When buying a plot of land, you should be prepared for the fact that it will have to be leveled. After all, building a house, laying out a lawn or laying out beds requires a smooth, even surface. Only a slight slope in a southerly direction is appropriate.
Brief overview of the article
- Why is land leveling necessary?
- Preparatory stage
- How can you level your dacha area?
- Manual leveling
- Leveling with a walk-behind tractor
- How to level the ground with a tractor
- Leveling with imported soil
- Features of leveling territory with a slope
- Useful tips
- Recommendations for replenishing soil fertility
- Photo of the land plot
Why is land leveling necessary?
Leveling a plot at your dacha means manipulating the soil, giving the landscape the desired relief. Below are the main possible reasons for making the soil cover even:
- Development. The foundation requires a perfectly flat surface. If the site is located on a slope, you will have to organize additional delivery of earth to level it.
- Arrangement of paths. It is easier to make a path out of asphalt or cover it with tiles if the ground surface is smooth.
- Laying out a garden or vegetable garden. In this case, leveling helps to avoid uneven distribution of moisture in the soil.
- Creating a lawn. A flat surface promotes better establishment of the lawn mixture, a more beautiful and healthy appearance of the green area, and also simplifies its care.
- Decorative arrangement of the territory. The implementation of most design ideas requires a leveled area.
Video description
The video shows how you can restore an old neglected lawn:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lbgELP15aTg
Single-tier digging is when the soil is dug to the depth of one shovel bayonet. That is, the fertile layer is turned over and loosened, removing weed roots, stones and other objects. Typically, this type of digging is used if the lawn has not been neglected very much.
Old neglected lawnSource delbor.ru
A two-tier digger is used if the lawn area has turned into a clearing with weeds. This process is carried out like this:
- A furrow, also known as a ditch, is dug along a section of the old lawn, the width and depth of a shovel;
- the soil from the furrow is deposited to the side, where it is cleared of weeds, roots, stones and other types of debris;
- a second one is dug next to the first ditch;
- its soil is placed in the first furrow, where it is cleaned and enriched with manure and mineral supplements;
- Digging is carried out in the same way with other grooves;
- the soil from the last furrow is transferred to the penultimate one, and it itself is filled with soil from the first dug ditch, which has already been cleared.
After which the dug up area is leveled, compacted with a roller and prepared for sowing with herbs.
You need to dig up the old lawn to the depth of a spade bayonetSource delbor.ru
Preparatory stage
Before leveling the area, it is necessary to carry out the following work:
- Using pegs and rope, mark the boundaries of the area that needs leveling. If manual leveling work is expected, it is recommended to divide the territory into sectors.
- Remove all debris from the surface of the plot of land, mow down the weeds, and uproot large roots.
- Remove unnecessary objects - dead trees, bushes, unused structures and decorative details.
Methods
Specific methods and techniques for leveling a site depend on the amount of free time, effort and money. You can compact and level the soil on a construction site or a lawn for cultivation manually, with a walk-behind tractor and a rake, or with a tractor.
A simple but costly way to level a plot of land is to call in special equipment. Most often, a tractor or bulldozer is used for such work.
In order for the bulldozer to level and compact the soil, you need to clear the area, remove debris and plantings from it, uproot roots and large stones, demolish old buildings that do not fit into the new landscape design. It is advisable to remove fertile soil from the surface, which the tractor will evenly mix with clay and gravel.
Remember that a bulldozer will not level a dacha plot perfectly. After his work, there will be no large holes or hills left, but shovel ruts and wheel marks will have to be smoothed out manually.
Manual leveling
This method is advisable to use only for owners of small plots. It requires significant time and effort, but allows you to save on equipment.
There are two options to speed up work:
- hiring workers;
- help from acquaintances and friends.
To level the area with your own hands, you need to stock up on the following tools:
- Shovel. You need two of them - bayonet and scoop type.
- Garden cart
- Fan rake.
- Lumber.
- Level gauge.
Algorithm of actions:
- Mark the territory.
- Remove 10-20 cm of turf, pack it in bags, take the load to the border of a private household so that it is not in the way, and lay it out. Provide the removed soil with access to oxygen, i.e., put it out of bags.
