Water decides more than anything else on site
Almost every expensive site problem is a water problem. A pad set too low, a drive that channels runoff at a garage door, a lot graded so the neighbor’s water becomes yours. Fixing that after the slab is poured costs many times what getting it right first would have.
Northwest Arkansas ground makes this worse than average. Rock shows up where you did not plan for it, slopes are steeper than they look on a plat, and clay does not drain. We walk the site and tell you what the ground is actually going to do before anyone quotes a foundation.
Site work, start to finish
The half of a project that is finished before most people think it has started.
Clearing and demolition
Trees, brush, stumps and existing structures removed, with what stays chosen deliberately rather than by whatever the machine could reach.
Cut and fill grading
Moving dirt to get the site to the elevations the build needs, balanced on site where possible so you are not paying to haul.
Building pads
Pads built and compacted at the right elevation, which is what a foundation and a drainage plan both depend on.
Drainage
Swales, slopes and drainage routed so water leaves the site away from the building and does not become the neighbor’s problem or theirs yours.
Drives and approach
Drives and approaches at grades a loaded concrete truck can actually climb, planned for construction traffic as well as your car.
Utility trenching
Trenching and routing for water, sewer or septic, power and gas, coordinated so nothing gets dug up twice.
Getting the ground right
Walk it and read the water
Where does water come from, where does it go, and where will it go once there is a roof and a driveway on the site. Everything else follows from that.
Set elevations
Pad height, drive grade and drainage fall decided as one set of numbers rather than three separate decisions made weeks apart.
Clear and move dirt
Clearing, cut and fill, compaction and pad construction, balanced on site to keep haul costs down where the ground allows.
Drives, drainage, utilities
Approach and drive built, drainage cut in and utility trenching run before the building goes vertical.
Acreage, drives and long utility runs
Rural lots bring their own problems: long drives, distant utilities, septic fields and access a delivery truck can actually use. On the Benson Rd build in Gravette, all of that had to be solved before the shell went up.
See the project gallery →Site development questions
How much does it cost to clear and grade a lot?
It depends on trees, slope, rock and how far dirt has to move. Anyone giving you a number without walking the ground is guessing, and rock in particular can change a site budget substantially.
Do you handle drainage?
Yes, and it is the most important thing we do. Pad elevation, drive grade and drainage fall get decided together, because getting one wrong makes the other two useless.
Can you prepare a site for a barndominium or shop?
Yes. Rural pads, long drives, septic and utility runs are routine work for us, and it is the same crew that preps our own residential builds.
What if there is rock on my lot?
It happens often in this area. We find it early, tell you what it means for cost and, where possible, adjust the pad or the layout instead of paying to break through it.
Have the ground read first
Before you price a foundation, have someone walk the site and tell you what the dirt, the slope and the water are going to do. That visit costs nothing and it routinely saves five figures.