Levelling out Garden?

Hi, Sorry, I really wasn't sure what forum to put this in, but I am going to be starting on a project soon and I need to level out the garden as it's on really quite a steep slope, what product would be best to hire for this? I need to take off probably about 15-20cm of grass in some places, then I'm hoping to put on top soil to raise the area. Anyway, the question is what product would be best to hire to level out the grass?

Thanks,
Emma

 

you could start by using a turf cutter to get rid of the turf, then a rotovator to break the top up. if its only a 20cm height difference, then (and if the garden isn't too big) that should be all it needs. rake the loose top over and level.

hopefully, if its not too bad a soil, then you can bang the new turf on top.

this is what i did with mine, and the differnce in the height in some places was 12 inches or so! hard work ahead, but its worth it.

 

Thank you!

 

your welcome

 

If you google 'cut and fill' you might get some info on 'terracing' your garden.

 

'Obtain' a length of clear plastic pipe and add some food colouring to water, fill the pipe with the water and the water will be level at each end, no matter how far apart they are. Tap in canes until they are level with the water as and where you need them. This is how I levelled the foundations for my house extension.

Cheers, Tony.

 

I've used a turf cutter, and it was hard work and didn't strip the turf off in any way that it could easily be reused.

I would be inclined to spray the grass with a Glyphosate based weedkiller, preferably at least two weeks before ground works start, and then just rotavate it, or dig it with a mechanical digger [if the job is big enough to warrant that]

We are getting close to the season for Autumn sowing of grass seed, so you could consider recreating any grass areas from seed. Would be cheaper than turf, and you can choose your grass seed [more variety to suit your circumstances than the types of turf that you will be able to find easily]

 

Wow thanks for all the replies! Sorry I haven't checked this in a while!
What I'm actually planning on doing is making some space for my pets, and also some plants. The plan I've got so far is to move my current shed, and make a playpen/run sort of thing for them connected to the shed. It will all be at the bottom of the garden..There's quite a bit of space width wise, so at the other side I'm making a raised area for veg and fruits - I'm thinking strawberries, carrots and lettuce. The area will be about 8m (width) by almost 4m (length).. But it's just the bottom that has a dip..and actually after looking at it again, it's about 40cm difference on the slope.. The reason I would need to top it afterwards is that the soil wouldn't reach the fence -also the reason I can't just top it to level, because that would make the fence too small ; I have a dog and he would sure go into next doors garden lol!

Scrungee - When I looked it up, I found that it is making the slope into like step like slopes? Is this right? If so, it's a neat idea but because of what I'm planning on doing it wouldn't work, should've put it in the first post really! Thanks though!

Tony - I will definitely use that idea to make sure it is level! Thanks

JWK/John - Thanks for the welcome! I've always said I will do the garden this summer, never got round to it! I'm determined this time though and thought joining a forum like this will keep me motivated! The area is 8m x 4m, and the slope is about 40cm, so it'll be extra difficult making sure it's level and that I don't take off too much at the same time! Dx

Kristen - The soil/grass is quite tough/hard, which is the main reason I would need a rotavator. Do you think I could get rid of the grass and soil with just a rotavator? What seasons can you plant grass seed? How much is it to buy turf? As it's for my pets I would really like grass which is probably the main reason for a turf cutter but I don't want to waste money that could be spent on the pets. Hmm I don't know what to do lol.Thanks for your help!

everyone for your posts. It's really appreciated.

 

Thanks for your reply! I probably should've explained it better .. Yeah, what I was planning on doing was well, first making all of the area soil, so that it's all the same.. then taking down the higher parts until they are the same size as the lowest point of the slope. It doesn't have to be totally level, just really close to it as I'd be putting my shed there, that's the only reason I need it to be level really. The topsoil would just be needed to make sure the ground reaches the fence - at the moment it's like 3cm off or something, but at the sides the fences slope going down so I would need to make sure they were level too to prevent next doors dog getting in and my dog getting out . I probably could use the soil I dig from the high point...that would save quite a lot of money actually. Maybe I'll do that .. depends what the soil is like, I can't dig it myself it all. Like hitting a rock . Yeah, my friend brought up that problem about keeping the soil retained - we would most likely get some cheap (..but strong) planks of wood, to put all around to make sure it stays in, including where I it will be further down (it will be quite a dip so putting a fence & a gate around the outside to make it look pretty (..& keep the dog out), and then small steps leading down :p) .. I managed to get pictures - this is the garden at the minute and I've also got a photo of the plan :p


^ This is the garden at the minute. The side where the shed/pets area will be is the one where the hoop jump is, the other side is for the plant area - because of the trampoline being there, at this side, it will come out a little less, something like 2.5m, whereas the other area is 3.75m.


^ Side where the pets will be. You can see the fence slopes down and the grass even more . Why couldn't our garden just be flat . Please excuse the fence, we really need to repaint it >.<


^ I don't know if the tape measure on here is clear enough but if you can see the yellow line thing, that's how far it will come out until we get to the trampoline bit, where that'll only be 2.5m or so.


^ Really, really basic plan lol. Oh and between the run/playpen for the pets and the vegetable patch there will be a space, seperated by two of the pavement slabs so I can go in


^ I also managed to get a cute picture of my rabbit hehe. This is one of my pets that I will be building this for

 

Thanks! I'm going to buy some weedkiller tomorrow and hire a rotovator in a couple of weeks.

Thanks all for your help!