Land work in the old mill town at the Big Shoals of the Saluda River.
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 “looks flat” is how yards end up holding 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.
It depends on which side of the Saluda you are on. Piedmont straddles the Greenville and Anderson county line at the Highway 86 bridge: on the Anderson County side, the county Stormwater Department permits land disturbance, with plan review and state NPDES coverage required before ground is broken; on the Greenville County side, the county land disturbance permit applies at one acre or more. Knowing which side of the river your parcel sits on changes the paperwork, and we sort that out up front.
Free written estimate. See the price before any work begins.
