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graywings123

Cutting through buried landscape fabric

graywings123
13 years ago

Previous owner of my house covered much of the back yard with long sheets of landscape fabric, then covered with mulch and soil. Over the years, a thick weed eco-system has developed on top of the fabric. I need to remove the landscape fabric, but have to find a way to cut it into pieces. It is embedded in the ground and is not budging when I pull.

I'm trying to come up with a cutting tool, preferably on a long handle, to do this job. It has to be sturdy enough to plunge through 3-4 inches of soil and roots and still be sharp enough to cut the fabric. And being able to attach it to a pole would save my back.

I've come up with and rejected ideas such as a box cutter or an Exacto knife - both sharp enough but the blades are too short. I'm wondering whether some sort of knife used by fishermen would work. Anybody have any ideas?

Comments (13)

  • ewalk
    13 years ago

    I hate to think the worse but a disc and harrow on a small diesel tractor would do the job . It would turn over your soil and exposed the membrane . Alternately a Commercial Grade Tiller would do the same but would most likely tear up the membrane into small pieces , which would require additional man-hours to remove with a higher rate potential of Tine Entanglement .

  • graywings123
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Sorry, should have mentioned, this is a yard in a city. Total area counting the house is 0.16 acres. I need a hand tool. I have an electric tiller that I will use after the landscape fabric is gone.

  • fruitjarfla
    13 years ago

    Suggest doing it in many small steps. In a reasonably small area, use the tiller at a shallow depth, to loosen the soil -- then pull up the fabric.

  • graywings123
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The landscape fabric is at all different levels, some exposed, some buried. I can't take a tiller to it until I remove the landscape fabric. I've tried it and I spend much of my time taking the tiller apart to remove the pieces of landscape fabric fouling the tines.

    If I can cut the landscape fabric into smaller, manageable pieces, maybe one foot square, then I will be able to pull them out. I envision walking through sections of the yard and cutting at the soil like you would a sheet cake, and then coming behind later and pulling up the fabric.

    I need a long sharp knife, sharper than anything I have around here at the moment.

  • ewalk
    13 years ago

    Pick up a Arborist Serrated Bow Knife , it has a Si-the/hoe like extend handle that will enable you to cut through the membrane at surface level and to within 2-3 inchs below grade. The blade is self sharpening so it will not be damaged for this purpose . Normally used for manual limbing of Fruit Bearing Trees . Some areas have Rental Shops that carry such Tools .

  • ewalk
    13 years ago

    Gray: Yeah your on it Bro ! Good Luck and take it easy on the lower back Dude:)

  • ruthpirhadi
    7 years ago

    Is there no easier way? A heavy duty tiller won't work? Probably bind up too quickly...? Very time consuming for a flip

  • ruthpirhadi
    7 years ago

    Just re read previous comment, duh. I see tiller will work but picking up the particles... wouldn't the grass find a way to hide it?

    is that wrong?

  • Mary Cooke-Baker
    3 years ago

    I have exactly the same problem. The landscape fabric and all the dirt/mulch is growing weeds like crazy but I can't grow anything pretty or productive. Also, my back yard is catch basin for the streets around me and now this yard is a puddle 9 months of the year. I'm sick of it! I have to work around some bushes and rocks so a tiller is a hard no. It's going to be a long hard slog. I think I'll just remove some of the rough edges for now, and pierce some spots with an old-fashioned long-handled grampa weeder for planting things with shallow root systems. Will probably take me several summers of back-breaking work to remove this poorly executed mistake.

  • Pam Crawshaw
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Mary Cooke-Baker, can you build a swale to move water away from your yard?

  • Pat Ramsey
    2 years ago

    I feel your pain! I had three layers of top quality, thick landscape fabric, each with its own layers of interwoven roots and weeds. I used a utility knife, changing blades frequently, and sometimes some sharp household scissors. It was back breaking labor, but I eventually got it done. I didn't put down this fabric, and I will not be putting down a new layer.

  • Mary Cooke-Baker
    2 years ago

    Pat Ramsey, at this point, I'm committed to just gardening in wine barrels and cloth pots. I've photographed the water retention so that when I move out, my landlords can't accuse me of drowning their little barberries and azaleas. It's very sad they spent so much money on a completely bizarre and unworkable setup. They probably got very bad advice from a landscaping firm just out for a quick job.