How Do I Level Out My Lawn? Southcoast MA Guide
- jmelo67
- Dec 26, 2025
- 6 min read
By Jorge Melo
A bumpy lawn is more than an annoyance. It rattles your mower, scalps grass in some areas, and leaves others untouched. In Massachusetts, uneven lawns are common because the ground is constantly moving. Soil settles. Roots decay underground. Water follows the wrong path. Winter freeze-thaw cycles lift sections of turf and drop them back unevenly.
Here is the honest answer upfront. The easiest way to level ground is to add loam and grass seed when low spots are shallow. If the lawn slopes the wrong way or holds water, leveling will not fix it. That is when yard resloping or full land leveling is the only solution that actually lasts.
In the rest of this guide, I will explain how to level out your lawn the right way, and when you are better off stopping and regrading instead. For a deeper look at the difference between surface fixes and structural corrections, we break it down further on our landscape grading services page.
How to Level a Yard
Why do lawns become uneven?
In Massachusetts, uneven lawns rarely have one single cause. It is usually several small problems stacking up over time.
In our 35 years of business, the most common causes we see are soil settling, poor original grading, drainage problems, tree roots breaking down underground, construction work, and heavy foot or equipment traffic. Winter frost heave makes everything worse. The ground lifts, drops, and never settles evenly again.
That is why simply dumping soil on top often fails.
When leveling works and when it does not
Leveling works when:
Low spots are small
Water drains away after rain
The lawn generally slopes away from the house
The issue is cosmetic, not structural
Leveling fails when:
Water runs toward the foundation
Low areas are deeper than one inch
The yard holds standing water
The lawn was graded incorrectly from the start
When topdressing does not make a noticeable difference, the lawn should be regraded. Continuing to add soil at that point is usually a waste of money.
How to level out your lawn step by step
Identify low spots
Walk the lawn after a heavy rain. Pay attention to areas that stay wet or feel spongy underfoot. If the depressions are shallow, you can fill low spots in yard areas with loam and seed.
This is the same basic approach we use during professional lawn leveling projects.
If those areas are deeper than about an inch, leveling alone will not hold long-term.
Use the right material
For shallow leveling, screened loam works best. Sand alone is not recommended. It does not hold nutrients and can cause drainage problems over time. Compost can be blended in, but loam should be the base.
Add grass seed
Spread grass seed over the loam to allow grass to grow in the spot.
Watch the slope
This is where most homeowners get it wrong. Soil must always pitch away from the house. Sloping soil toward the foundation causes water problems quickly.
If correcting the slope requires moving large amounts of soil, stop. That is no longer leveling. That is grading.
When regrading is the only answer
Sometimes, leveling is not the fix at all. If the lawn slopes toward the house, if water pools near the foundation, or if the entire yard feels uneven, grading is the correct solution.
Regrading means reshaping the surface so water moves where it should, not just making the lawn look flat.
When water is moving toward the foundation instead of away from it, landscape grading is often the only way to correct the slope and prevent ongoing drainage issues. This type of work goes beyond surface fixes and is explained in more detail on our landscape grading services page.
Real expectations homeowners need to hear
Topdressing does not magically fix bad grading. Adding soil over and over without correcting the slope wastes time and money. Sometimes the right move is removing soil, not adding more.
That is the part most people do not realize until after they have tried to fix it themselves.
FAQ: Lawn leveling and grading questions
What to use to level my lawn?
Use screened loam or a loam-compost blend for shallow leveling. Avoid sand alone. For deeper areas, loam and seed is the correct approach.
When is the best time to level your lawn?
Leveling can be done most of the year as long as the ground is not frozen. Early fall typically produces the best results in Massachusetts.
What soil to use to level the lawn?
Screened loam is the most reliable option. Compost can be blended in for nutrition, but pure topsoil is often inconsistent.
Can I use topsoil to level my lawn?
You can, but it is not always ideal. Many bagged topsoils are low quality and compact poorly. Loam performs better long-term.
How do you regrade a yard?
Regrading involves reshaping the surface so water flows away from structures. It requires removing and redistributing soil, compacting properly, and restoring turf.
How to regrade around the house?
Soil should slope away from the foundation at roughly one inch per foot for the first several feet. Anything pitched toward the house should be corrected immediately.
