Lawns grow and look their best when the ground beneath them is nearly level. While gently rolling undulations work well when you’re dealing with large areas, in the average suburban setting, a flat site is better than one with a pronounced slope.
A long-handled steel rake is an essential tool in the leveling process.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Kyle Chesser
Going to the effort to level your lawn is not merely an aesthetic decision. Uneven lawn surfaces are just trouble in the making. High spots can dry out because water sheds from them before it can be absorbed. Low spots can puddle and become a breeding ground for fungal disease. Grass roots may have difficulty taking hold, too. And perhaps most importantly, an unlevel lawn needs more water, whereas a flat one requires less irrigation to stay beautiful.
If your land is flat as a table, you’re in luck. All you need to do is make sure your lawn slopes slightly away from your home’s foundation, 1-2 feet of drop per 100 feet if the lawn goes right up to the foundation. The entire area should be raked smooth of dirt clods, twigs and leaves.
Most gardeners, however, have to deal with the lumps and bumps of typical yard terrain. If the bumps are relatively minor, you can level them by simply adding fresh topsoil. But that said, do resist the temptation to rake topsoil from a higher spot to fill in depressions, or you’ll be removing the good soil from the higher raked area and exposing poor subsoil beneath.
If the lumps and bumps in your lawn are significant or the slope is too steep, consider regrading the site. If the area is moderately sized, you can do it yourself: You’ll need a wheelbarrow and shovel, a spirit level, a long-handled steel rake, and a little time and patience.
Checking the level of your lawn can be done in several ways. For smaller areas, buy about a dozen 1- x 2-inch wood stakes and paint a line around each 2-3 inches from their tops. Establish the level for various points on the site and insert the stakes so that their marks are aligned with the future soil surface.
Smaller areas can be leveled using a straight board, a carpenter’s level and four pegs. Insert the pegs into the soil, two at each end of the area to be leveled, rest the board atop them, then adjust the pegs until the board is level. Proceed as before, raking and filling until the area is even.
Leveling a large area without sophisticated transits or laser equipment can also be done easily and simply, using either a line level mounted on a string between two stakes or with a simple spirit level constructed from a garden hose, clear aquarium vinyl tubing and a few fittings. Since water naturally seeks its own level, a spirit level instantly establishes an absolutely level plane from which the ground surface below can be measured. (Follow the examples shown in the pictures to construct and use a spirit level.) It’s a quick and easy way to establish a single reference point when leveling a large area.
Once all the stakes are in place at 6-foot intervals, fill in the low spots and rake the soil to grade a level surface. Use a wide rake and dispose of all pebbles, rocks, debris, dirt clods, twigs, leaves and anything else that isn’t finely ground soil. These innocent-looking troublemakers can impede the uniform growth of seed or sod more than you might imagine.
Once your site is graded and smooth, you’re ready to move on to the next step: planting!
Spirit Level
Spirit Level - Step 1
To make a spirit level, attach a PVC hose-bib connector to a thread-to-slip PVC coupler, and then to an 18-inch-long clear vinyl tube. Use vinyl glue to waterproof the connection. Make two fittings and attach to the ends of a hose.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Spirit Level - Step 2
Fill the entire hose with water, taking care to prevent any air bubbles from forming. The water should appear in the clear vinyl tube at each end, rising and falling in the clear plastic tube as you move them up and down, but with the liquid surface staying level in each end of the hose.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Spirit Level - Step 3
With a helper, position one end of the hose at the first reference point, a place to which you wish to compare the level of other locations. Measure the distance from the water surface in the tube to the ground below.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Spirit Level - Step 4
Moving to the point you wish to compare, position the other end of the hose over it. Again, measure the distance to the soil surface from the liquid in the clear plastic tube. The difference in the two measurements reflects the change of level across the distance being spanned, allowing you to grade the slope as required.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
