Leveling & drainage
70/30 sand and compost
A 70% sand, 30% compost blend worked into the surface to fill low spots and give water somewhere to go on heavy Triangle clay.
The problem it solves
The lawn is uneven enough to scalp when you mow it, holds standing water in the low spots, and has ruts or settled areas that have been there for years.
What actually happens
A blend of 70% sand and 30% compost is applied to the surface and worked in. The sand fraction is structural: coarse particles hold space between them that water can move through, which is precisely what clay does not do. The compost fraction keeps the mix biologically alive rather than inert, and stops it setting up like a hard cap.
Why it matters here
On heavy clay, sand alone is a well-known mistake — the wrong ratio of sand to clay makes something closer to concrete than to soil. The blend works because it is applied as a surface layer that is gradually incorporated, and because the compost fraction maintains structure and biology while the sand provides drainage.
When it should happen
Fall, in the same window as aeration, so the turf recovers into cool weather with the material worked in.
What’s included
- 70% sand, 30% compost by volume — the specification is fixed, not adjusted job to job to hit a price
- Applied to level low spots and improve surface drainage across the treatable area
- Applied in controlled lifts, so the grass grows through the material rather than being buried by it
- Usually staged across more than one season on a lawn with significant unevenness
What this will not do
Worth reading before you book. It is cheaper for both of us to find out here than on the day.
- This does not fix a grade fault or a drainage design problem. If water is being routed at the lawn, leveling the surface will not stop it
- It will not fill deep trenches, washouts or excavation scars in a single application
- It is not a substitute for regrading, and we will say so on site rather than take the job
- Beds and non-turf areas are excluded
- Lawns reel-mown below one inch need telling us in advance — the material and depth both change
Priced on treatable square footage, measured from satellite imagery and confirmed on site. Beds, drives and gravel come out of the number. How pricing works.
Usually done together
These belong on the same visit.
Not an upsell — the treatments genuinely work better in combination, and one visit costs less than two.
Compaction
Core Aeration
Pulls thousands of soil cores out of the lawn, opening compacted clay so water, air and roots can move through it again.
Read the detailOrganic matter
Compost Topdressing
Spreads a thin, even layer of certified compost across the turf, raising soil organic matter so the ground holds water instead of shedding it.
Read the detailWant this done on your lawn?
Tell us where it is and what’s wrong with it.
Takes about 2 minutes. Or call (919) 495-5850.