Here is a better quality picture.

http://i.imgur.com/IyMgG.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:106422}}

1A. Well you will not like my answers, but here goes. That Texas Black Gumbo soil is some of the most nutrient richest soil money can buy. The problem with it is it lacks tilth, but you can fix that easily.

There are several places in DFW that sell the stuff you are trying to get rid of. They just fix it, and you can make a trade buy removing about 15 yards of your Gumbo, and trade it in for their mix for a fee. Per cubic yard of soil the recipe is 9 cubic feet of screened compost, 40-lbs Lava Sand,30-lbs Green Sand, 10-lbs Dry Molasses, 10-lbs animal feed grade Corn Meal, and 2-lbs worm castings.

You want to at least have 4inches of good top soil. So at 30 x 40 you are talking 15 cubic yards or 2 dump trucks full.

2A. Just put down 1-inc, rake it in and then apply the last 3 inches.

4A Use Bermuda Sod. My farm up in Tioga has Tifway-II and TifSport. Another good choice is Tifway_I aka 419. TifSport is a high grade stuff and cost the same as the other two.

5A depends on what type it is, and what type you go back with. Most likely it is Tifway-I. If you do not bury it it will come back.

6A. Codes i work with DO NOT RECOMMEND, they say SHALL BE A MINIMUM.

Thanks for the info texas-weed. What you say makes sense. Tilth - I learned something new. Just to be clear, I'm not actually taking any of my existing soil out, just adding stuff. That Texas Black I am using as the primary fill does seem to be very high quality. Side note, I was following the recommendation of the soil vendor which was to not do all topsoil but to have a base of the Texas Black clay and topsoil on top. I hope that was the right recommendation because I'm just about done filling in with 10 yards of it.

I'm having a hard time getting recommendations for sod vendors in Collin Co area. There seems to be only one. If you have a few I would be grateful.

That's right. Shall be a minimum is the wording used. Here is the snippet from a recent inspector's report:

Grading specifications are spelled out clearly in International Residential Code (IRC) R401.3,
"...Lots shall be graded so as to drain surface water away from foundation walls. The grade away from foundation walls shall fall a minimum of 6 inches within the first 10 feet... NOTE: The municipality�s plat drainage requirements can exceed those set forth by the IRC, i.e. require more than a 6" drop in elevation in the first 10� out from the perimeter of the foundation, but cannot be less stringent."

Lots shall be graded

In code talk that is not a recommendation, it is a firm command, and failure to comply means you do not get a CO until you comply. Not only can the city keep you from living there, your insurance writer and bank can default you if they wish and take over ownership. Not trying to scare you, just stating the the code and facts. A lot like the bible when you read Thy Shall Not...

As for sod vendors try Denton County just to the west like Tri-Tex Sod Farm. For small projects like your one of the Nurseries should be able to supply you. Better yet from a money POV if you can get a PU Truck with a trailer go to a sod farm and pick up 3 pallets.

Neither you nor TW are going to like my reply.

You have waaaaaaaaaaayyyy too much shade for bermuda. Tall fences and tall buildings surrounding a small area means you cannot grow bermuda successfully. You might have too much shade for any grass. Did you have a good looking lawn back there before embarking on the improvement plan? or was this project an attempt to make things better based on an assumption that poor drainage and soil was the issue?

Was the fence always that high?

I can put whatever grass back there is appropriate. Not married to Bermuda but the majority of yards do around here. Previously it was a 6 foot fence with a tree. Now it is an 8 foot fence and no tree. The direction the Sun travels from the picture is back to front. The shade from our house is there from morning till noon and is unchanged from the project. The shade from those houses behind us is cast before the fence. Neither of these things prevented the Bermuda from growing before. Around the tree canopy shade area yes. Was starting to see some effects but now it's gone. :)

The goal of the project was to raise the area and remove the tree. Basically we are doubling the size of our backyard in terms of usable (for kids) space. Other goal is to not create a drainage problem. Before it was excellent drainage but obviously by raising it, we must be mindful not to create a problem. For instance, I have put in drain pipe for all of the gutter feeds to that area and daylighted that directly out the wall. Before it was on the plane of the yard. Not ideal green thinking wise but it's done. Now that area only takes on water from the plane of the yard surface itself. I do have a drainage question related to grading which I'll post on the landscape forum.

Is there another grass that I should be using back there? It's not out of the question for me to have something completely different since the entire area save for about 5 feet, is surrounded by hardscapes (driveway, wall, patio, house). I'm open to any suggestion.

Small correction. The shadow from the houses in the background are not cast before the fence depending on how close you are to the fence. So yes, a greater area in front of the fence will see shade sooner than it was before. But about half the left right distance was shaded ever sooner by the tree which is now gone.

If you have any doubts about shade Zoysia or Saint Augustine would work. For tough durable grass for traffic nothing beats Bermuda. Next is Zoysia, and Saint Augustine last. All are available in your area.

Okay. If you had bermuda and a tree back there before and it worked, then it should work again. I just saw that shade and panicked.

Thanks tw for the heads up on tri-tex. I am going to use them for the sod.

This weekend I added 1.5 yards of topsoil+compost and realized that I need more base fill to get the grading right. It's like a bottomless pit. My yard keeps sucking up the dirt. Where does it go? :) I will have to work in more base clay fill then add a final layer of topsoil before laying the sod. I invested in 36 inch landscape rake. Wish I had done it sooner. Also, all the while that I have been putting in dirt, I have been using a 10 inch tamp to pack it in. Should I back off on using the tamp for the final layer of top soil?

No tamp it all down, and water it in to get it to settle a bit. Just before you lay the sod you a rake to loosen up the top 1/2 inch or so. Lay the sod, then use a water roller to set the sod and firm the soil underneath.

Update. This poor sod had a tough start due to a scheduling snafu. Fortunately it seems to have recovered. It's already pretty well rooted in to the soil since installation 5 days ago. Curiously there are two pieces of sod where half the piece (they were folded over) is slow to establish. In hindsight, I should have sodded the entire area. The area of overlap bordered by the topsoil in the picture are not ideal in terms of what is underneath (very thin layer of topsoil on top of existing grass). I may still work on this area by killing it off and redoing it. Otherwise, the final grading turned out better than expected. We had our first big rain event this week and even though the area is saturated from all the watering, there were no problems with the area draining.

Picture is 5 days in to sodding after final clean up of area from project junk and setting the elevation of the sprinkler heads.

Follow-up question: I am short a few pieces of sod in a couple of areas not shown. How important is it for me to get 419 sod from the same place as opposed to another vendor than is close by? Tri-tex is a bit of a haul for a few pieces.

Thanks again all for the help with this project.

Here is the before picture from back in May. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo the degree of drop off and the size of the yard. But if you look at the level of my old 6 foot fence along the back and compare it with the fence behind us which is level, there was about a 3 foot drop. Now our 8 foot fence is level on the top and there is a 1 foot drop from house to corner. By removing the tree and raising the area, we have doubled the effective size of our small back yard.

The estimates I got to do this work ranged from $3-5K. I did it for about $1K in materials. What I didn't plan on was the amount of my time that was required to pull it off. Definitely would have been worth it to pay someone else given the cost of my time. Final tally on fill materials was 10 yards of clay and 7 yards of topsoil all done by hand.

Follow-up question: I am short a few pieces of sod in a couple of areas not shown. How important is it for me to get 419 sod from the same place as opposed to another vendor than is close by? Tri-tex is a bit of a haul for a few pieces.

Thank you for your support. As long as it is certified 419 does not make much difference as it will acclimate to your area in a year.

Keep it watered, start mowing now, and feed it in 3 weeks.