Not a stupid question at all. Lots of keystrokes have been dedicated to leveling lawns. You seem to have a natural instinct for it. You can do it any and all of the ways you suggest. You do have to be careful not to smother the grass. If you don't want to dig up and grass and fill all at one time, then you can add about 1/4-inch per week. That will just barely cover the St Aug stolons the first time. If you bury any grass blades, they will die. The least risk is the dig out the grass as intact as you can, fill, and then replant the grass.

If you just add sand or soil, use a push broom to sweep the topdressing into the turf. The broom will lift the grass blades out above the grass and allow it to survive.

Are you talking about a big area?

Here is a picture of what it should NOT look like when you're finished.

{{gwi:94937}}

Sorry about the lighting on that. I took it at night while walking my dog. Point is that lawn will look patchy for a year and maybe two. I know that lawn - they do that to themselves every 2 years. It's a a beautiful St Augustine lawn smothered with a mix of compost and sand.

There are several depressions 10 - 12 feet in diameter. I suspect they are the reminates of tree stumps that have rotted. If I dig it up and fill and replaint it, is it ok to sue just sand? Eaiser to work with.........

I prefer sand. The best grass I have is on sand fill I used to refill a washed out area when we bought the house.

By my calculations you could add a 2-cubic foot bag of sand or topsoil every week, on each depression, until you get it up where you want it.

Thank you so much.....I've plenty of sand so I'll start this weekend (or maybe even tonight). Thanks again for your imput, you've been most helpful!

Pure sand will dry out fast at first. Just warning you...

Dealing with decaying stumps sucks, that's for sure. Very bump when mowing.

Ok...admittedly I am being (or TRYING to be) lazy here.....Would the following work? Take a small tiller (i.e. a Mantis or something like that) and go into the depression and till the top inch or two of soil (grass and all) up and put it off to the side. Then come back with sand and/or topsoil and fill the depression to grade and then rake the grass/soil "mixture" back into the fill and keep wet until it takes hold. Will the tilling destroy too much of the grass for it to come back?? I included a pic of one of the depressions, but you can't see it very well in the photo

Sounds like too much work for a lazy person. Just dust it on top every week and don't disturb the existing grass.

Agreed.