- Level the area, controlling the horizontality with a building level. For this purpose, hammer in pegs throughout the site and tighten the ropes.
- Fill holes using the removed soil. Remove excess soil. If there is a shortage of fertile land, purchase it.
- Compact the surface of the area. In this case, it is permissible to use a hand roller, a wooden ladder or planks, having previously attached them to the soles of shoes.
- Water the leveled area generously. Wait 21 days - the earth should settle.
- Plow with a cultivator and level with a rake.
Revival of the lawn
There are often situations when the owners of a suburban area neglect their lawn. Grass grows on it at full height, weeds, uneven ground, etc. have appeared. Reviving a lawn is not an easy task. Essentially, you have to redo everything all over again, which takes a lot of time
It is important to properly level the old lawn area under the new lawn.
In fact, the old lawn is located on an area that was already leveled at some point. But under the influence of natural stress, it gradually lost both its evenness and its fertility. A littered area requires practically one operation - digging up. This process is classified into two types of digging: single- and double-tier.
Leveling with a walk-behind tractor
To speed up and simplify the procedure for smoothing out uneven areas, you can rent any small-sized agricultural device, for example, a walk-behind tractor - a compact hand tractor.
It is not difficult to use - a person follows the unit, controlling the progress of work using control levers. The advantage of a walk-behind tractor is that there is no need to remove the top layer of soil. The disadvantage is that large holes will have to be filled with a shovel.
The order of steps is as follows:
- Attach the boards to the special holder of the hand tractor.
- Align the area into sectors. The walk-behind tractor will loosen the soil, and the board will level it.
ELIMINATING SOIL UNEVENNESS WITH YOUR OWN HANDS
Leveling an area replete with hills and potholes is carried out in several stages:
- removal of topsoil;
- marking (the territory should be divided into 9 squares, installing pegs in increments of about three meters);
- installation of a control cord (ropes are pulled between pegs approximately 10 cm from the surface in the same plane, which is checked using a construction hydraulic level);
- cutting off protruding mounds and filling in depressions.
Soil is poured onto the leveled square of the plot - the use of a previously removed top layer is allowed, but the roots of the plants must first be removed from it. It is advisable to install drainage using perforated pipes before this stage of work.
The soil is leveled using a rake, a ladder with flat crossbars (it acts as a kind of harrow), and a three-meter channel with ropes attached to it for drawing. To check the evenness of the surface, a long, wide board is suitable.
After clearing and grading are completed, wait for the soil to settle naturally, which will take two weeks. Then proceed to planting plants, laying paths and other work.
How to level the ground with a tractor
Photos of a level area clearly show the effectiveness of leveling with a tractor. But this is an expensive procedure, because you will have to pay a lot of money to hire a specialist and rent equipment.
Instructions on how to level a site with a tractor include two steps:
- Passage of equipment along the entire site.
- Transverse cultivation of the territory with equipment.
The tractor is equipped with a special type of teeth. They provide deep loosening of the soil and dragging layers of earth. The bucket allows you to move a significant volume of soil.
Use of special equipment
Special equipment is used to level large areas when the soil is clogged with stones, fragments of slabs, stumps, and where powerful units are indispensable. Having leveled the area with preliminary removal of the fertile layer, it is cultivated in one of the following ways:
- The ground is loosened with cutters, followed by final leveling. Plowing is carried out with a walk-behind tractor or mini-tractor. Leveling is carried out with a rake. Eliminates hummocks up to 15 cm and holes.
- The soil is planned. A bulldozer shovel moves significant volumes of earth, smoothing out unevenness up to 1 m.
- Soil is imported from outside. In order to give the surface not only a flat, but also a horizontal appearance, complex activities are required. The bottom edge is sprinkled to the required extent. Conduct high-altitude surveys to determine the level difference. Based on the information received, calculations are made.
Using the tips presented, you can competently prepare a plot of land for specific purposes and avoid possible mistakes.
