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    Radcliff Construction Group
    Site Works

    Commercial Site Grading

    Rough, fine, and finish grading at landscape-supporting scale — coordinated with civil drawings and the broader landscape and hardscape scope. Not civil-scale sitework.

    Earthwork That Doesn't Become Someone Else's Problem

    Site grading is where commercial landscape projects compound their problems. Cut too deep and you're hauling fill back in. Strip topsoil without staging it and you're buying replacement soil at the end of the job. Miss a positive-drainage requirement at a planting bed or building threshold and you're tearing up landscape to add a swale six months later. RCG's site grading work runs at landscape-supporting scale — not civil-scale earthwork — and is integrated with the civil drawings from the start: cut/fill balanced, topsoil staged on-site for reuse, drainage targets verified during fine grading rather than after sod is laid. We do the earthwork that supports the rest of the site work, and we make sure the next trade isn't fighting our exit.

    • Site Stripping & Topsoil Management: Strip, stockpile, and re-use topsoil on-site rather than hauling and replacing.
    • Cut/Fill at Landscape Scale: Balanced cut/fill plans coordinated with civil drawings — sized for typical commercial landscape and hardscape footprints, not civil-scale mass grading.
    • Building Pad Preparation: Compaction-tested building pads to civil engineer or structural specifications, with proof rolls.
    • Fine Grading: Final surface grading to drainage targets — typically ±0.10 ft tolerance for landscape, tighter for hardscape and pavement subgrade.
    • Finish Shaping & Slope Transitions: Berms, swales, planting-bed contours, and grade transitions tied to the design intent on landscape and hardscape drawings.
    • Tied to Landscape Install: Grading delivered as part of the landscape install scope or as a discrete prep package, with the next trade's needs already in mind.
    • As-Built Survey: Final grade verification by survey at substantial completion for as-built submittal.

    Coordinated With Civil Drawings

    Site grading isn't a freelance scope. We work from the civil engineer's grading plan and finished-grade elevations — building the site they designed, not the site we'd prefer. Where field conditions diverge from the drawing, we coordinate with the civil engineer rather than improvise.

    Topsoil Reused, Not Replaced

    Most commercial sites have salvageable topsoil if it's stripped and stored correctly. Our default is to strip, stockpile, and re-spread for the landscape scope — saving material costs and avoiding the haul-in expense at sod and plant install.

    Landscape-Supporting Scale, Not Civil-Scale

    RCG's grading scope is sized for typical commercial landscape and hardscape projects — building pad prep, finish grading, and slope construction at the scale that supports a paver plaza, a sod install, or a building exterior renovation. Major mass grading on 10+ acre sites, deep cuts, blasting, or major utility corridors are civil-scale work; we partner with established earthwork contractors on that scope rather than competing with them.

    Commercial Site Grading FAQs

    Landscape-supporting scale: rough, fine, and finish grading for landscape and lawn areas, building pad prep at typical commercial footprint, slope construction for grade transitions, and topsoil placement. We do NOT do civil-scale sitework — large-scale mass grading on 10+ acre sites, deep cuts, blasting, or major utility corridors. For civil-scale work we partner with established earthwork contractors and deliver landscape-supporting grading inside that scope.

    Stripping runs roughly $2.25–$5.00 per cubic yard. Fine grading runs $0.40–$2.00 per square foot depending on tolerance and complexity. Landscape-supporting grading on a typical commercial site falls in the $25,000–$150,000 range, sized to acreage, cut/fill volume, and topsoil reuse vs. import.

    That's the typical scope. Site grading, paver and hardscape, sod, and landscape install are usually tightly sequenced — and integrating them under a single RCG contract eliminates the trade-coordination tax and the "who's responsible for the grade at the bed edge" question. See our Integrated Exterior Renovation page for the broader scope-bundling case.

    RCG's existing commercial GC business handles occupied-facility renovations daily — including healthcare campuses with ICRA considerations, retail centers staying open during exterior work, and corporate sites with active staff. The same project-management approach applies to Site Works grading scopes: phased schedules, dust and noise management, and clear coordination with facility operations.

    Yes. We install to the civil drawings — grading plan, drainage targets, and finished-grade elevations as drawn. Where field conditions diverge from the plan, we coordinate with the civil engineer for direction rather than improvising. Final-grade verification is typically by survey at substantial completion for as-built submittal.

    Related Site Works pages

    Commercial Landscape InstallationPavers and HardscapeCommercial SodIntegrated Exterior RenovationSite Works Hub

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    Whether it's a healthcare renovation, professional facility upgrade, or commercial buildout, we're here to deliver exceptional results with minimal disruption. Let's talk about your project.

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