A construction project is a collaboration of several different contractors applying their distinct areas of expertise. In today’s post, let’s take a look at one of the essential tasks in a construction project and the professionals that make it happen: land grading contractors.
If you are planning to build a home or a commercial structure or even just plant a garden or improve your property’s landscaping, you shouldn’t forego the process of landscaping.
What Is Land Grading?
Land grading also referred to as land leveling, is the smoothening or flattening out of a site or an area and developing sufficient sloping to get it ready for development – in the simplest and most basic explanation. Obviously, there is more work involved in this stage.
We hope the information you find today about land grading and land grading contractors will help you in however way possible.
Sloping in certain areas on the site is necessary to make way for a good drainage system. Without the right sloping, the property site risks facing flooding and water damage.
Because there are different types of soils, it can be challenging to know the best kind of building site preparation approach you must take – no matter the type of property you have.
Land grading contractors work to take out patches of soil – whether it’s hard, rocky, or soft – and sandy, uneven land that might be present on your building site.
Land grading aims to achieve to main tasks in the construction project:
- Even out all undesirable spots on the ground and make sure it’s leveled.
- Develop a clear and systematic water drainage path to prevent flooding.
Grading occurs after the building site has undergone excavation. To ensure leveling, the dirt or soil removed from the site’s higher spots is moved to fill the lower areas, creating an even surface. This concept is also called cut and fill grading.
Depending on your project’s requirements, cut and fill grading is done either to get a plain or a slope. Either way, the objective is to get a smooth and uniform site without differing heights or elevations.
This is done to create a blank canvas – if you will – a smooth and leveled landscape without any varying elevation that may hinder the construction project.
Why Is Land Grading Important?
Ultimately, land grading removes variations in rises or elevations on your property – making it favorable and safe to build on. Before even attempting to start construction, work with professional land grading contractors to properly prepare your site for development.
Even though land grading is exceptionally crucial to any construction project, not many people understand why it should be done.
It’s not something that automatically comes to mind when you are embarking on a new construction project, especially if it is your first one. Even so, it’s a fundamental task to take on any building project.
No land is naturally smooth and level. Any land’s organic state will include higher and lower spots – even if their sites are amiss.
Who are you going to call? Land grading contractors – and they should be professionals.
There’s a lot riding on this task that you wouldn’t want unqualified and inexperienced individuals to carry out this very important task.
One of the erroneous things you can do on your construction project is to cut corners and skip land grading. When you don’t have professional land grading contractors prepare your site for building, you are only creating problems that will plague your property as long as the building stands.
Create Proper Water Drainage System
When starting your construction project on an uneven or rocky landscape, the direction of waterflow – whether it’s from rain or other sources – must be adequately planned.
Land grading contractors ensure that water will not penetrate and damage the property. If the grading is not done adequately, you risk water coming towards the construction area instead of away from it.
If something like that happens, it has disaster written all over it. During heavy rainfall, water will most likely pool and accumulate in and around the site, and the building foundation – resulting in water damage, interior flooding, severe damages to the foundation.
Create a Smooth and Even Site
Grading contractors are licensed and qualified to operate heavy machinery to smoothen and flatten a site. This step is to make way to construct roads, driveways, parkways, foundations of commercial and residential properties, and other building construction projects.
Responsibilities of Land Grading Contractors
Essentially, grading contractors provide building site preparation services for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural projects.
They usually work side-by-side with excavating contractors. After the excavation is done on-site, land grading specialists will go in and level the site.
They also complete the following tasks:
Site Survey
Surveying the site is done to determine various conditions of the construction area, including:
- The current slope level of the land.
- The type of soil present on the site.
- The distance to other populations – wildlife or human.
- The utility lines (if there are any) installed underground.
- The vegetation present on the site.
- Any other underlying structures or facilities.
The contractors gather all these details and develop proper planning and strategies for initiating the work. This plan will include what grading machinery they need, how many land grading contractors are required for the job, and how long the work will be completed.
The planning and strategizing stage will also go over any existing and future issues and how best to address them.
Acquiring Work Permits
As you know, permits are necessary before even launching any type of work on the construction site. Typically, obtaining permits are done by the land grading and excavating contractors. They get these permits from all relevant local and state agencies.
Construction regulations vary by jurisdiction. In general, however, the permit applications will include the project’s description and scope for approval.
In some cases, an inspector from the regulatory agency will need to inspect the site. When this happens, the land grading contractors will need to be present during the inspection to answer any questions.
Site Preparation
After securing all the required permits, the excavating and grading work begins. During this stage, the contractors will need to combine their expertise, experience, and the use of equipment to do the job.
Land Grading Contractors Ensure Safety
The contractors’ primary responsibility is to ensure the construction project’s overall safety – this includes the construction workers and the surroundings.
To achieve this, they don’t cut corners, ensure proper planning, use the right equipment, and follow all land grading best practices.