Getting your sod installed on top of properly set up ground will ensure a level, well drained and long lasting yard. Getting the ground this way may take some time though. Do not let this prevent you from doing your sod installation project properly. Nothing in Landscaping is easy so if you are prepared when you start you are more likley to finish with professional results. First thing you want to do before you get your sod project started is determine the height of your yard in comparison to the hard-scape around it. If the soil is level or higher with your sidewalks, garden border or any other hard-scapes then you are going to have to remove some of the soil to adjust for the height of the sod to be installed.  When the proper ground height is being calculated, you should remember if you are amending the soil with anything like compost sand or other materials then you are going to want to calculate the height of those materials before you start removing some soil. Once you have calculated the height of the yard then you can start with removing the vegetation. Getting the vegetation removed can be a challenge but a necessary one. Nothing should be left alive to the best of your abilities. When clearing the vegetation you can always use a sod remover if the grass you are getting rid of is thick. Once you use the sod remover then you will have also taken out some soil just by running the machine. It is designed to remove the first inch or two of soil. Remember to calculate this into your total desired grass height. Adjusting the sod cutter to take off more soil, if needed, is the best thing to do with a yard that has a little to much dirt.  When you are putting in more fill dirt or you are just adding nutrients or hummus for the soil, remember compost is always the best way to go. Now there are a few draw backs from using the commercially available compost. 1. The compost that comes commercially is never finished decomposing. They just don’t make money off of the material sitting on their property for the last part of the composting process. 2. The compost is never set up and turned properly and this results in a large amount of seeds from different grasses and weeds still in the compost ready to germinate. 3. Sometimes your compost comes with larger particles of wood than you would like and of course they will not be fully decomposed. So these are only the downfalls of compost amendments to your soil. There are tons of benefits to using compost but we want to let you know that the main reason is that this material is fully recycled and does not go into our landfills. This material is fully renewable resource unlike other materials that could be used in its place with less down falls. Peat moss is one of these materials that may be available in bulk around your local area. Getting peat moss is great because you will not get any seeds that will contaminate your lawn. Also this material does not ever get shipped out as ‘unfinished’ because of the materials nature. Getting peat moss is great at over coming some of the down falls of the compost route but at a cost. Peat moss is a non-renewable resource so when all of the peat bogs have been depleted there will be no more peat. So this is why we recommend compost and discourage customers from using peat. Getting your yard properly amended and professionally leveled is always a chore. Call us today at DLC-Service and get a quote on getting everything taken care of for you.