How to Level Dirt

Co-authored by Ben Barkan

Last Updated: August 3, 2022 References

Leveling is the first step in many lawn-improvement projects, such as building a deck, paving a patio, or putting in a vegetable garden. “Level” isn’t the same thing as “flat,” however, which is why it’s important to ensure that you’re building up the soil in your work area evenly. One tried-and-true way to do this is to drive a series of stakes into the ground around your planned leveling site and run string around them to create a consistent level-grade line. You can then snap on a line level for a useful visual reference that will tell you exactly how much soil you need to add or take away from each area along your line.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Clearing Your Leveling Site

1
Measure and mark the area if you intend to build on it. Use a tape measure or spool of string to map out the length and width of your planned structure. Drop colored survey flags at the corners of your leveling site to indicate where its outer perimeter lies. You can also mark your site with a little spray paint, or objects you find in the vicinity, such as large stones or sticks.^{[1]
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- Plan on making your leveled site slightly bigger than the structure or feature that will be going on it to give yourself a little more margin of error.
- It may be okay to skip this step if you’re only leveling your site for aesthetic reasons and aren't going to be using it for any specific purpose
2
Eliminate all potential obstacles from your leveling site. Go around and manually remove any vegetation, rocks, large debris, or other materials you find littering the ground. In order to get the area as level as possible, it’s important to start with a patch of ground that’s totally clear.^{[2]
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- Be sure to pull on a thick pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands while you work.
- Don’t worry about the holes left behind from digging up small trees and other plants. You’ll be filling these in along with the rest of your site.
- Consider hiring a tree removal service to deal with large trees that you can’t easily take down and uproot yourself.^{[3]
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3
Dig up the sod covering your work area. No matter how you plan on using your site, you’ll need to get the grass out of the way before you can proceed. Use a shovel to manually remove the top 1–3 inches (2.5–7.6 cm) of sod wherever you intend to level. Alternatively, you can slice the turf into 1 ft (0.30 m) x 2 ft (0.61 m) strips using an edger or sharp spade, then loosen each strip with your shovel.^{[4]
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- Dampening the grass on your leveling site with a hose may make it easier to pry up in neat, intact sections.
- There’s no need to remove your sod by hand if you’re going to be breaking up your soil with a tiller. One of the many advantages of this tool is that the spinning blades automatically turn living plant matter like grass into mulch.
- Assuming you’re not in any particular hurry, it’s also possible to kill off the grass in your work area using slower, less labor-intensive methods like smothering or applying herbicides.^{[5]
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4
Acquire enough soil to build up your site as needed. For smaller leveling tasks, such as filling in gulches and depressions, you might pick up a few bags of topsoil from your local gardening center, or transplant soil from an unused part of your surrounding property. For larger projects like building a deck or patio, it will help to use a motorized tiller to break up the soil on your work site and make it easier to relocate.^{[6]
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- You can rent a motorized tiller at any major home improvement center. This piece of equipment can save you a considerable amount of time and energy breaking up and blending soil, sifting out rocks and debris, and cutting through underground roots.^{[7]
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Tip: It can be tough to know exactly how much soil you need to reshape your leveling site. If you’re working on a budget, your best bet is to work with what’s already there rather than dropping money on additional soil from outside sources.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Setting up a Level-Grade Line

1
Drive a stake into each corner or edge of your leveling site. Use the dimension markings you made earlier for reference. Position your stakes 1–2 feet (0.30–0.61 m) beyond your planned perimeter. This will give you room to dig without disturbing the stakes, which you’ll be using to gauge the level of the ground.^{[8]
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- You’ll find landscaping stakes in a variety of materials at any hardware store or gardening center. You can use stakes of any size, so long as they're tall enough to mark your intended level-grade line.
Tip: If your work area is especially expansive, put down additional stakes every 3–4 feet (0.91–1.22 m). This will help you keep the perimeter straight from corner to corner.
2
Connect each neighboring pair of stakes with a length of nylon string. Tie one end of the string to the upper portion of your first stake. Then, unravel the spool as you walk to the next stake, snip the string, pull it taut, and tie it off. Repeat this process for each stake in your planned boundary line.^{[9]
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- Be sure to tie each length of string as tight as possible. If one of your strings sags, it may throw off your readings once you attach a level.
- Nylon is much stronger than other common string materials like cotton or jute, which makes it less likely to sag or break.^{[10]
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3
Attach a string line level to the center of your first section of string. A string line level is a type of spirit level designed to be fitted horizontally onto a marking string. Simply align the slots on either side of the level with the string and snap it into place. Be careful not to tug on the string as you set up your level, or you could accidentally pull your stakes out of alignment.^{[11]
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- A good level line will only run you around $2-3, and is a handy tool to have around for a variety of projects.
4
Adjust each section of string so that it’s perfectly level. Once you’ve got the level in position, slide the ends of the string up or down until the bubble rests directly in the center of the transparent chamber. Then, remove the level, attach it to the next section, and make any necessary adjustments. When you’re finished, the strings should form a perfectly level plane over the surface of your lawn.^{[12]
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- To make more precise micro adjustments when lowering the string, try tapping the stake on the higher side deeper into the ground instead of going to the trouble of moving the string itself.^{[13]
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- Establishing a level with your string first will give you a helpful visual reference that you can check while adding or reshaping the dirt at your work site.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Redistributing Your Soil

