Smoothing over uneven lawn (landscape, grass, tree, front yard)

[BoSox 15]

I have a new house (2 years old) and as time goes on I've noticed some settling with the soil under the lawn. Particularly, in the front yard the builder planted a tree and removed it before I moved in so there is a round depression (I'd say 1-2 inches) and some other spots that are quite "lumpy".

I heard, a friend of a friend type thing, that this person spread sand or soil periodically in the low spots and over time built it up to a nice, even lawn. I have Bermudagrass, if that matters. I'm not looking for putting green flat but just a more even feel.

Suggestions?

[dcfas]

I just get some clean soil and rake into the low spots. I tamper it down, then lightly rake and seed. Now is a good time, but early fall is best. If you have a lot to fill I would hire a landscaper. Here in the Northeast we don’t use Bermuda grass.

[BoSox 15]

It's not too large, maybe 3 foot diameter but the lowest part is probably about 5 inch diameter.

Bermuda seems to have "runners" so I'm wondering if I just get good soil if the grass will run over it and plant itself or if I need to put some seed down.

[wit-nit]

Fill with a sand/soil mixture water and the Bermuda runners will come up and cover it quickly. The warmer the weather the faster Bermuda grows.

[gentlearts]

We have centipede which has runners, like Bermuda. We were told by our old southern neighbor to fill bare spots with river sand, because it retains moisture, and will attract the grass runners. Play sand or beach sand dries out too fast.

[BostonMike7]

I do my leveling in the late summer when the grass is dormant. I've had to do some serious leveling of my yard so I had a couple yards of loom delivered, wheelbarrowed out to the low spots and spread out. I think seeded and watered. Some areas were thin enough that the grass grew up through the 2" or so of soil so by late fall, my grass coverage is relatively even.

I typically avoid this activity in the spring, as by the time the grass starts to establish itself it goes dormant in the summer heat, and patches of bare dirt turn into dust. It's a lot easier to avoid that in the fall as the grass grows far more aggressively and there tends to me more rain/dew which prevents dust-ups.

This is Massachusetts, so I have a lot of Fescues and some bluegrass mixed in