Question
Dear Kenneth, My garden area is 20x9 metres,which is badly uneven grass,  I only want a level grass lawn for the kids
to enjoy this year. My question is, if I put level timber edging around this area and spread 2" of fine topsoil/levelled and rolled then grass seeded would I get a
lawn, it does,nt have to be perfect. Do I have to dig and turn over the present grass grass side down? Can I spread the top soil over the present grass and seed it? will the kids be able to enjoy a play area this year if I do it this way? money is tight. I live in the west of Scotland.

Answer
You have a few choices.

Timber edging and adding 2 inches of soil will not be cheap and a better way is probably to redo the lawn you have without bringing in new soil/timber.

You can either roto till the entire lawn and then rake smooth. wait for rain to settle the soil and then with a shovel and a rake, remove "hills" and fill in "valleys". Firm down with the back of the rake. A wide, long landscapers rake to ensure a smooth surface is a great tool (can be rented). The longer time you allow and the more rain which you wait for, the better the soil will settle and the better result you get. You can also roll the soil with a landscapers roller (filled with water). Do this when the soil is dry or barely damp. Not when very wet.

Instead of roto tilling the entire lawn, you can also spread soil and then use the wide landscapers rake to rake soil into depressions. Use back of rake to firm down and again wait for rain (or water manually) to settle soil.
Then just overseed these areas. In some cases, the existing grass may even grow through the soil layers.
This method would be my preference.

Finally, you can try to do smaller areas at a time. This saves money, gives the kids somewhere to continue to play while one area is in process of being established, and will eventually result in one large area. Say do them in three 9 x 7 foot sections.