I found that most of the people here recommend using builder's sand with or without compost/top soil here. I just want to smooth out the bumpy lawn surface. This method should work for me.

Please give advice on how to make the surface ready for planting seeds. I have three types of surface (1) PICTURE 1 and 5: There is no grass. It looks brown/black. Full of weeds. It has steep slope. Least sun exposure in this area, (2) PICTURE 2 (left side) and 3 : This area had deep rooted grass with weeds in between and some bumps on surface. I had to scrape off ~1.5 inches of soil to remove the grass. (3) PICTURE 2 (right side) and 4 : Grass patches were superficial here. Took very little effort to scrape the grass off surface. Surface looks dry and has bumps.

I am not worried about overall curvature and big bumps of the yard. I just want to smooth out small bumps and make the surface ready for planting seeds. I am willing to add topsoil/compost etc in order to prepare the surface.

Thanks

I am not familiar with your area and what types of grass is grown and readily available, so I will let someone else comment on that. I seeded Bermuda, im in texas, about 2 years ago when my house was built. I started off with rye grass during the winter, but since it did not take everywhere, it resulted in areas where there were washouts. I did not level my lawn again before planting Bermuda, wish I would have, but it is not all that bad for me. I am currently taking my time in leveling the lawn now with a very good amount of grass. I am doing it in small sections as I have over 3/4 of an acre to maintain.

So back to your situation and what I would do. If you think you have bad soil, maybe consider doing a soil test. While the soil test is being done, spray the area with round-up if you are trying to get rid of whatever you currently have. If you do not want to do that, then bring in topsoil, and then get someone to use a box blade to smooth the area and then seed whatever and whenever is recommended. I will strongly recommend not tilling. I have tilled in certain areas, where I though the ground was too hard to seed and it did result in a bumpy yard. Tilling also roots up new weeds that you currently do not have. If you do some searching here and other sites, you will see some good posts on leveling, prepping and seeding your yard. Hope that helps as a start for you.

To keep this post short, I will try to answer anything else if you have specific questions.

Thanks Harvey. I am planning to add approx 2 inch of top soil on entire yard. How should I proceed with incorporating top soil (soil/garden sand/yard compost)? Do I need to (1) add fertilizer. If yes, where/when should I add it? (2) I have removed all the existing grass (scraped off by shovel). Do I need to loosen the top surface before spreading top soil over it?

I am not particular versed in this area, but 1) you will need to add starter fert. when you seed. Adding when you spread soil is probably unnecessary. 2) I do not think you need to loosen the soil before you spread topsoil, but I do recommend grading the new top soil (box blade or roller?) so that your lawn is smooth.

Maybe someone else can chime in for more precise answers.

I am not able to rent box blade at a reasonable price. Can I use power rake to loosen the surface soil? My plan is to loosen the surface first (1-2 inch) and then add top soil. Is it a good idea? If needed I can use a roller to make the surface smooth.

IMO I do not think you need to loosen the soil if you plan on adding top soil. Grass roots are very strong, at least my Bermuda is. It will grow through rocky soil with no problem.

I would suggest getting a power rake that has a hopper so you can use it to seed as well. If you choose to power rake before you lay the new topsoil, than do so. What the power rake will do when you seed is create little rows in the topsoil for the seed to drop in. Remember that you need to cross hatch, so the grass does not grow in rows. After that, use a lawn roller to press the seed into the soil.

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks Again.