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Site prep

Ground made ready for something to be built on it — stripped, cut to grade, compacted, based and drained, across Jefferson and St. Louis County.

What this actually involves

Site prep, in plain terms

Site prep is the work that happens between deciding to build something and anybody arriving to build it. A shed, a shop, a garage, an addition, a driveway, a patio: all of them need a piece of ground that is at the right level, solid enough to carry what is going on it, and shaped so that water leaves rather than collects.

The order matters more than any single step. Topsoil comes off first and gets stockpiled — it is organic, it compresses and rots, and anything built on top of it will settle. Then the subgrade is cut to level and compacted, because loose fill is the single most common reason a slab cracks or a shed goes out of square. Then base rock goes on and gets levelled. Then, and only then, drainage is checked one last time against the finished height.

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What is included

The list

  • Topsoil strip and stockpile
  • Cut to grade and compaction
  • Base rock placed and levelled
  • Building, shed and garage pads
  • Driveway and parking bases
  • Positive drainage away from the build

Not sure which of these you need? Most people are not. Tell us what the ground looks like now and Bryer will work it out on site.

When people call about this

Reasons this ends up on the list

  • A shed, shop, garage or addition going in and no pad yet
  • A concrete crew asking for a prepared, compacted base
  • A new drive or parking area that needs a subgrade before rock
  • Ground that falls towards where the building is going
  • A previous pad that has settled, cracked or gone out of level
  • Topsoil that needs stripping and somewhere to put it

How it goes

From the walk-through to the finished ground

STEP 01

Set the height and the footprint

Where exactly the thing sits, and what height its finished floor needs to be relative to everything around it — especially the house.

STEP 02

Strip and stockpile

Topsoil off and set aside for reuse, not buried under the pad. Organic material under a build is future settlement.

STEP 03

Cut and compact

Subgrade cut to level and compacted in place. This is the step that is invisible afterwards and decides everything.

STEP 04

Base rock and drainage

Rock placed and levelled to the finished height, with the surrounding ground shaped so water runs away from the build.

Questions

Site Prep: common questions

Why strip the topsoil instead of building on it?
Topsoil is organic. It holds water, it compresses under load and the organic matter in it breaks down over time, so anything sitting on it settles — unevenly, and years later. It comes off, gets stockpiled, and usually goes back around the finished work where it is actually useful.
Do I need base rock under a shed?
It depends what the shed sits on and what the ground under it is, and that is a walk-through question rather than a phone question. A compacted subgrade with base rock drains and carries load; bare soil does neither. If the honest answer for your site is that you do not need it, you will get told that.
Can you prep a pad for a concrete crew?
Yes — that is one of the most common versions of this job. Tell us the dimensions and the finished height the concrete crew wants and the pad gets built to it. If they have a spec, pass it on before the estimate rather than after.
Who calls 811 before you dig?
Utility locates have to be done before any machine goes in the ground, on every job, and they are free. Agree who is placing the call as part of the estimate so it is not left assumed — it is the single cheapest step in the whole process and the most expensive one to skip.
Ask Us Anything

The other five

Most jobs turn out to be two of these

Usually the thing you called about, plus the drainage problem underneath it. All five are run by the same owner with the same machines, so they happen in one visit rather than three.

Dirt Work & Grading

Cut and fill, yard regrading, driveway repair, drainage runs, swales, arena and pad footing, and trench digging.

See dirt work and grading

Drainage & Ditch Work

Surface regrading, swales and rock-lined runs, ditch cleaning and reshaping, French drains, downspout runs, culverts and trench digging.

See drainage and ditch work

Hardscaping

Rock and gravel placement, drainage runs, rip-rap, retaining and boulder walls, regraded banks, gravel drives and erosion control.

See hardscaping

Demolition

Sheds, outbuildings and garages, decks, fences and porches, concrete slabs and old driveways, pool removal and backfill, interior tear-outs, haul-away and final grade.

See demolition

Land Clearing

Brush and scrub clearing, small timber and tree removal, fence line and property line clearing, overgrown lot reclamation, stump and root removal, debris hauled off site.

See land clearing

Where we work: Hillsboro · Arnold · Festus · Imperial · Fenton · De Soto · Pevely · High Ridge · Oakville · Mehlville · Sunset Hills · Kirkwood · Valley Park · Affton — and the rest of Jefferson County and St. Louis County. See the full service area.

Site Prep in Jefferson or St. Louis County?

Tell us the address and what the ground is doing. Bryer comes out, walks it with you and gives you a number — free, and with nothing attached to it. Repeat customers get 10% off.

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