leveling out my yard

[Diana]

I just bought my 1st house. I have a lot of drainage problems so I'm attempting to put in french drains, well while thinking of that. I'd like to level out my yard, lots of bumps and divets. We have gumbo dirt (clay), I was told I needed to put down some sugar sand, and when the grass grows thru it, it should alleviate some of my drainage problems. (any comments)

also I wanted to build a retaining wall so I can fill in the slope in the front yard to have it be flat. do I just pour this sand in it? should I dig up the grass? should I put top soil in it after the sand and at what ratio?

V/R
DianA

[roger g]

What I would do would be to put lots of fesh topsoil. Maybe 6 inches thick. Out here when you get top soil, sand and very fine gravel (real tiny) have been added to the topsoil to fluff it up. Spread this around and it will fill up all the lumps and bumps. I used to drag a piece of security fencing around with a tractor ( like a farmers harrow ( spiky thing) and by going over and over the same area it would not only level it but would also break up any large chunks. Of course raking it will also work. If you put in a retaining wall only means you must get more soil. The wall should also have holes in to let any water build up behind it get away.
Eitherway you are going to have to buy lots of growable soil and level it.


roger

[Rich]

Totally missed this post...
I've cut the sod out (keeping the roots as much as possible) and spread sand/dirt under it and then layed the sod back down with soil pins so it doesn't shrink up as much. Works pretty good but it's labor intensive.
Hmm.. now that I read your post again - do you have grass there now? If not - disregard my advice above :)

[Advanced Lawncare]

I have to agree with Roger g. Your best bet is to bring in topsoil. The problem that you can have with sand is that unless you use a large amount it can mix with the clay and essentially form a brick like soil. Sand will not have any of the nutrient value. Other options could be incorporating compost or peatmoss into the soil. They will help with compaction and drainage to a limited extent.

Ted

[giddonah]

Welcome to the forum Ted.

I think this one is dead, but good info for the rare species that use the search function. :wink:

[Advanced Lawncare]

Welcome to the forum Ted.

I think this one is dead, but good info for the rare species that use the search function. :wink:

Thanks for the welcome. I guess I could have looked at the date. :D

Ted

[giddonah]

No problem. Good info is good info.