Residential Excavating & Grading Step by Step

Vacant Land Excavation - Step 1

At first a vacant piece of land starts out with the calling of Miss Dig to locate and stake all of the underground utilities. After they have staked the utilities, the engineer comes out to the property to stake the layout of the proposed house/building. Once the layout has been staked out an excavator is brought to the site to begin excavation of the basement.
 

Basement excavation process Step - 2

The first step of the basement excavation is to find the proposed elevation of the basement floor and locate the water and sewer service location. Locating the sewer tap, water tap, and sump line tap is done before excavation of the basement begins. The tap locations are shown on the engineered site plan. Next, the sewer line, water line, and sump line (storm water discharge), are excavated in a trench and installed in the new home. The hole for the basement foundation is dug with an excavator.
 

Basement Foundation Process - Backfill - Step 3

The installation of the basement foundation includes the footing and walls with approved drainage system on the outside of the foundation. Once the basement walls are installed and the building inspector has approved the foundation for backfill, a dozer is brought in to push the existing soils back in the hole against the foundation walls; this process is a backfill.
 

Rough Grade Process - Step 4

When the house is framed and the exterior siding and drywall have been delivered, it is ready for a rough grade and cut out for driveway and sidewalks. A rough grade is when the new home is ready for the installation of the driveway, sidewalks, and grading of the property is done to ensure proper drainage for storm water. Last, after the driveway and sidewalks have been installed, a final grade is done.
 

Final Grade - Step 5

The final grade consists of grading the property to all proposed elevations on the engineered site plan for proper drainage and to touch up any settling that may have occurred during the construction process. A final grade needs to be completed and approved by the city and engineer to receive the Certificate of Occupancy for the home.