What does grading mean in landscaping?
Grading means shaping land to control water movement, stability, and surface usability. It is structural, not cosmetic.
My mower bounces all over the place on my bumpy lawn. Can this be fixed without tearing up the entire yard?
Yes, if the bumps are under one inch deep, you can fix them by applying screened loam in thin layers without removing the grass. If the bumps are deeper, widespread, or keep returning after topdressing, the lawn needs regrading because surface fixes will not hold long-term.
I've topdressed multiple times, and the bumps keep coming back. What am I doing wrong?
You are not doing anything wrong with the topdressing itself—the problem is that topdressing cannot fix poor underlying grading or ongoing soil settling.
When bumps return repeatedly, it means the base layer is either graded incorrectly, water is eroding soil underneath, or the ground is still settling, and no amount of surface material will solve that permanently.
How much does regrading cost in Massachusetts?
It varies based on yard size, slope severity, and access. An on-site evaluation is the only way to give an accurate estimate, which is why we offer free assessments.
My heavy mower leaves tire tracks in soft spots. Is this a drainage or leveling issue?
That is a drainage issue, not a leveling issue. Soft, spongy areas that hold impressions mean water is not draining properly from the soil, which usually points to poor grading, compacted clay, or areas where water collects instead of flowing away.
When to call for help
If you are dealing with standing water, foundation concerns, or widespread unevenness, leveling alone is insufficient.
Homeowners in Fairhaven who are looking for lawn leveling services often reach out after realizing that adding soil year after year has not stopped low spots from returning. Many of these properties benefit from a full slope and drainage evaluation, which is explained more on our Fairhaven lawn and landscape services page.
FAQs about New England Tree & Landscape
Do you offer free estimates for lawn leveling and grading?
Yes. New England Tree & Landscape offers free, on-site estimates. Evaluating slope, soil condition, and drainage in person is the only way to recommend the right solution. This same evaluation process is used for both lawn leveling and landscape grading projects.
How long has New England Tree & Landscape been in business?
New England Tree & Landscape has served homeowners across the South Coast of Massachusetts for decades. Our experience comes from real properties and real grading problems, not theory.
Do you work on small residential lawns or only large projects?
We work on both. Some jobs involve correcting a few low spots. Others require full yard resloping and drainage correction.
Do you offer weekly lawn care services?
Yes. We provide weekly lawn care, including mowing, trimming, aeration, dethatching, slice seeding, fertilization, and applications for weed control, insects, and lawn diseases. These services are often paired with our lawn care programs to maintain newly leveled or regraded lawns.
Do you work in coastal and higher-runoff areas?
Yes. We often get requests for our services in Mattapoisett from homeowners dealing with settled areas that stay wetter longer after storms. On larger properties with extended runoff paths, landscape grading is sometimes required to reset the pitch of the land so water drains properly. You can see examples of this work on our Mattapoisett lawn and landscape services page.
Conclusion
If your lawn feels uneven and you are not sure whether leveling will actually fix it or just hide a grading issue, do not guess. In Massachusetts soil, guessing usually makes the problem worse.
At New England Tree & Landscape, we look at slope, drainage, soil condition, and water flow before recommending anything. Sometimes leveling works. Sometimes land leveling is the only answer. We will tell you the difference honestly.
If you want a clear answer on what will actually work for your yard, an on-site evaluation is the smartest place to start.
Phone: 508-972-1223
Sources
Cider Mill Landscapes. “How to Level a Yard.” Cider Mill Landscapes,https://www.cidermilllandscapes.com/how-to-level-a-yard/.
The Home Depot. “How to Level a Yard.” The Home Depot,https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-level-a-yard/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90197381821.
Sod Solutions. “How to Level Your Lawn Without Ripping It Up.” Sod University,https://sodsolutions.com/advanced-how-to/how-to-level-your-yard-without-ripping-it-up/.
Lawn Love. “How to Level an Uneven Lawn.” Lawn Love,https://lawnlove.com/blog/how-to-level-uneven-lawn/.
Golf Course Lawn Store. “How to Level a Bumpy Lawn.” Golf Course Lawn Store,https://golfcourselawn.store/blogs/diy-lawn-care/how-to-level-a-bumpy-lawn.
Comments