Site Prep & Pad Grading in Reno, NV

Site prep and pad grading is the work that happens before a slab, foundation or shop goes in: stripping vegetation and topsoil, cutting high ground, filling low ground, compacting a pad to the elevation on the plans, and shaping the surrounding grade so water runs away from the building. In Reno it usually means a detached garage or shop, an accessory dwelling unit, a home addition, a new house on an infill lot, or a level area for a greenhouse or barn on a rural parcel.

Desert soil needs moisture to compact

Dry, sandy valley soil does not compact well on its own. Fill and subgrade need water worked in until they reach the moisture the compaction spec calls for, and then they are placed and compacted in thin lifts. Skipping that step is a common reason pads settle unevenly. With Reno averaging about 7.35 inches of precipitation a year, we bring water to the job almost every time.

Hardpan under the pad

The USDA Reno soil series carries a very strongly cemented duripan 20 to 40 inches below the surface. Under a pad that layer can be an advantage, since it is firm, but it is a problem when footings or utilities need to go through it. We identify it early, often with a test hole, and price ripping or breaking only where the plans require going deeper.

Sloped lots and alluvial fans

Neighborhoods climbing toward the Carson Range and Peavine sit on alluvial fans: mixes of sand, gravel, cobbles and boulders washed down from the mountains. Cutting a pad into a fan means sorting rock, deciding what can be reused as fill, and planning where the extra material goes. Balancing cut and fill on site is far cheaper than hauling: HomeAdvisor lists cut-and-fill at $1 to $12 per cubic yard, compared with $8 to $25 for removal.

Drainage is part of the pad

A pad is only as good as the grade around it. Water from a sudden winter storm or summer thunderstorm needs a path away from the structure. We slope finished grade away from the footprint, cut swales where runoff from uphill lots would otherwise collect, and leave the site ready for the concrete or framing crew.

Permits and engineering

Larger grading jobs, retaining walls and building pads for permitted structures usually involve plans or a permit from the City of Reno, City of Sparks or the county. If the project has an engineer or a soils report, we build to it. If it does not, we tell you when we think one is warranted.