[jburchill]

Hello All, last year we had a gas line installed that went around our yard and leaving lumps everywhere. The person who installed it said it should be better this year after the snow melts and it settles. Well, its spring and still looks the same. Granted we didn't have much snow this winter.

So what would be the best way to level out the lumps in the yard? I was thinking of renting a tiller with the blades in the back and just do the top 1" to 2" of dirt. The pipe is 2 to 3 feet deep so I should be good. And really will only be doing the high points bringing the dirt back to the original height before the dig.

Let me know if the tiller is a bad/good idea or if there is something else. There is maybe 200 feet to do.

 

[SW Dweller]

Famous last words, "The pipe is 2 to 3 feet deep so I should be good "
Machinery on top of a gas line with out knowing exactly where it is, just fool hearty.
A metal rake and work the lumps, get couple bags of cheap soil and level out the ditch. Water in for effect.

 

[jburchill]

Well I did watch them put it in. And like I said it would just be the top inch or 2. And the raised lumps, so really not digging down

 

[de-nagorg]

Well I did watch them put it in. And like I said it would just be the top inch or 2. And the raised lumps, so really not digging down

A better choice of tool would be a "harley rake", This is a landscapers tool, that you use to level lumpy ground, so you have level ground to sod over.

Some are big enough that they are pulled by a tractor, others are self propelled, all are powered tools, so minimal manual labor involved.

Assuming that you have bare dirt now, that would be an ideal time to "rake" it.

ED

 

[jburchill]

A better choice of tool would be a "harley rake", This is a landscapers tool, that you use to level lumpy ground, so you have level ground to sod over.

Some are big enough that they are pulled by a tractor, others are self propelled, all are powered tools, so minimal manual labor involved.

Assuming that you have bare dirt now, that would be an ideal time to "rake" it.

ED

I don't have bare ground now. Would the harley rake level out the yard with grass established? It's only 2 feet wide section that goes about 200 feet.

 

[de-nagorg]

I don't have bare ground now. Would the harley rake level out the yard with grass established? It's only 2 feet wide section that goes about 200 feet.

It usually is a 4' wide swath, so it will make a mess out of the grass on each side.

May not be a good idea, back to a manual hand rake, and elbow grease.

ED

 

[jburchill]

manual labor probably right

 

[SpentPenny]

If you can get your pickup onto the yard just put a wheel where the trench is and drive it to pack it. it will make the manual labor to finish much easier. We have done it many times to pack everything from gas line to sewer line trenches. If you have a good sized lawn tractor you can use the back wheels of that as well. But if using the lawn tractor you may need to water the trench to soften it first.

 

[jburchill]

If you can get your pickup onto the yard just put a wheel where the trench is and drive it to pack it. it will make the manual labor to finish much easier. We have done it many times to pack everything from gas line to sewer line trenches. If you have a good sized lawn tractor you can use the back wheels of that as well. But if using the lawn tractor you may need to water the trench to soften it first.

When they dug the trench they went over the humps with the trencher and I also went over with my riding lawn mower.

 

[Domo]

The original installer is not obliged to make good on his assertion that it would level out?

Clearly they had to be licensed to install a gas line. There should be recourse through the local licensing board specifically to make customers "whole."

Contact your installer and tell them it is not a finished job. Ask them for the contact information for the licensing board - they have to provide it - plus should have provided arbitration guidelines when originally quoting the job... (At least that's what professionals had to do where I've worked.)

 

[huesmann]

Some photos of your lumps would surely help us help you...

 

[lenaitch]

One problem with trenching, depending on your soil makeup, is when they fill it back in, there is no guarantee that the topsoil ends up on top unless they separated them at the time. You could be looking at what was previously subsoil or a mixture of the two. The lumps might be clay, clumps of grass, etc. I would pack it down as best you can, rake it out and add topsoil. Whether you can convince the contractor to do this remains unknown. Our daughter had a gas line laid in a couple of years ago and it initially looked pretty grim but another 'landscaping' crew came by later and finished it off better, but that was the utility, not a contractor.

 

[Old Thomas]

I drag a pallet behind the mower to level high spots. I also drag my gravel driveways with a pallet.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

He was too lazy to be bothered.

 

[de-nagorg]

He was too lazy to be bothered.

We don't know that ,

An emergency might have occurred.

Almost three years ago, I disappeared from here, to be found 30 days later missing my lower left leg.

Things happen beyond our control that take priority.


ED