How much should this cost? Approximately 6,000 SF of lawn. Bermuda, Parker County, if that matters.

I've been quoted $2800 - from an admittedly premium landscape maintenance company - I have no frame of reference for whether that's reasonable.

Quoting:
Topdressing rates may range from 1/2 to 2 cubic yards of material per 1,000 square feet.
This produces a layer from 1/8 to 5/8 inch thick.
Topdressing is best done on Bermuda lawns in mid May and June.
Core-aerating before topdressing is also a good practice.
Apr 10, 2013
(Bermuda Lawn - Artistic Landscapes)
artisticlandscapes.com
https://www.artisticlandscapes.com Landscaping Lawn

Then refining:
If done annually, then 1/8-1/4" would be ideal
(source: recent garden radio show)

Recalculating:
1cy/1000sf

Applying rates:
6000sf = 6cy
$40x6=$240 Materials
Labor $240
Lawn aeration may not be needed
(source: recent garden radio show)
If necessary, then plugs-come-out machine type = $200 rental/labor "all day"

Figures suggest the range to be $480-680
Homewyse suggests $777 after interpolation (2" to 1/4" deep)
No Frills, less than a day & you water it all in.

1/8 acre is almost DIY ....

You'll get better answers in a bit from Apache, et al.

Looking at it a little harder, I'd guess 10 yards for .5" coverage. We have some serious unevenness and low spots so a few areas that need much more. So the 15 included in the bid may not be insane, yard is probably between 6 & 7k.

Primo materials look to be ~40/yd or so, so $600ish in material. Day labor is probably $250/day and maybe it's 3-4 guys, so let's just say $850 in labor. I don't have a suitable trailer so some expense there as well.

$2k or so would seem more reasonable than the $2800 quoted it seems.

El_duderino said:

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DIY saves you about $2500

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What are they top dressing with? Good quality compost is $$$/yd

I live on 3/4 acre and don't want to shell out for compost, but I do badly need soil improvement. Thinking of putting down some Microlife humates plus to see if I can get some of the benefits I would have gotten from compost top dressing.

Yeah the $40/yd I found is a 50/25/25 compost/topsoil/sand blend. There's also a "screened bedding soil w/lava sand" (ooh-ahh) that's more like $50.

Is the ultimate goal to level the lawn, or are you wanting to add organics?

The issue with adding compost to the topdressing is that eventually that compost will decompose and there will be some slight settling in the yard leaving you with a slightly uneven surface again. If you strictly want to level the lawn you would probably be best just finding high quality sand, like masonry sand, with no rocks, and spreading that across the lawn.

I myself am probably about to aerate my bermuda lawn within the next week and then spread an organic fertilizer and some spaghum peat moss as even as I can across the yard. Should hopefully help with water absorption and nutrient uptake.

So this house was built 4 years directly on top of solid limestone until you get about 50% into the back where it starts to slope away from the house and the subsurface is a delightful mix of limestone chunks and shredded cedar + brush.

Not a great job of grading/landscape prep so we have two types of problems - trying to grow grass more or less directly into rock AND, elsewhere, massive & uneven settling + lack of good soil as all that brush settles and decomposes. Parts of the yard literally bounce as you walk on them.

So the answer to your question is both! I need soil + nutrients in some areas and major leveling in others.

That information is similar to mine, so my landscape buddy helped me to downsize the grassy areas (& required mower size, time spent mowing) by creating garden beds that needed little care since turn-o-century. He even built a cedar pergola & oured a better concrete front walk.

Food for thought.

A little more info on my side is I aerate in mid to late February and top dress. The TifTuf loves it. I do about 3/4 acres around the immediate house. It's takes time and a little work but it's worth it.

Do you rent the compost thrower and do this yourself?

We do it ourselves. That would be me the wife and youngest son. It takes times and some labor but not too bad. 3 shovels and 2 rakes.

BQRyno said:

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I live on 3/4 acre and don't want to shell out for compost, but I do badly need soil improvement. Thinking of putting down some Microlife humates plus to see if I can get some of the benefits I would have gotten from compost top dressing.

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Do 1/4 and see if it really works before investing in such things.

Just put out humates and azomite today. If I don't see some improvement in the soil, may just rent the machine for 200 bucks next time to put out compost myself.

Good soil places have dirt that is 2/3 sand and 1/3 compost that make a great leveling soil that has compost benefit.

As a result of this thread, I am renting an aerator Saturday for my Palisades lawn. The front yard is in pretty good shape, minus a large patch if invasive bermuda, I think. The backyard, after 11 years of dog traffic, is pretty compacted. We have really clayey soil. I'm trying to identify the correct topdress composition to use. And it should be ~0.5"? Should I pursue augmenting with Palisades seed too?

Eta: Whittlesey's has a USGA-certified topdress sand that I'm considering because I could also use some of the leveling benefits.

Idk about that product from Whittleseys, but this is just a shout out that I love their hardwood mulch. I usually buy a 20-25 bags and haul it back to Midland. Can't buy anything as good as that out here.

I ended up renting an aerator and then topdressed with Whittlesey's Austin soil amendment. Supposed to have rain next several days. Hope this works.

For a 6,000 SF Bermuda lawn in Parker County, pricing really depends on what's included. At EvergreenLawnCareTX.com, we usually go with 1 cubic yard per 1,000 SF, so you'd be looking at 6 cubic yards of a quality soil mix.

• Material Cost: Usually $40-$80 per cubic yard, depending on delivery $240 - $480 total
• Labor to Spread: $100 - $200 per cubic yard, based on how easy the lawn is to work with $600 - $1,200

Estimated Total:
$840 - $1,680, give or take, depending on soil choice and how tricky the spreading is.

Now, if the $2,800 quote includes aeration, slow-release fertilizer, and overseeding, or if they're doing multiple applications per year, then I can see how it adds up. But if it's just for a single round of topdressing, that's definitely on the high side unless they're offering something extra.

Might be worth checking what exactly they're including. Sometimes companies bundle in extra treatments, sometimes it's just premium pricing. If you're looking for more insight on topdressing and lawn care best practices, our websites blog post's might help: EvergreenLawnCareTX.com/blog.

Compost will not level the yard. I find that it disappears fast, no matter how think. Good soil companies will have a soil mix that has sand, compost and soil. This will be better in those areas. This is what I use for topdressing, since a lot of soil runs off in heavy rain.

I have done a half to 1 inch topdressing of compost a few times and the lawn loves it. Just make sure if you put a thick layer on, some of the grass blades show through. I would put it down when the grass is growing strong.

Do you aerate before putting it down?