You need ground that drains correctly and stays stable for years. When grading is done right, water flows away from your foundation instead of pooling around it. Your basement stays dry during heavy rains. Construction crews show up to level, accessible ground that keeps your project on schedule.
Proper grading prevents the expensive problems that come from shortcuts. No more foundation settling, drainage issues, or contractors fighting uphill battles because the site wasn’t prepared correctly. You get stable ground that supports whatever you’re building, whether it’s a new home, driveway, or commercial project.
The difference is working with contractors who understand Riverbank’s soil conditions and seasonal water patterns. We know how water moves across this terrain and what it takes to create grades that work with the land, not against it.
We’ve been serving Riverbank and the Capital Region since 1997. We started as a logging business and transitioned to full-time excavation in 2020, bringing decades of experience working with local terrain and soil conditions.
This is a family operation where Josh Emerson is present on almost every job to ensure quality. We’re not a crew that shows up hoping for the best—we understand how Riverbank’s clay-heavy soils and seasonal drainage patterns affect grading work.
Our goal is building lasting relationships with customers. We want to be your excavator forever by providing exceptional care and value, not just the cheapest bid. When you need grading done right, you want someone who’s dealt with these local conditions before and knows how to handle the challenges specific to building in this area.
Every grading project starts with a thorough site evaluation. We look at your property’s natural slope, soil type, and where water currently flows during heavy rain. The goal is creating grades that direct water away from structures and prevent pooling in areas where you don’t want it.
Next, we establish the proper grades for your specific project. Whether you’re building a new home or preparing a commercial site, we calculate the slopes needed for proper drainage and foundation support. Our GPS-guided equipment shapes the land according to those specifications with precision that eliminates guesswork.
Throughout the process, we handle the technical aspects of grade calculation and slope management. We move soil where it needs to go, create proper drainage channels, and establish final grades that support your construction project. The result is a building site that’s ready for the next phase with drainage that works and ground that’s stable for foundation work.
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Your grading project includes complete site evaluation and drainage assessment to understand how water moves across your property. We identify potential problem areas before they become expensive issues later in your project. All grading work includes proper slope establishment for water management.
You get both rough grading to establish basic contours and elevations, plus finish grading that creates precise, smooth surfaces for the next construction phase. We handle earth moving using professional equipment sized appropriately for your project scope, whether that’s a residential lot or larger commercial site.
In Riverbank’s terrain, proper drainage planning is especially important because clay-heavy soils don’t absorb water as quickly as other areas. We create slopes that direct water away from structures and toward appropriate drainage areas, sometimes involving French drains or swales to eliminate low spots where water could pool. Our service includes site cleanup and final grading that leaves your property ready for construction.
Most residential grading projects take 1-3 days depending on the size of the area and complexity of the drainage requirements. A simple lot preparation for a new home might be completed in a day, while a larger property with complex drainage requirements could take several days.
Weather plays a role in the timeline—we can’t grade effectively in muddy conditions, so heavy rain can delay the work. We’ll give you a realistic timeframe upfront based on your specific property conditions and project scope. Riverbank’s clay-heavy soils sometimes require additional time compared to sandy areas, but professional equipment handles these challenges efficiently.
Rough grading establishes the basic slopes and elevations for your property. This is the heavy work that creates proper drainage patterns and building pads, typically happening early in construction before foundation work begins.
Finish grading comes later and creates the final smooth surfaces for landscaping, driveways, and walkways. It’s more precise work that establishes exact elevations and contours around your completed structure. Most construction projects need both phases, and we handle the timing coordination with your other contractors.
The key difference is that rough grading shapes the general land contours, while finish grading fine-tunes everything for the final result. Both are important for different phases of your construction timeline.
Riverbank’s clay-heavy soils don’t absorb water as quickly as sandy conditions, so drainage planning is especially critical here. We create slopes that direct water away from structures and toward appropriate drainage areas, typically establishing a minimum 2% slope away from buildings.
This might involve installing French drains, creating swales, or adjusting grades to eliminate low spots where water could pool. We also consider where the water goes once it leaves your immediate area—there’s no point creating drainage that pushes problems to neighbors or causes erosion downstream.
Our experience with local soil conditions means we know which areas drain well naturally and which ones need extra attention. We’ve dealt with everything from saturated clay to rocky situations and adjust our approach accordingly to prevent costly surprises.
We help you understand what permits are needed for your specific project in Riverbank, though permit applications are typically handled by the property owner or general contractor. Requirements vary based on scope—small residential grading projects often don’t require permits, while larger excavation work or projects near wetlands usually do.
We can tell you what’s typically required and provide the technical information needed for permit applications, including site plans and drainage details. Part of doing business in these counties is knowing what’s required and getting it done right.
We make sure our work meets local code requirements regardless of the permit situation. Our experience with local regulations helps prevent delays and ensures your project moves forward smoothly.
Rock and buried obstacles are common in the Riverbank area, and we’re equipped to handle them. Small rocks and debris can usually be removed as part of the normal grading process without additional charges.
Larger rock formations or unexpected obstacles like old foundations may require additional work and specialized equipment. We’ll stop and discuss options with you before proceeding with any work that goes beyond the original scope. This prevents surprise charges and ensures you’re comfortable with how we handle unexpected conditions.
We discuss potential issues during the initial assessment, so you know what to expect. If we encounter unexpected conditions, we explain your options and costs before proceeding. Our goal is transparency throughout the process.
Grading costs depend on several factors: the size of your property, how much earth needs to be moved, soil conditions, and the complexity of drainage requirements. Most residential projects fall within a predictable range, but every property is different.
We provide clear, upfront estimates with no hidden fees—you know exactly what you’re paying before work begins. The investment in proper grading now prevents expensive problems later, like foundation issues, drainage failures, or construction delays that cost much more to fix.
Weather conditions, accessibility, and any obstacles we encounter can affect pricing, but we discuss all these factors during the initial site evaluation. Our goal is giving you realistic expectations upfront so there are no surprises. The cost of proper grading is an investment in your property’s long-term value and functionality.
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