Skip to main content

How to level a yard (and 3 reasons why you really should)

3 great reasons to level your yard

Homeowners spend countless hours manicuring, improving, and decorating their lawns to make them pristine and gorgeous, but many fall short when it comes to knowing how to level a yard.

The home’s lawn is crucial to maintaining the overall aesthetic of the property. Fertilizing, replacing sod, and regularly watering your lawn all go a long way in making it lush and vibrant. However, all that work on an uneven or bumpy lawn can still result in an imperfect and unkept yard.

Related Videos

Aside from poor appearance, a yard that’s not leveled can lead to other issues such as improper draining. So, how do you level an uneven yard? Let’s get into the details.

house with green lawn

Why you should level your yard

It’s a bit of a project to undertake, so you may be wondering why you should bother flattening out that uneven yard. The truth is, an uneven lawn leads to some annoying and possibly costly repairs down the road. Leveling out that yard now will save you a lot of time and money in the future.

Prevents standing water

One of the biggest problems with an unleveled yard is that it promotes standing water. A big dip in the surface of your lawn will inevitably collect water, which leads to:

  • Dead grass
  • Perpetual mud
  • Mold growth
  • Excessive mosquitos

Protects your gardens

An unleveled yard can also damage any flower and vegetable gardens you’ve worked so hard to maintain. Irregular or unpredictable water drainage can lead to puddling in your gardens and mold growth.

Ensures your home is protected from water damage

Similar to your gardens, standing water on the lawn, particularly if it’s close to the garage or the home’s foundation, can quickly damage the structure. Water can flood into the basement, corrode the structure, and cause wood rot and mold. Keeping water away from the foundation starts with a level and well-drained lawn.

How much does it cost to level a yard?

Hiring a professional landscaping service to level your yard will range in cost depending on the size of the project. If only a small portion of your lawn needs to be leveled, for example, the cost of the landscaping services will likely fall between $500 and $1,000. A whole yard that has major sloping issues could cost as much as $5,000.

Can you level a yard yourself?

The good news is that most homeowners can undertake a yard leveling project on their own, especially if only a portion of the yard is uneven. If the drop in the unleveled section is under two feet, it’s a great opportunity to flex some DIY skills. A drop of more than two feet, however, requires the assistance of a professional landscaper.

green lawn

How to level a yard

If you have the drive to undertake this project, set aside a weekend to make sure it’s done properly. You may need to repeat portions of the project to ensure the lawn is properly leveled, so it’s best to have two consecutive days to do it. Here’s what you’ll need to gather:

  • Lawnmower
  • Lawn dethatcher or thatch rake
  • Shovel
  • Topsoil
  • Sand
  • Compost
  • Wheelbarrow
  • Garden hose or sprinklers

Mow the grass short and dethatch

The first step in leveling a yard is cutting the grass. Mow it down pretty short, but not so short that the grass stems are visible. Then, examine the lawn to determine if there’s a need to remove any thatch buildup. If so, use a dethatcher or thatch rake and work to remove the excess.

Lift grass off of low spots

Locate spots in the yard that dip lower than the rest of the lawn. Use a shovel to lift the grass completely off of those spots. Be careful to get the entire root system of the grass by pushing the shovel down two or three inches under the soil.

Fill the low spots with soil mix

In a wheelbarrow, create a soil mix that’s two parts sand, two parts topsoil, and one part compost. Mix enough to fill all of the lawn dips. Shovel the mix into the uncovered dips so that they’re level with the surrounding areas. Then, replace the sod that was removed in the previous step and repeat the process for any other dips or holes.

Cover the lawn with topsoil

Now it’s time to even out the entire lawn by adding a layer of topsoil. Use the mix from step three, being sure to add no more than 1/2 inch of topsoil. Any more may prevent air and sunlight from reaching the grass’s roots.

Water the entire lawn

The final step is to generously water the whole yard. A fresh watering will allow the topsoil to sink into the grass’s roots and provide it with the nutrients it needs to recover from the leveling project.

The yard is your pride and joy, so when it gets uneven, it’s a bit of a disappointment. An unlevel yard isn’t just unsightly, though, and it can lead to drainage issues and other damages. Luckily, you don’t have to let a bumpy yard get you down. With our tips for leveling your yard, it will be even and pristine in no time.

Editors' Recommendations

How to propagate prayer plants for a flourishing indoor garden
These tips to propagate prayer plants will help yours thrive
how to grow prayer plant in pot

Being a plant parent leads to a satisfying life. Prayer plants, in particular, are great indoor plants to take on as plant babies. They are easy to care for, give the room a splash of life and color, and they're even beneficial to your health. They're also an indoor plant that can be propagated and multiplied easily. We'll discuss the best way to propagate prayer plants so you can enjoy watching new plant babies grow and flourish in your home.

Are prayer plants easy to propagate?
There are many types of indoor plants that you can propagate over and over again to create your own indoor jungle, and some plant varieties are more difficult to propagate than others. When compared to other plants, the process for propagating prayer plants is incredibly easy and requires minimal time and effort.
Can you propagate a prayer plant in water?
While there are a few methods for propagating a prayer plant, including soil propagation, water propagation, root division, and propagating from seed, the easiest method is, by far, water propagation. It requires fewer materials than other methods, demands the least amount of effort on your part, and is a much simpler process that's less messy than soil propagation.

Read more
How to repot a houseplant without killing it in the process
Repot your house plants the right way so they can flourish in their new homes
Indoor plant in wicker container

Having indoor plants has so many benefits on so many levels. Not only are they visual aesthetic, but their also beneficial to your physical and mental health. If you love having your green babies indoors, you want to make sure they're getting all the care and attention they need so they can flourish for a long time. It's a good idea to repot your indoor plants on occasion, and not just to match your newly redecorated space. Repotting is also beneficial to your plants' continual growth. We're going to walk through how to repot plants safely without harming or stunting the growth of your beautiful indoor greenery.

Why repot a plant?
While replacing and updating your decorative pots is a good way to spice up and refresh your indoor space's decor, the biggest reason to repot a plant is for the plant's health. Potted plants often start to outgrow their pots, meaning that their root system becomes too big for the space, stunting growth. Plants eventually need to be transported to a larger pot to continue to grow and flourish. The soil in the pot also needs to be replaced on occasion. As the plant grows, it absorbs nutrients from the soil, and in the case of a potted plant, replacing the soil allows your plant to continue to be fed.

Read more
Use these natural, chemical-free crabgrass killers to take back your overgrown lawn
How to eradicate crabgrass without chemicals
Tall grass

You work hard to keep your lawn pristine and immaculate, so a weed infestation is an incredibly frustrating issue. Crabgrass is arguably one of the most frustrating weeds. It's invasive and extremely difficult to eradicate, and it can take over your grassy oasis in the blink of an eye. It produces hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant and can grow in all areas of your lawn—from the lushest, sunniest spots to the barest, darkest corners.

Treating and killing crabgrass can be handled easily with tough chemical treatments. But if you want a more natural crabgrass killer that doesn't require using substances that can be harmful to your lawn and your family, you've come to the right place. Here are some ways to eradicate crabgrass without the chemicals.

Read more