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 Travelers Rest depends on the ground we’re given: foothill grades and fast-washing red clay above the trail town.
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.
We set a rotary laser level on the site and check grades against it as we work, instead of eyeballing the slope. It’s how building pads come out flat and drainage swales actually carry water where they should.
Usually, yes. Most residential drainage problems are slope problems: water with nowhere to go. Regrading, swales, and crowning solve what French drains often just hide.
Because on foothill slopes, water wins unless the driveway is built for it. Heavy Upstate rain on steep grades over shifting red clay takes out under-built drives fast. The lasting fix is a compacted aggregate base, a crown, ditching, and diversion that gets water off the surface. Re-graveling every year treats the symptom; rebuilding the base and drainage treats the cause.
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.