Richard Bardy
2026-09-01
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond 5 Stars! If you have a complex land, grading, or drainage issue, look no further than Brian at Custom Cut Land Works. We hired Brian to rework ou… Read more
How we grade in Mauldin depends on the ground we’re given: 1980s lots in Planters Row and Forrester Woods, with forty-year-old grading coming due.
Drainage grading has a measurable standard: ground should fall away from your foundation about a quarter inch per foot, a 2% slope, for the first six to ten feet. We grade to that number and verify it by instrument, because a yard that looks flat to the eye can still hold water. Upstate red clay raises the stakes. Our Cecil-series subsoil is nearly impermeable once compacted, so the surface has to move the water — the ground won’t absorb it.
The other half of quality grading is what’s underneath. Fill dumped in one thick layer settles as it wets and dries, cracking the slab or patio above it a year or three later. We place fill in thin lifts and compact every one with dedicated equipment. And we won’t work red clay wet: pushing mud to hit a schedule smears the clay into a crust that causes drainage problems for good.
Laser on site, existing falls measured. We find where the water actually goes before we move dirt.
Organics stripped, fill placed in thin lifts, each lift compacted. No loose fill, no future settling.
Falls away from the foundation at the 2% standard; swales carry water to a proper outlet.
Grades re-checked by instrument; bare clay stabilized so it doesn’t wash before grass takes hold.
Yes. Pads are cut, filled, and compacted in lifts with a roller, then checked with the laser. A pad that isn’t compacted properly settles later, and everything on top settles with it.
Standing water after rain, soggy spots that never dry, or water running toward your foundation are the classic signs. Grading reshapes the slope so water moves away from the house and off the usable parts of your yard.
Not for most residential-scale jobs. Mauldin is a co-permittee in Greenville County's stormwater program, and a land disturbance permit is required at one acre or more of disturbance, with stormwater-quality requirements starting at 10,000 square feet. Erosion-control practices are still required on any land-disturbing work, so silt fence and stabilization are part of the job no matter the size.
Custom Cut Land Works
Based on 1 Google reviews
Richard Bardy
2026-09-01
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond 5 Stars! If you have a complex land, grading, or drainage issue, look no further than Brian at Custom Cut Land Works. We hired Brian to rework ou… Read more
Free written estimate. See the price before any work begins.