Anyone made their own topdresser?

Blagadan · Feb 25, 2008

Wondering if anyone has had a go at making a lawn top dresser for spreading sand? I've been toying with the idea of making one. I have tried to use a fertiliser spreader but the sand is too wet and doesnt flow. It need something to grab the sand from the bottom of the pile rather than expect the sand to fall through a 1inch hole in the bottom of the hopper...

Anyone?

jimgerken · Feb 25, 2008

I can add a little. A grass seeder sometimes has a little paddle wheel deal that is ground driven, to stir the seed and keep it moving, inside the tank, just above the outlet area. Can this help the sand keep moving?

BTW, what does top-dressing with sand do for your lawn?

Blagadan · Feb 25, 2008

I know the item you are talking about, an "agitator" i think its called... in my case, it didnt do much for loosening up the damp sand. It just carves a groove in the sand from what I figure. Damp sand tends to clump together. It would be fine if i didnt have to spread so much. I tried leaving a ton or so of dry sand indoors for a few months to dry it out and it did help a bit but still didn't flow like grass seed.
The amount of sand I would need to top dress 3/4 acre with 1/4inch of sand would be a big task to keep indoors to dry out.

Heres another design:

Why Sand...? I have terrible clay soil. I have been adding good quality top soil to my lawn for a few years now (using wheelbarrow and shovel mainly) but it has not made as much of an improvement as I'd like. I spoke to a grounds keeper of a local golf course and he recommended i start top dressing with coarse sand to loosen the soil as part of my on going soil improvement scheme. He recommended spreading 1/4 inch layer of sand over the lawn and to brush or rake it in. I would like to build up the sand over a few years to help improve the surface drainage and help to maintain a level smooth surface...
They use a gritty sand in the 1/8th to 1/16th grain size.

RonMar · Feb 25, 2008

I wonder if a drop spreader, or some larger variant(drop roller mechanism attached to a dump bed trailer?) would work better than a broadcast spreader. Or perhaps some variation of a manure spreader. The device you pictured looks pretty complex. Considering this is also something you are only going to need to do once or maybe twice, have you looked to see if it can be rented?

bx24 · Feb 25, 2008

Although it would not be nearly as elegant, why not simply use a dump trailer with the gate hinged on top, and the bottom restrained with a chain to control the drop rate.

This would not be nearly as pretty, but depending on how much of this you need to do, you could get away a lot cheaper and end up with a dump trailer to do other things with.

I am thinking of something like one of the two of these:

Pronovost- Dump trailers - Off-road service

or

King Kutter Incorporated

Good luck

bx24 · Feb 25, 2008

The one thing I forgot to mention is that you could rig up a simple rotating bar with some pins where the sand leaves the trailer to ensure the sand does not clog.

This may not work perfectly, but with the cost of sand (cheap) and the amount of time or money to make a more complicated spreader fairly high, I would think simple would be better (although not nearly as much fun to build).

I did not look where you lived, but a salt spreader (like the highway crews use) would work as well (but they are $$$$)

SPIKER · Feb 26, 2008

blagladan

I don't know where you are located, but I bought a roofers gravel spreader a few years back at an auction. it is a 3 wheeled driven/motorized hopper that has a slide gate at the bottom, you adjust slide gate using a pull lever which dumps gravel onto commercial roofs. uses round 57 type stone pretty good. I don't have a use for it right now (maybe in a few months again?) maybe you are interested uses a 5 hp briggs which has gear drive to a pair of golf cart type wheels. center front mounted pivot wheel. holds maybe 1/4 yard of material. engine drives the unit at walking speed. engine was NEW when I bought it reason I got it. I never used it in last 4 yrs
it is located in ohio northern part if you are interested. not sure wherre you are

need full profile filled out.
mark M

jeffinsgf · Feb 26, 2008

You're on the road to a very nice lawn, and have received some very good advice. If you have a load of fabrication experience, building a topdresser might just work out fine. I don't, so I bought an "experienced" Turfco Mete-R-Matic on eBay and rebuilt it. It was a rusty pile of junk. I took it apart, figured out what was truly broken, wire brushed the whole thing, painted all the parts, bought what replacements I needed and put it all back together again. I now have an $8000 topdresser for a little under $2000 (counting something for my time, as well). Topdressing isn't something you do once or twice. It should be part of a continuing program of sustainable turf management. I spread composted yard waste and coarse sand on my lawn at least once a year, and twice when I can afford it. Another couple of years, and it will look like a fairway. It already (in 3 years) is the best looking yard for several miles in any direction. Topdressing has cut my lawn's fertilizer requirements by 2/3.

