How to Level a Lawn: Your Guide to Achieving a Smooth, Beautiful Yard
Level up your lawn care skills with this DIY guide
A lawn riddled with bumps and hollows is more than unsightly—it also poses a safety risk, inviting trips, falls, and potential ankle injuries. Luckily, with the right supplies and techniques, you can learn how to level a lawn.
Fill in your lawn’s gaps to prevent a litany of issues, as the uneven terrain can hinder proper water drainage, make the lawn difficult to mow, and even impact a home’s foundation. Here’s how to level a lawn, whether it’s slightly bumpy or severely uneven.
What Causes an Uneven Lawn?
Uneven lawns can result from a variety of factors, such as settling soil, poor lawn drainage, erosion, expanding tree roots, improper lawn care, and freeze-thaw cycles. Lawn pests and wild animals can also play a role, with grubs, moles, chinch bugs, skunks, and other digging animals disrupting the soil layer.
Additional causes of an uneven lawn include high foot and motorized traffic, digging pets and children, and certain lawn diseases such as brown patches and dollar spot fungus. These issues can create bumps, dips, and uneven surfaces over time that affect your lawn’s appearance and overall functionality.
Before Leveling Your Lawn
It’s important to wait for the right time to level your lawn—choosing a time when the soil is slightly damp makes it easier to work with. Prior to starting the leveling process, mow and dethatch your lawn as needed. Thatch is a tough layer of living and dead organic plant materials that accumulate on lawns, obstructing water, oxygen, and nutrients from reaching grass roots. Removing thatch beforehand will help ensure you correct the root of the problem before you level out the lawn.
Along with that prep step, you’ll want to test your soil, either with an at-home kit or by contacting a local soil testing service. Knowing your soil type with help determine the ideal mix of topsoil used to fill in and level the uneven areas:
High clay content: Compost only
Loamy, fine, and soft: Topsoil mixed with compost
Other soil types: Topsoil, sand, and compost
How to Level a Lawn
The method for leveling a lawn varies based on the severity of its lumps and bumps. Here’s how to level a mild or moderately uneven lawn, and a severely uneven one.
How to Level a Mildly Uneven Lawn
If your lawn is only slightly uneven, you can correct the issue by adding a topsoil mixture to fill in the divots and even the surface. Here’s what to do:
Combine equal parts topsoil, compost, and sand (or other mixture based on soil type) in a wheelbarrow.
Apply a ½-inch layer of the mixture to low areas and smooth it over with a rake and shovel.
Reseed your lawn with more grass seed if necessary.
Water regularly for growth, and repeat until a level surface is achieved.
How to Level a Moderately Uneven Lawn
If your lawn has numerous bumps and dips, the leveling process it is more complex:
Use a rake to smooth out bumps and divots.
Gently lift and remove sod and place it off to the side for replanting.
Prepare a topdressing mixture of equal parts topsoil, compost, and sand (or other mixture based on soil type).
Fill dips with the mixture to level the area out.
Pour water over the area to eliminate air pockets.
Replace sod or reseed the lawn with grass seed.
Water consistently and avoid walking on the lawn for about three weeks.
How to Level a Severely Uneven Lawn
If you have extensive bumps and holes to correct, the standard procedure of smoothing the land out and filling it in can prove to be exceptionally challenging and labor-intensive. You may need to invest in the cost to regrade your yard entirely.
To fix a severely uneven lawn, the best course of action is to hire a local lawn care service. A professional team can evaluate the status of your lawn, suggest a plan to fix it, and carry out the work to restore your lawn to its former glory.
Tips for Leveling a Lawn
Carefully evaluate your lawn beforehand and take note of areas that need leveling.
Mow your lawn regularly to maintain proper grass height and prevent thatch buildup.
Aerate your lawn regularly to promote grass health and help prevent soil compaction.
Regularly check the leveled areas and make minor adjustments as needed to ensure a smooth and even surface.
Plan your leveling project during favorable weather conditions, ideally in the spring or fall when the soil is not too wet or dry.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
While minor holes and bumps are manageable for the average DIY enthusiast, dealing with many can be extremely difficult and overwhelming. For extensive unevenness or challenging terrain, consider consulting a local lawn care service to help ensure a healthy, level lawn with minimal effort. When hiring a professional lawn care company, ask whether they specialize in lawn-leveling efforts, and describe the state of your yard so they can ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to take on your job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it’s always a good idea to fertilize your lawn before a major leveling project. This step gives your grass the nutrients necessary for healthy growth, helping it recover and replenish itself faster. However, you should do this at least three weeks in advance, as the leveling process can disturb the newly-applied fertilizer.
For minor unevenness, you don't necessarily need to remove grass before leveling. You can apply a topdressing mixture to fill in low areas and even out the surface. However, for more significant unevenness or deep depressions, it might be necessary to temporarily remove the grass to ensure proper leveling and soil compaction. After filling and leveling, you can replace the grass or consider reseeding the area.
Yes, watering after you level a lawn is essential. Water helps settle the soil, eliminating air pockets and encouraging the newly-applied topdressing to bond with the existing surface. Adequate watering aids in achieving a smoother and more even lawn surface. However, be sure to avoid overwatering, which could lead to soil erosion or compaction issues.
