If the sand is light colored, it probably is ok. I would till the sand in deeply so that the mixture wouldn't be too sandy on top for grass.

I would just haul away the concrete. Then dump a lot of compost, some more topsoil and manure and till everything to an even mixture. You should end up with a minimum of 10 -12" of workable mixture. More dept is better.

But , we don't know what kind of native soil you have. You might not even need to bring in topsoil from somewhere else.

Another thing at this point you can do is to till in lots of fall leaves. Crushed/chopped will be fast acting than the whole leaves. If there are worms, they will help to convert all that into worm castings from now till the next planting time.

There is about 2 inches of native topsoil. My soil test indicated sandy loam with decent amounts of organic material. However, if I don't bring in some additional topsoil I think the level will be lower than the surrounding area, which would be a problem. In other words, I think using only organic material would not be a good idea.

Ok. But I was talking about what is under that 2 inch ?
Can it be amended with some garden soil, compost, etc ?

Anyway, 2 inches is not enough. Either you dig under neat and amend it or bring garden soil from a nursery.

"Topsoil" is simply the top 4 to 6 inches of soil from someplace, there is no magical quality to "topsoil"
I would remove the concrete and mix in organic matter and not concern myself about finding good "topsoil".

I'm all in favor of organic material. However, actual soil is mostly inorganic material, right?-sand, clay, or loam. If you do a soil test and get back 5-10% organic, you're doing okay. That still means that 90% is inorganic mineral. If I don't add some of that to these places, when the organic matter that I have added decays I will end up with a low spot. At least that is my concern.

The soil test results showed a sandy loam. I dug down about 6 inches for the test.

I do realize that when you buy topsoil you can get any old garbage. However, I think the nursery I use is reputable and sells good stuff. I just bought about 15 yards of compost from them and spread it on the lawn. I believe they sell mushroom compost, left over from raising mushrooms. I think he said that the topsoil they sell is about 50% mushroom compost anyway.

BTW, thanks for the discussion, guys.

Liz

I think that the sand can remain in place, and your ideas about amending the soil are the way to go. It's too bad that someone on the construction crew decided to dispose of leftover concrete and rinse water by spreading it around on the building site. There are other ways to get rid of construction debris.

If you need fill to raise the soil level, then yes bring in a good quality topsoil (something like 70:30). Also, if this is for a lawn, make sure to properly grade and compact the soil for proper drainage away from the house. You don't want the lawn to subside unevenly and possibly redirect water back toward the foundation.

Thanks. So, I will remove the sheet of cement, leave the sand, and add topsoil/compost where necessary. With only a half Inch of sand, it should blend right in. It's not that close to the house, either, so I don't think drainage into the foundation would be a problem. It is very irritating that the construction guys did this. It is such a small amount, I think they didn't want to bother removing it. And yes, the sheet of cement probably is from rinse water.

"Topsoil" is simply the top 4 to 6 inches of soil from someplace, there is no magical quality to "topsoil"
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"Topsoil" generally means an accumulation of organic matter over a long time that is partly mixed with and has changed a layer of the INorganic soil underneath. This happens in the woods and prairies etc.

The only definition of "topsoil" that means anything is the one that says it is the top 4 to 6 inches of soil.

Good soil for a garden would be something made up of a mixture of 45 percent sand, 25 percent clay, 25 percent silt and 5 percent organic matter.

Here is a link that might be useful: The truth about topsoil