BWBrown · Feb 27, 2008

Years ago New Idea had an option for their manure spreaders to spread lime (nothing harder to get to flow through a spreader in my experience.)
It was basically a moldboard(?) at the rear of the box, allowing a thin horizontal exit slot, and prevented the whole load coming off with the unloader chain. The thickness of the spread pattern was adjusted with the moldboard. I will post a picture if I can find one.
Actually used one about 40 years ago - for what my memory is worth, it worked pretty well. And it would be quite simple to reproduce in any size.
Bob

Renze · Feb 28, 2008

thought of using a muck spreader, and a chain link drag for the fine spreading ?

cjcocn · Feb 28, 2008

Why don't you just buy a used sand spreader? Some of the plow sites probably have one for sale in their classifieds right now.

Or you could find a dealer and go look at their sand spreaders for ideas on making your own.

NOTE: My post may not have helped much, but it does get me subscribed to this thread.

I'm interested in seeing what you decide (esp. if you build one and post pics!).

Ron25 · Mar 3, 2008

Can't help with the dresser but, have you ever core aerated the lawn? Before you topdress again areate and the dressing will fill the plug holes. Aerating clay soil should help alot.

Blagadan · Mar 3, 2008

Hi Ron, yeah, I have a 48" core aerator I got from NorthernTool. I usually aerate the soil before I spread out the sand. It does make a big difference to aerate before putting on the sand, you're right. I've been aerating maybe 2 years now and have noticed an improvement. My problem is trying to get the sand out evenly AND over the whole garden. I tend to address only the problem areas of the garden but would prefer 100% sand coverage...

FredWalter · Mar 5, 2008

I have heavy clay soil too.

Adding sand helps, eh?

After you've spread it, do you run over the ground with a rototiller to mix it in? If so, how deep do you set your rototiller for?

I wish I'd known this last week - I was at a farm equipment auction, and saw at least one road sand/salt spreader sold, and it didn't sell for much, under a $1000 if I recall correctly.

Blagadan · Mar 5, 2008

Hi Fred,

No you dont rototill it into the soil, Simply lay it down over the top of the existing lawn. 1/4inch thick layer, then rake or brush it down through the grass so it can get to the soil. I have been shovelling sand out of the back of a trailer for the last few years and it is not fun anymore. I have a tow behind rake that I use after I spread out the sand. One or two passes and the sand is worked down. Its only over a period of many years that adding sand will help. This is NOT a quick fix. Its about changing the structure of the soil on an existing lawn. I am not going go tear up my lawn and add 100tons of sand. I need to spread out 10 tons, twice a year for the next......well, until I'm happy.. I have done some more research about this and it seems golf course greens keepers have been doing this for ever. On established golf courses, the top 3-4 inches or more is mainly sand and it then blends into the soil beneath. Helps with surface drainage and for levelling bumps.

patrick_g · Mar 5, 2008

bx24 said:
Although it would not be nearly as elegant, why not simply use a dump trailer with the gate hinged on top, and the bottom restrained with a chain to control the drop rate.

This would not be nearly as pretty, but depending on how much of this you need to do, you could get away a lot cheaper and end up with a dump trailer to do other things with.

I am thinking of something like one of the two of these:

Pronovost- Dump trailers - Off-road service

or

King Kutter Incorporated

Good luck

Paul, the three side dump was new to me. That is a really slick design. I already have a dump trailer (7x12x2) box on twin axles so won't be buying another.

Thanks for the link.

Pat

jeffinsgf · Mar 5, 2008

Fred,

One key component of improving clay by adding sand is the core aeration step. Core aerate and top dress twice a year, and you'll start making progress.

Also, sand alone is not as effective as sand and compost. I buy fine screened compost from the city of Springfield for $17 a yard. The more the merrier on the compost. I keep buying it until the stitching on my wallet starts screaming.