Site Grading in Dearborn, MI

Grading is the work of shaping the surface of a lot so water drains away from buildings and toward the places it should go. On a flat Dearborn parcel, the difference between a dry basement and a wet one often comes down to a few inches of fall across the yard. As a grading contractor working these soils, our job is to establish that fall and hold it with properly compacted material.

The warning signs that a site needs grading are usually visible after a storm: puddles that sit for a day or more, soggy low spots near the house, mulch and topsoil washing toward the foundation, or a downspout that dumps into a depression instead of draining off. New construction almost always needs grading before landscaping, and older lots that have settled often need it re-established.

This is one piece of a larger site-work picture. Grading pairs closely with drainage excavation when surface slope alone can't move the water, and it follows land clearing on lots that still have stumps, brush, or old fill in the way.

Dearborn sits on glacial soils that run from sand to heavy clay, sometimes within the same lot. Sandy areas drain fast but can slump if not compacted; clay sheds water and holds it at the surface, which makes correct slope even more important. Reading which soil you're working in changes how much fall you need and how the fill is placed.

Lake-effect moisture keeps the ground damp through much of the year, and hard winter freezes heave saturated soil. Grading that ignores drainage will re-fail after a few freeze-thaw cycles. We grade with the wet season and the freeze in mind, which is why compaction and a clear outfall for the water matter as much as the finished look.