1
Till the area inside your level-grade line or fill it with transplanted soil. If you’re using a motorized tiller, go over the exposed dirt a few times, churning it up enough to allow you to spread it easily. If you’ve opted to bring in soil from an outside source, you'll need to dump it into your leveling site in multiple wheelbarrow loads or shovelfuls.^{[14]
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- If you plan on cultivating the ground you’re leveling, consider mixing your soil with 1 part compost and 2 parts sand to introduce beneficial nutrients and make it less vulnerable to compaction.^{[15]
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- To level the ground around smaller holes, depressions, and ditches, disperse your soil equally over each of the spots you want to fill, leaving the surrounding surface uncovered.
2
Spread the soil until it’s roughly even with your level-grade line. Use a shovel, landscaping rake, or flat spade to gradually redistribute the soil from higher areas to lower areas until your entire site has a uniform appearance. As you work, keep an eye on your string lines for reference.^{[16]
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- Measure noticeably high or low patches along your level-grade line with a tape measure to get a better idea of how much soil you’ll need to displace.^{[17]
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- This step is simple but time-consuming, so be patient and focus on getting every part of the soil as flat and smooth as possible.
- To deal with large areas more systematically, draw out your leveling site as a grid, using the stakes you put down earlier to represent the criss-crossing lines. Measure and mark high and low spots within the squares based on how much soil they need to gain or lose.
3
Check the level of your work site with a scrap board and a carpenter's level. Lay the board down flat near the center of the site and set the level on top. If the bubble is poised directly between the indicator lines, the ground is perfectly level. Otherwise, continue spreading and smoothing until it is. Be sure to check the level in multiple spots to confirm that it's the same all around.^{[18]
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- If the bubble is higher on one side of the level, it means that the terrain slopes downward in the opposite direction.
- Using a board as a buffer will give your level a flatter surface to rest on than the soil itself, which will naturally be a little inconsistent.
4
Tamp down the newly-spread soil to prevent it from shifting. Go over your work area 2-3 times with a water-filled roller or hand tamper to gently compact the soil. If you’re spot-leveling small patches, walking over the reshaped terrain will also do the trick. Just be careful not to disturb the surface of the soil with your feet.^{[19]
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- Ask about renting a roller or another tamping tool of choice when you go in to reserve your motorized tiller.
5
Water the area lightly to help the dirt settle. Use a gardening hose or watering can to moisten the dirt between your string lines. This will encourage it to stick together and speed up compaction and solidification. Add enough water to darken the soil, but watch out for streaming or standing water.^{[20]
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- Oversaturating the soil could result in runoff, uneven drying, or other issues that could end up undoing all your hard work.
6
Repeat the process if necessary to build up the soil to your leveling line. After raking, tamping, and watering, you may discover that the surface of your soil has dropped below the string. If this happens, you’ll need to run through the same steps using smaller amounts of soil until you make up the difference. When you’re done, pull up your stakes and move on to the next phase of your project.
- If you plan on replacing the strips of sod you dug up earlier, make sure the dirt remains 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) below the bordering grass. Otherwise, the grass will end up being too high in the area you just leveled.^{[22]
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- You can also top off the soil with a thick layer of sand or decomposed stone if it will be supporting a weight-bearing structure, such as a deck, patio, or raised flower bed.
Tip: Starting with a little more soil than you think you realistically need can keep you from having to haul in another load later on.

Warnings

Make sure you have a definitive plan in mind before digging up your yard. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could just end up sabotaging your property value.

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