Backyard Regrading, Day 1: More Soil
After a few weather delays last week, today a new crew from our landscaper (Christy Webber) showed up as we were leaving for work. They had a lot of soil with them, along with a Bobcat – and this is what we found on returning home.
We had discussed the low spot with them, and CW agreed that the grading was not done correctly the first time. I got a note from the Operations manager this afternoon, saying that they added soil but were unable to get the sod (recent rains have delayed the sod farms cutting).
Weather permitting, they’ll be coming back to finish the work back here. So we knew, on arriving home, that things would be “in-progress.” Still – it was something to behold.
Lots of patches of sod, as well as what looks to be some plywood (possibly to help the bobcat navigate in all the mud).
And wow! Look at the size of these roots! I’m guessing these should have been removed the first time around, but they are just massive.
Standing on the back porch, looking down.
Porch view, looking over all the soil.
Though the low spot was moved further back, there still seems to be fairly pronounced low spots in the yard. That said, the email I got from CW told us that the grading hadn’t happened yet – so maybe that’s to come. I did send them some observations we had, as we wanted to be more vocal about what we’re seeing this time around.
Once more, it’s nice that Christy Webber cares enough about our satisfaction that they’re here trying to get the grading right. With all the work that’s happened over the last week, I think we’re just impatient to have things smoothed and settled, and to have our yard officially done.
Related:
The Low Spot in the Yard
Backyard Sod Installation: Day 1
Clearing the Wilderness: Backyard Transformation, Day 1
:( An unhappy sight after all the work you put in. It was a project of my dad’s to fill in low spots in our yard. He’d get a pile of dirt, load it up in a wheelbarrow and spread the dirt in the low spots. He got a pile of dirt or two each summer . . . for a couple of decades before he was satisfied. It looks like your low spot is where a tree stump used to be. I would expect you’ll probably have to put fill dirt in there, wait through the winter for it to pack down, put some more in there the next year, wait for it to pack down, rinse & repeat. Your landscaper might tell you differently, but that’s what it’s looking like to me. Like a long-term goal, as opposed to immediate perfection.
Juliet Williams (June 30, 2015 at 10:31 pm)You know, I never really thought about the yard “settling” in this way. I know they tamp down the ground when leveling, but no idea what may happen to the ground over time.
You’ve probably seen the following photos, but we do now have everything covered and level! Time will tell, I guess, if things shift around on us.
With this being our new/first yard, we’re learning a lot as we go. I guess we’ll see what ends up happening – perhaps we’ll be carting more soil in, once things settle down. In between the backyard cocktail parties, that is.
avoision (July 1, 2015 at 1:26 pm)