman]

@@LawnInsider you're welcome

[@Rocketrich88]

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