Get matched with top mulch and topsoil pros in Ballard, UT

Topsoil should go down first. If the topsoil is next to your house, make sure the grade slopes away from the house to keep water from pooling against your foundation and possibly leaking into your basement or crawl space. Don’t cover your decorative landscape mulch with topsoil as that defeats the purpose of laying down the mulch. If you’re trying to create a certain soil composition to improve plant growth, you’ll likely want compost mixed into the topsoil instead of mulch. Over time, any decorative wood mulch will simply decompose under the topsoil.

Key considerations include dust control, soil erosion prevention, and protecting local wildlife habitats through sustainable clearing practices.

A 40-pound bag of topsoil covers 0.76 cubic feet, enough for 4.5 square feet with a 2-inch depth or 36 square feet with a .25-inch depth, such as topdressing a standard garden bed. If you want 2 inches of fresh topsoil for your 36-square-foot garden bed, you’ll need eight 40-pound bags.

You can use regular sand as the base for your pavers and in between pavers to seal the joints. Many pros reach for polymeric sand, also known as all-purpose sand, because it has been sifted and washed to remove impurities. But you can easily level ground and fill gaps between pavers for a clean look using regular sand, sometimes at a lower cost.