Dirtwork term
Mass Grading
also called: site grading
Large-scale cutting and filling to reshape an entire site to a planned set of elevations.
Mass grading is the big-equipment phase of a subdivision or commercial site build, where the whole property gets reshaped to the engineered plan in one coordinated pass. Cut from the high spots, fill to the low spots, balance the quantities so as little dirt as possible has to be hauled in or out.
Driven by civil engineering. The engineer's drawing shows existing contours, proposed contours, cut and fill quantities, and finished elevations for every pad and access point. The dirt contractor's job is to make the as-built match the drawing.
In East Texas, mass grading windows matter, you want to be done before the rainy season turns your site into a clay slip-and-slide. Cut-and-fill balancing is more art than people realize, the same site graded by two different contractors can yield wildly different haul-off costs.
Services where this shows up
We use mass grading on
Related terms
Other words that come up alongside this one
Cut and Fill
Moving dirt from high areas (cut) to low areas (fill) to reach a planned grade, balanced so net hauling is minimized.
Pad
Prepared, compacted area of ground sized and elevated for a structure to be built on top of it.
Sub-grade
The natural soil surface that supports everything you build on top of it, pad, road base, slab.
Take-off
The process of measuring quantities off engineering drawings to bid a dirt-moving job accurately.
Compaction
Mechanical pressing of soil to reduce air voids, increase density, and provide a stable surface.
Get in Touch
Ready to Start
Your Project?
Call or send a message. We respond within one business day and come to you for the estimate, no charge, no obligation.
- Free on-site estimates
- Response within 1 business day
- Licensed & insured
Step 1 of 6
What's your first name?
So we know who we're talking to.