Landscaping Question

Where is the best place to buy dirt.

My back yard is not level... so I need to buy some dirt. A landscaper I believe said I needed 5-6 "yards"??? What is a "yard" when it comes to dirt and how large is that?


Also... did anyone pay a landscaper to get the dirt? How much?


Marcello offered me the $170 (or whatever it was) to clean my yard... but once he saw I needed dirt he wanted to charge me quite a bit more.

I'd be willing to pay more if thats what the dirt costs.


LMK Thanks.

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Look on craigslist - someone the other day was offering free dirt - let me see if I can find the post

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Free Dirt - will deliver too - in Levittown

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Free Dirt in East Meadow

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Watch what type of dirt you are getting...it could be dirt/sand mix which isn't so great for growing. I know we've gotten truckloads of dirt from our local (Suffolk) nursery because our yard is so unlevel and it's all sand (Welcome to Ambersmom Beach). I think it was $100.00 for a few yards? I'm checking with hubby now to find out. Maybe get the free dirt as filler and then get a layer of topsoil to finish it off?

Alot of the Suffolk dumps "give" away topsoil - you have to get it though. Holtsville Ecology Center has a mulching center where you can get free stuff, so does the dump in Yaphank.

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We got 5 yards of soil delivered to our house for $120. Let me tell you...its a TON of dirt!! when the truck came to deliver...my DH asked how much of the truckload was ours...the guy laughed and said ALL OF IT!!! it took my husband ALL day to move the soil off of the driveway to the backyard/sideyard. it was 100's of wheel barrows worth of soil!!



We needed that much to fill in places in our backyard but I do not think my husband was prepared for that much!!

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Posted by Lisa

We got 5 yards of soil delivered to our house for $120. Let me tell you...its a TON of dirt!! when the truck came to deliver...my DH asked how much of the truckload was ours...the guy laughed and said ALL OF IT!!! it took my husband ALL day to move the soil off of the driveway to the backyard/sideyard. it was 100's of wheel barrows worth of soil!!



We needed that much to fill in places in our backyard but I do not think my husband was prepared for that much!!

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PiLL - fm.

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My MIL is saying this kind of dirt may not be good enough to grow grass with since its not good topsoil. She also said since the landscaper can only deliver it to my driveway.... I have to move the dirt to my backyeard and thats a lot of work.

She is supposed to call me back after speaking to FIL.




Any thoughts on this?

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Posted by DjPiLL

My MIL is saying this kind of dirt may not be good enough to grow grass with since its not good topsoil. She also said since the landscaper can only deliver it to my driveway.... I have to move the dirt to my backyeard and thats a lot of work.

She is supposed to call me back after speaking to FIL.




Any thoughts on this?

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I have a carport... so it will be difficult for them to get a truck back there.

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Posted by BrunetteMom

Posted by DjPiLL

I have a carport... so it will be difficult for them to get a truck back there.

Then you will either have to pay someone to bring it to your backyard or you'll have to do it yourself

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Not sure.

I remember the truck having one of those spouts like the cement trucks have and the guy backing up his truck and far back as he could so that he could extend the spout as close to my backyard as possible.

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A yard is a cubic yard. To get an estimate of how much that is, look at dumpsters when you are around town. The dumpster will often have the volume in cubic yards printed on it.

I don't know what prices are, but if it is free, there is probably a reason for that If the soil came from under a building, there may be sand and gravel mixed into it, which helps it drain better. Good for construction, but not necessarily good for planting things in. I agree with what someone else said, if you have a big area to fill, you could use the free stuff and then top it off with topsoil.

The landscaper may have a bobcat or a smaller piece of equipment to move the soil. If I were getting 5 or 6 yards of soil, there is no way in hell I would move it myself, I would pay to have it done.

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We just had 25 yards of top soil delivered and someone to come and a neighbor came and hooked us up and spread it all with his bobcat. I think we paid $20 a yard. Maybe $15. We also got field stone and tons of mulch delivered.

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My husbands good friend is a landscaper in Dix Hills so he hooked up us with everything. He doesn't do much residential work - mostly commericial now.

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I removed a semi-inground pool and had to fill it in. We used dirt for the bottom and put a layer of topsoil on top so that grass would grow (and it has). A dumptruck dumped all the dirt in my driveway, and someone came with a little bobcat and filled in the pool, leveled it out, etc. It was somewhat expensive but there was no way I was doing that myself (the pool was 30 ft by 15 ft and halfway in the ground). Don't remember the exact yards of dirt, but it was a lot (I want to say 45???) Anyway, look in your local pennysaver or other local paper for someone with a bobcat. You buy the dirt on your own (they can probably direct you to someone). It took about a full day to get it done.

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we have some holes/ditches to fill as well. Can we just put the dirt it in and reseed? Is that what you are doing?

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My DH is planning on levelling our yard next week too. He's in landscaping and said the best guy is Jimmy Dirt I swear!!! But, I think the company is J&C or something. He said we can't just go for any dirt as alot of it is from building developments and has loads of sand or fill in it. He has big problems at one property he manages that has really sh*tty grass because of the soil. I will let you know the proper name when they deliver to us.

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