Grading and Earthwork
Earthwork is where Southern California projects are won or lost. It is the largest line item on most site packages, the hardest to price, and the one where a mistake is buried before anybody sees it.
We have been grading in this region since 1994. Our bids reflect what the geotechnical report actually requires rather than what the plan quantity suggests.
The bid is only as good as the geotechnical read
A grading plan shows finished contours. It does not show how deep you have to dig before you find material you are allowed to build on, whether that material can be reused, how much water is in it, or how far you will be hauling the difference. Those four answers determine the price, and they come out of the geotechnical report, the site walk, and experience in that specific submarket.
What we build
Grade control and tolerance
We work to machine control and conventional staking depending on the scope and the tolerance required. On projects where the tolerance is genuinely tight, such as a test facility, an athletic surface, or a large pad supporting a structural design that assumes it, survey control across the whole site is its own undertaking and we price it as one.
Compaction and documentation
Relative compaction, lift thickness, and moisture are recorded as the fill goes in, coordinated with the geotechnical engineer of record and the special inspector. The pad certification at the end is only possible if the record was built along the way. We have been on the other side of that conversation as a construction manager, so we know what the reviewing engineer is going to ask for.
Quantities and measurement
On unit price work we establish the measurement protocol before the first cut, with joint survey at the agreed intervals. Earthwork quantity disputes are settled by data collected while the work is open, never by argument afterward.
Earthwork capabilities
- Mass grading at production scale
- Remedial grading to geotechnical recommendation
- Overexcavation and undercut
- Rock excavation and processing
- Moisture conditioning and recompaction
- Engineered fill placement
- Pad preparation and certification
- Subgrade preparation for paving
- Machine grade control
- Joint survey and quantity measurement
- Dewatering and groundwater management
- Haul road construction and maintenance
How we run this work
Every scope is bid against real quantities and built to the governing agency's standard.
A bid off real quantities
Takeoff performed by us against the plans and the geotechnical report, with remedial depth, import and export, and haul distance shown as separate line items.
Stated exclusions
A written list of what the number does not include, so there is no argument in month three about who owned the unknown.
Grade control plan
How we will hold grade and to what tolerance, including survey control across large sites.
Compaction record
Testing results, lift documentation, and moisture records compiled as the fill goes in and delivered at certification.
Quantity reconciliation
Joint survey at agreed intervals with a final measurement both parties have signed off on.
Pad certification package
The documentation the geotechnical engineer and the building department need to accept the pad.
Questions we get on this scope
How do you price remedial grading when the depth is unknown?
We price the depth the geotechnical report recommends and state it as an assumption with a unit price for the variance in either direction. Hiding that uncertainty inside a lump sum helps nobody: the owner overpays if it comes in shallow and there is a fight if it comes in deep.
Can you handle a site that does not balance?
Yes, and the first thing we will tell you is what the imbalance is actually costing. Import and export is priced on volume, haul distance, and the availability of a source or a receiving site, which in coastal Southern California is frequently the binding constraint. See mass excavation and import fill.
Do you handle rock?
Yes. Rippability comes out of the geotechnical report and rarely surprises us, though the extent often differs from what was drilled. We price conventional excavation, ripping, and processing separately so you can see which assumption is carrying the risk.
What about grading during the wet season?
Storm water permits limit how much soil can be exposed and when. We build the seasonal restriction into the schedule and the erosion control cost rather than discovering it in October. See erosion control and SWPPP.
Get a bid on grading and earthwork
Send us the plans, the specification, and the schedule you are working to. We will tell you whether we are the right contractor for it and what it will cost.
Send us the project
Tell us the site, the scope, and the deadline. Initial consultations carry no fee and no obligation.