Features of leveling territory with a slope
If the land plot has a large slope, it is recommended to solve the leveling issue using more creative methods. The most aesthetically attractive way is to form terraces. Their number and configuration will depend on the size and shape of the territory.
The vertical walls of the steps can be lined with stone or decorated with climbing crops. Some enthusiasts let out small cascade streams.
Beginning of work
When planning work, it should be taken into account that if the slope of the site is more than 2-3 degrees, then a specially developed project will be required, the delivery of a significant amount of additional soil or the construction of terraces with retaining walls to prevent soil sliding.
Before starting work, you should study the composition of the soil and the terrain features of the site. When located in a lowland or on clay soils, the site may become waterlogged and swampy.
In this case, it is necessary to provide a drainage system consisting of a catch basin with a slope in the low-lying part or a layer of crushed stone for drainage under fertile soil.
In case of excessive moisture, the option of drainage channels with plastic pipes is also possible.
Useful tips
If you decide to level the territory of your dacha yourself, study the following tips:
Before you begin to implement measures to adjust the landscape, you need to decide on the functions of individual zones. Familiarization with the site plan and consultation with professionals in the field of land works will help you avoid making mistakes in zoning. It is also necessary to clarify the direction of water flow and the slope of the terrain.
Since leveling involves moving the soil, you need to evaluate in advance the complexity of such an action. This way it will be possible to understand whether the use of special equipment will be required or whether you can limit yourself to manual labor.
Possible storage time for removed turf is 30 days. Then the aerobic microorganisms will die and the soil will no longer be usable.
Work on leveling the site must be completed before the construction of buildings, laying out paths and laying pipes begins. The optimal time for their production is autumn.
Large areas should be leveled using equipment specially designed for this purpose.
Possibility of using a bulldozer
The surface is often leveled using a bulldozer and other equipment. However, when arranging a garden or lawn, its use is undesirable. The main reason is that it can destroy the fertile layer of soil, which will need to be restored in the future. However, if there are large stumps on the site, it will not be possible to do without equipment. In this case, leveling must be done using a small tractor to minimize damage to the fertile soil layers. Thus, the decision on the possibility and necessity of using a bulldozer to level the land on a site is made individually, based on its characteristics and its capabilities.
Recommendations for replenishing soil fertility
In most cases, the procedure for making a site horizontal involves removing the top fertile layer of soil.
If you notice that the depth of the nutrient turf has become less than 20 cm, it means that fertility needs to be restored using peat humus soil mixture. The ordered soil must be distributed as evenly as possible over the leveled area.
When purchasing, you should consider the structural structure of the soil. If the site has clay or loam, they need to be diluted with fertile soil mixed with sand. And ash and lime are an excellent means for neutralizing acidic soil.
Leveling the landscape requires time and effort. But a flat area for a lawn, building or vegetable garden will repay all the efforts invested.
Manually
A longer and more labor-intensive way to get a level area is to do everything yourself. If the ground has already been marked, wooden pegs are dug into the ground, and the rope is taut, then the work can go on as long as you like. The manual method of leveling the ground does not affect plantings and roads.
To level the ground manually, the pegs are placed at a distance of a meter from each other. The basis is the middle point, the height of which can be used to raise or lower the rest of the relief.
Minor problems with the landscape can be corrected by treating the dacha with a walk-behind tractor. As a rule, semi-professional equipment digs the ground quite deeply. After complete digging, large pieces of soil are broken up with a pitchfork, and the entire area is smoothed with a rake. Instead of machinery, you can use a shovel, rake or similar tools, but then creating a level lawn will take much longer.
After the initial treatment, you need to leave the area for 1-2 weeks. During this time, the upper part of the loosened soil will settle, and all the unevenness will be visible again. But, if everything is done correctly, there will be much fewer of them, and the area itself will become more even. If you are unhappy with the treatment of the area, you can:
- Dig up the top layer of soil again and level it again more carefully and evenly;
- Replace the top part of the soil, fill the garden with several cars of fresh fertile soil.
The second option is considered more preferable if you need to level a small area. The land on the territory of the dacha is depleted, and fresh soil on the site will be useful. To obtain a smooth lawn, this option is optimal.
