Need a complete backyard renovation-- lawn/grading

Our backyard is a mess. 3/4 of it is crabgrass. There used to be an above-ground pool w/a deck that we had the old owners remove...so in that place is a patch of sand. The yard itself is a disaster-- so many bumps, inclines, slopes, holes, etc. DD is a toddler, so it's dangerous to have her running around unsupervised, she could easily fall b/c of the unevenness. Not to mention we need our in-the-ground sprinklers extended (doesn't cover the whole lawn), and our wood deck is starting to rot.

What would you do? Would we call in a landscaper to look at it? Would we need re-grading? What does that entail? Ripping everything out, having machines come in to re-grade, fix the sprinklers, then do sod?

When should we have someone come? Is fall good, so it's a nice lawn first thing next spring? Or should we wait until spring to have someone come over?

I'm in Suffolk, North Shore. Anyone have any recommendations of who to contact?

Thanks!

ETA: We have also have some flooding issues in the past (basement) and the sloping certainly doesn't help, so it needs to be corrected!

Message edited 9/4/2008 4:02:26 PM.

Re: Need a complete backyard renovation-- lawn/grading

We had out yard regraded away from the house. No more bumps. We just hired a landscaper. They did everything by hand, no machines, but the area wasn't that large. And yes they could lay sod also. So they would probably give you a quote for regrading, laying some topsoil if needed and laying the sod. You have to water the sod at least twice a day. Oh and if you need the IGS fixed I would do that before someone regrades. Then your lawn will be all ready for the Spring and you DD.

Re: Need a complete backyard renovation-- lawn/grading

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, our area isn't huge either, so maybe they wouldn't need machines either. We definitely do have to fix the sprinklers first, I know sod needs much water initially. What time of the year did you get this all done? Early spring? We shouldn't attempt it now, going into fall, right?

Re: Need a complete backyard renovation-- lawn/grading

We haven't done it yet. We are in the middle of getting quotes right now for the sod to be layed. You can totally do it now and into the early fall before the ground freezes. The root system takes months to grow down and develope, so now would be a great time. Because you really shouldn't walk on it too much when you first put the sod down. HTH!