I just finished a complete renovation this weekend. I had two sinkholes where the builder burried stumps when the house was built in the mid 80's. One was about 2 1/2 feet deep.

I had 7 tandem loads of dirt hauled in and couldn't imagine what I was going to do with all of it. Using a Bobcat I roughly spread the the dirt filling in the sinkholes and various other low spots in the lawn. I managed to get everything leveled but could have used another 2 loads. Although the piles of dirt look huge they don't go nearly as far as you think. From there I used a small tractor with a box scrape to finish up the leveling job and then a section of chain link with a couple logs on it for weight to drag over the lawn to get it really smooth. This took well over 12 hours with my son running the box scrape while I ran the Bobcat. Attempting this with a shovel and wheel barrow would have most likely resulting in me commiting suicide.

That being said, there's a good chance you won't have enough dirt to level the yard completely. Tilling is not recommended as the loosened dirt will eventually settle and end up being rough and bumpy. IMO your best option would be a small tractor with a front end loader to move the dirt around as needed and a boxscrape to level it out. A skid steer is excellent for moving large amounts of dirt but not very good for getting it level.

As for the dead weeds, the boxscrape would also take care of those. In the end, I have about $1,500.00 invested in my lawn which is roughly 20,000 square feet. The seed alone was $500 but should be well worth it come next spring. I definitely understand money being tight. In the long run you may end up spending way more by having to do it over and over until it's right when spending a little more now would get you where you need to be.

Thank you ForsheeMS for your feedback!

The boxscrape is otherwise known as a box blade. It is used by landscapers and finish graders to put proper drainage into a project and to properly prepare the soil for seed or sod. When this tool is on a tractor, an experienced operator can tune up a yard like yours in less than an hour; however, put it on a bobcat or skid steer and they will take a week to do the same job. Here is a picture of it in action.

{{gwi:82537}}

From the vantage point of your picture it looks like the whole neighborhood has no drainage. Looks like one yard drains onto the next yard instead of out to the street. That might not be the case, but you have to watch for that in the neighborhoods which are essentially level.

If you check around and find you cannot afford a landscaper with a box blade, then this becomes a DIY job. Search this forum for topics about leveling a yard with sand. Basically you bring in more than enough sand in bags (you can return unused bags), spread the sand, level it, water it to settle, spread more sand where it sunk, water, level, spread, water, level, spread until you are happy.

The important thing for you is to get grass growing and stop the erosion. Where has the soil gone that you brought in? And are you serious that you have 2 feet against the house? Can you post a picture of your current worst spot? I used to be work for a finish grading business and might be able to help you fix it without over fixing it.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR THIS PROJECT. If you wait any longer you will not get your grass seed in before winter. In fact it might be too late, but I would go for it. Spray the weeds with RoundUp, level quickly, scatter seed, water 3x per day for 3 full weeks or until you get 80% germination of the new grass. Don't worry about weeds yet - just get the seed down asap.

Get a full sun seed mix from the local hardware store. I say that knowing that it is not the world's best seed, but it is what you can get NOW without researching the fine details of the best seed for your area. Read the Guaranteed Analysis on the grass bags. Look for one that has no rye grass in it. Fescue is okay (not great), but definitely no rye. That is unless you had your heart set on a full rye lawn. The main grass should be varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass, possibly with some tall fescue in it. Spread at the rate recommended on the bag. Don't worry about spots that do not come in as dense as you expected, because KBG will spread to fill those in next year.