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The traditional way to level ground before is to heal in with your boots and take level.This is a gentler way of levelling rather than a roller that compacts the highs and hollows the lows.I find that raising the soil level a couple of inches above the old lawn will in time level out. We have all seen a rose bed that has been turfed over level and in 6 months becomes concave,although you can top dress it level. One final tip is a very high quality turf can give a poor match to the existing lawn so look for a reasonable match that can be improved on.
The level of the soil should be so that the new turf finish will be exactly level with the old turf. You must make sure that the newly prepared ground is very firm. Firm enough to walk on without leaving any indentations. You should not be making the ground higher than the desired finish, hoping that it will settle back to where you want it in the future.
A better method than using your heels, is if you have a Stiga Parks or similar 250 to 300 kilo [plus driver] ride on mower, is rake perfectly level then drive over every square inch, add topsoil, re- level and go over again with the machine. Repeat this at least three times and then tickle over finally with the rake. It’s a lot faster and less painful on the legs than the ‘heel’ method. The machine is in effect ‘heeling’ the ground for you.
This is how I have been doing it for a very long time and jobs I did many years ago are still perfectly level, stable and have not sunk or moved at all. They still look as good as when I did them.
Thank you, unfortunately heavy mower is not an option because of access and availability.
Heels it is then.
In the words of Lemmy ...Overkill!