Now is a good time to do it. No more frost. No more cold weather. Sanding is going to be a great thing.

 

I vote straight sand. Maybe I have bad luck but the top dressing around here seems to have a lot of crap in it. Might be fine for your standard 2-4" HOC lawn but a .5" piece of mulch looks ridiculous on a reel low lawn

 

Grass creates its own organic matter. No need to put partially decomposed organic matter on top of it. Straight sand is my vote too. Materials with partially decomposed organic matter also do do not stay level once laid. When the material finishes decomposing, it shrinks.

 

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like sand is the way to go.

What do you all recommend for HOC before the sand goes down? I figure the shorter the easier to spread but also don't want to suffocate the grass. Is there a good happy medium with zoysia?

 

I'm in the same boat on the HOC question. My lawn is really bumpy and think I could get more sand down if the HOC was higher. Is this the correct logic or should we just scalp it all the way down? If I scalp all the way down do I try and leave the stolons exposed since there won't be any shoots of grass to leave poking through the sand?

 

That makes sense to me because if you have a 1.5" dip and the grass was 1" it would be drowned out by .5".

The only problem I see is how much harder it will be to get the sand down in there good and deep with long zoysia. I've never done it though but seems like it would be a nightmare.

Maybe the solution is to do a little every year and get the yard more and more level each time?

 

I scalp down to dirt before sand leveling. Otherwise, the thatch gets in the way. It is also harder to find where it is not level/

 

That makes sense to me because if you have a 1.5" dip and the grass was 1" it would be drowned out by .5".

The only problem I see is how much harder it will be to get the sand down in there good and deep with long zoysia. I've never done it though but seems like it would be a nightmare.

It is a fist fight. Put a couple washers on to get a lower cut ... Spread sand, let it dry all day and then do some final passes.
Result will be much improved for a 1.5" cut

 

What hoc would you recommend sanding on?

 

What hoc would you recommend sanding on?

The lowest cut you can get with your mower, even if it means hitting dirt in some spots. Bag the clippings then spread the sand. You'll appreciate the hard work in a couple of weeks.

 

What sand do I use for sanding? The regular play sand from Home Depot?

 

This is a 3 year old post.

However, play sand works but is not cheap. You are better off trying to source masonry sand locally depending how much you need. General consensus is 1 yard/1000 sq ft. There are multiple posts if you search regarding sand leveling and which type of sand is best for the task.