What we do · Mass Grading & Earthwork
Cut, Fill and the Cost of Moving Dirt
Shaping the site to the design grades, where the cost is decided by whether the earthwork balances.
The survey, the geotechnical report and what you intend to build. That is enough to tell you what the site work involves.
Retention
In Florida it takes real acreage, before the building
Self-perform
Dewatering and deep foundations in house
Yield
The site work decides how much you can build
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
Import and export are both expensive
A site that balances — where cut equals fill — moves dirt around and pays for machines. A site that needs material imported, or worse needs unsuitable material removed and replacement brought in, pays for trucking on every load. On flat Florida sites raised to drainage grade, import is common and it is frequently underestimated.
What drives the number
- Whether cut and fill balance across the site.
- How much fill is needed to reach drainage grades.
- Unsuitable material identified in the geotechnical report.
- Haul distance to a source or a disposal site.
- Compaction requirements and testing.
How we handle it
- 01Take off quantities from the actual grading plan.
- 02Read the geotechnical report for unsuitable material.
- 03Price import and export honestly rather than assuming balance.
- 04Compact and test to the specification.
- 05Protect the site from erosion during the work.
Ask whether the earthwork balances before the grading plan is finalized. A design adjustment of a few inches across a site can turn an import job into a balanced one, and it is a free saving if anybody asks in time.
Said plainly
Where we stop
We will not assume a site balances. On Florida sites raised to drainage grade, import is common and pricing on an assumed balance is how earthwork budgets are exceeded.
FAQ
Common questions
- What makes earthwork expensive?
- Import and export. A balanced site moves dirt; an unbalanced one pays for trucking every load.
- Can the design reduce it?
- Frequently, if asked before the grading plan is final. It is a free saving.
- What is unsuitable material?
- Soil the geotechnical report says cannot support the works. It has to be removed and replaced.
- Do you assume balance?
- No. On Florida sites raised to grade, import is common.
The risks
The Geotechnical Report
A few thousand dollars of borings routinely prevents hundreds of thousands in change orders, and it is still the thing owners economize on.
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The Water Table
Florida's water table is close to the surface, and on coastal sites it moves with the tide.
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Unsuitable Material
Organic soils, uncontrolled fill and material that will not support the works. It has to come out, and something has to go back in.
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Permitting
Horizontal work touches more agencies than the building does, and the approvals frequently run in sequence.
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What the Survey Missed
A topographic survey shows the surface. What is underneath is the source of most site work surprises.
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More what we do
Clearing & Demolition
The first package on any site, and the one that reveals what the survey did not show.
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Stormwater
Florida requires stormwater to be managed on site, and doing so consumes a genuine share of the land.
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Utilities
Water, sewer, electric, gas and telecommunications, and whether the capacity you need exists at the boundary.
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.