Smooth & Level A Bumpy Lawn Using Essentials From Your Nearest Home Depot

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If you have an uneven lawn because of water erosion or heavy equipment tearing up the grass, you have some options to even things out. You could hire pros to use earthmoving equipment, but you'll potentially pay thousands of dollars to have the job done. You might want a more affordable way to level a bumpy lawn that actually works.

YouTube creator Princess Cut Lawn Care made a video that shows how to level the ground using only tools and products you can collect at Home Depot (although you could use any hardware store you want). One of the benefits of following the directions in the YouTube video is that you shouldn't need to rent a truck to collect the supplies. You'll just need a few bags of potting mix, a few bags of sand, a large rake, and a push broom. If you already own a wheelbarrow, this is an important tool to have on hand. You'll want to water the area several times over the ensuing few weeks, so you may need a sprinkler and hose, too.

Steps you should take before using the lawn leveling method outlined in the YouTube video include mowing the lawn a little shorter than usual a day or two before starting the work. It should be about 2 to 2.5 inches in height, similar to how low you should cut the grass before winter. It's worth noting that this job involves hard physical work, so you should seriously consider whether you want to do it yourself before starting.

To create the mixture of potting soil and sand, the YouTuber selected Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix ($19 at Home Depot for a 50-quart volume bag). Per the YouTube creator, this product is preferable because you won't risk introducing weeds to your lawn, which is possible with other top soil products. "The reason I like using this, say, versus a top soil is that this is sterile," he said. He also prefers adding medium-grit sand to the topdressing mixture because it doesn't contain larger pebbles that can cause problems with a mower. A 50-pound bag of Quikrete Commercial-Grade Medium Sand will cost $5 or $6. The expert used a ratio of two bags of sand to about one-third of a bag of potting soil for the topdressing mixture.

The expert also suggests using a Razor-Back 36-Inch Aluminum Landscape Rake ($70) and a Quickie 24-Inch Heavy-Duty Push Broom ($30). Both of these tools are available at Home Depot (if you don't already own them or similar tools). If you need a wheelbarrow or cart, the YouTube expert recommends a Gorilla Carts Heavy-Duty Plastic Dump Garden Cart ($199). You can use the cart for mixing the topdressing and wheeling it to the proper location in the yard. The Gorilla Carts product has a tiltable cart mechanism, making it easier to carefully dump the mixture onto the areas of the lawn where you have the bumps in the lawn.

The best time of the year to topdress your bumpy lawn is usually late spring (for warm-season grass) or early autumn (for cool-season grass). The expert at Princess Cut Lawn Care worked in the spring. Start the topdressing mixture by adding a bag of sand to the wheelbarrow or cart. Next, carefully add the bag of potting soil mixture. The expert suggests adding it by hand (since you're only using one-third of the material). You should pick out small twigs and other hard items. After adding the second bag of sand on top, you can give it a quick mix with your hands. You don't have to thoroughly mix it right away, because the materials will combine well when you place them on the lawn.

Roll the cart with the mixture to the uneven area of the lawn that needs attention and dump some of the mixture into the low spots. Then use the flat top side of the rake (rather than the bottom with the tines) to spread the pile of potting soil and sand evenly and to the level of the rest of the lawn. It's important that you don't bury the grass blades by leaving much of the blades visible. Follow up with a push broom to work the particles through the grass blades to the ground level. For the best results, you may want to overseed these areas and water them thoroughly for several days afterward.