Two truckloads of topsoil arrived on a Red Bank lawn project a couple years back, both ordered from a yard that had been fine on a half-dozen previous jobs. The first load was screened, dark, and crumbly. The second load — same yard, same product line — was full of root balls, half-broken bricks, and a chunk of asphalt the size of a basketball. Topsoil is the least standardized material we haul, and "I'll take a load of topsoil" is the most dangerous order you can place.
Here's how to spec it, inspect it, and reject it when something's off.
Topsoil is the upper layer of soil that supports plant growth — the part where organic matter, microbes, and root structure live. Around Greater Chattanooga, native topsoil sits over heavy clay subsoil and, in some areas, fractured limestone. "Topsoil" as a product is anything sold under that label, which is why quality varies so wildly. There's no enforced national grading standard.
A good topsoil has:
Screened topsoil has been run through a mechanical screen, typically with a 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch mesh, to pull out roots, rocks, and debris. Unscreened (or "raw") topsoil is shovel-direct from a stockpile.
For lawn establishment, garden beds, or final landscape grade, you want screened. For bulk fill behind a retaining wall where grass isn't going on top, unscreened can be cheaper and fine. For finish grading in front of a new build, never accept unscreened — debris will surface every time you mow for the next three years.
Grab a handful from the pile or off the truck. Squeeze it.
A good topsoil hand-tests close to the first option. If it tests like sticky clay, you've got "subsoil with weeds on top" — which is what gets sold as topsoil more often than anyone admits.
You're allowed to reject a delivery if it doesn't match what you ordered. Get the ticket, take photos, and call the yard before the truck dumps if at all possible.
Don't just ask "how much for topsoil." Ask:
Yards in the Chattanooga area that sell to landscapers professionally will answer all five without hesitation. Yards that say "topsoil is topsoil" are the ones to be careful with.
For seeding a lawn, plan 3 to 4 inches of topsoil over finish-graded subsoil. For garden beds, 6 to 12 inches. For tree planting, fill the backfill mix at roughly 50/50 native soil to topsoil.
To convert area into yards, see our cubic yards calculation post. The same volume math applies to topsoil — though topsoil compacts less under traffic, you still lose some thickness as it settles and is watered in.
If your project also involves grading or pad work, the topsoil order should land after laser grading is done, not before. Anything earlier and it gets driven into the subgrade.
Dark color, crumbly structure, mild earthy smell, and no visible debris. The hand-squeeze test should produce a ball that breaks apart easily.
Usually not — most excavated material around here is clay subsoil or rocky fill, not topsoil. The thin layer of true topsoil on a site should be stripped and saved separately if you want to reuse it.
A minimum of 3 inches, ideally 4 to 6, over properly graded and de-compacted subsoil.
For a basic lawn, not necessary. For garden beds, athletic fields, or specialty plantings, a soil test from UT Extension is worth the $15.
Yes, almost always — especially for any area where grass, mulch, or finish grade is going on top.
