new home, gross dirt mounds in front of house- HELP!

[chrissysc]

Hi!!

My husband and I recently purchased our first house (yay!!) which was a flipped so it's beautiful on the inside, however the outside is totally different. We had sod laid in the backyard for the dog to run around in, but we opted not to in the front. The flowerbeds, or at least where I want to put flowerbeds consist of piles of dirt. I tried to rake the dirt to even it out, but it is filled with chunks of concrete and brick and garbage (a mr. potatohead ear was found as well as a sock, lots of broken glass and a piece of carpet).

I would love to get a landscaper to come in and redo everything for us, however if I do that than I have to wait until next year and its all that i can think about so I would love to attempt doing it myself. Mind you I have 0% experience with lawn/yard/gardening care.

So my question is, what is the best way to clean out those piles of dirt?

Sorry for the long pst and I appreciate in advance any advise. Thanks!

[tomf]

You can some wire mesh and make a screen and shovel the dirt on to it. the dirt will fall through and the junk will not. If you decide to do this I will draw you a picture of how to make the screen.

[chrissysc]

that seems easy enough, although very time consuming. In addition to this screen, do guess I need a wheelbarrow?

[applestar]

I would recommend "wire mesh" (or fencing) in different sizes -- at least two. Staple gun to a simple frame nailed together from 2x4s. Larger mesh to catch the larger pieces, then a smaller mash to allow just the dirt to fall through and anything that remains will be screened out.

BTW -- I have a plastic bakery crate/shelf -- it's bright orange, sturdy, kind of like a milk crate except it's flat and big. I've no idea where I got it, but the grid bottom of it would be perfect to use as a mesh screen. Along the same thought, a wire fence panel or something like a pet barrier might work as well.

Wheel barrow may be useful but not absolutely necessary. I'm thinking regular blue tarps on the ground should do the trick? Get some 5 gal buckets, used and free if you want (usually available from deli shops, bakeries, grocery stores, etc.) You need containers to sort the stuff you screen out.

You'll want something to hold up the framed screens. The buckets might be sufficient... or I'm looking out the window and I have old picnic benches that probably would work too.

If you have a really large amount to deal with, and you are handy, a more elaborate screen frame could be built to stand up at at something like a 45º angle, then you can "toss" the shovelful of dirt AT the screen and the screened out material should fall to the ground in front of it while the smaller material pass through. This is a typical design for screening compost.

[tomf]

If you have a bunch to do you can make the frame with 2x4's.

[chrissysc]

Thank you very much. Hopefully the weather will hold out this weekend so I can get this project started.