How To Make A DIY Lawn Leveling Drag
If your lawn is looking uneven or you want to level it out with a sand and topdressing mixture, you can purchase a lawn leveling drag on sites such as Amazon. However, you can also make your own one without needing any specific skills or lots of money.
What’s a lawn leveling drag? A lawn leveling drag, or leveling rake, is a gardening device that has a long handle and a flat base that’s usually made out of metal. The design of a lawn leveling drag helps to effectively flatten the ground. If you want to save yourself some money when leveling your lawn, as well as be able to use leftover materials you already own, you’ll love going the DIY route
Here’s what you need to know about making a DIY lawn leveling drag for your lawn maintenance needs.
How To Make A DIY Lawn Leveling Drag At Home
If you’ve looked at your lawn and it’s uneven and bumpy, this can get in the way of your grass growth. It also makes your lawn look less attractive, while being potentially damaging to your lawnmower. You can make a DIY lawn leveling drag with a bit of creativity. Here we’ve outlined two different methods.
Method One: DIY Lawn Leveling Drag With Chain-Link Fence
What you will need
- Chain link fence that’s 4 feet in width and 6 feet in length
- 15 feet of ⅜-inch diameter rope
- Knife
Instructions
- Place the chain link fence section on a flat surface.
- Cut a six-foot-long section of rope.
- Tie one of the rope ends to the left side of the fence, then tie the other rope end onto the right side.
- Pull the center of the rope so that it forms a “V” shape.
- If you are going to be pulling the level by hand, it will be easier to do so if you make a loop in the free end of the rope.
- If your chain link fence is rolling up during the lawn leveling process, you can put heavy objects, such as bricks and blocks, on it to keep it flat and secure.
Method Two: Building A DIY Lawn Leveling Drag With Lumber
If you’re worried about the metal drag moving around and becoming a nuisance, or you simply don’t have a chain-link fence lying around that you can use to make a drag, you can use lumber instead.
What you will need
- 2 pieces 6×6 lumber (minimum two feet long, but not longer than four feet).
- 2 pieces of sturdy metal – this is what you’ll use to connect the lumber
- 10 feet of ⅜-inch rope
Instructions
- Join the two pieces of lumber to the metal pieces. However, if you don’t have metal, you can use an electrical conduit. Just make sure it’s approximately two feet in length.
- Screw both ends of the metal pieces into the 6x6s. This will ensure that the drag will have enough pressure to remain flat. If you’re using the electrical conduit, make sure that the flat side of it gets attached to the lumbar.
- Finally, attach your rope. You can also attach the rope to a garden tractor or rider mower if you want. This will make it even easier for you to level out your lawn.
Note: If you don’t have any conduit or metal pieces around that you can use to make your lawn leveling drag, you can build the drag completely out of wood. Just join up the pieces and then add a long chain or rope to the front of the drag. This is a fantastic way of using pieces of wood you don’t need for any other purpose. You can see how this works by checking out this YouTube video tutorial.
Related Questions
How can you fill out empty spots in your lawn?
Make a soil to patch up any empty spots in the lawn by mixing dry topsoil with sand in equal parts. Spread it over the spots to even out any holes.
Should you use a commercial lawn leveling drag instead?
You can use a DIY lawn leveling drag and even make it larger if you need it to level your lawn faster. However, you should use a commercial leveler if you have lots of unevenness or holes in your lawn.
Should you mow your lawn before you level it?
You should mow your lawn before leveling it, but do so at a short height so you don’t expose the grass blade stems. This prevents the grass from drying out.
Mowing your lawn at a shorter height lets you see how uneven the lawn is, so you can better gauge how much topdressing you need.
Conclusion
Having a smoother lawn not only helps the grass to grow, but it also makes your lawn look much healthier and attractive. If you want to level out and smooth your lawn, you’ll need to get your hands on a lawn drag.
Luckily, you can make one yourself instead of having to spend a lot of money on one. As we’ve seen in this guide, it doesn’t take a lot of DIY expertise or skill and it’s a great way to make use of leftover wood or chain link fence you have lying around your property.
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