Rough Grading
If your yard slopes, creating a flat space can require a lot of earth moving. Use the calculator (right) to determine how much dirt you'll be moving.
Enter the length and width of the flat space you want. Next, enter the depth of soil to cut (a retaining wall over 3 feet may require a permit). Finally, enter the total
rise
of the section you'll be working on.
Ideally, the volume you cut will equal the volume you fill so you won't need to buy or dispose of extra soil.
Rough grading creates the basic contours of your landscape. You can do it with just a shovel or with a landscape contractor and a bulldozer. Follow these steps:
1. Mark out features on the ground. Use
landscape paint,
sprinkled flour, or stakes and string. At high and low points, place stakes marked with the number of feet to cut or fill.
2. Create terraces by cutting and filling.
3. Make cuts for footings. The
footing
depth depends on what you're building and how deeply the soil freezes in your area. Consult your local building department.
4. Grade for walkways, patios, lawns and plant beds. Soil under these features should slope at ╝ inch per foot to guide rainwater away from your house or toward
catch basins. Mark the grade with stakes, string and a
line level, then dig and rake accordingly, removing enough to allow for the thickness of the pavement.
Tools
shovel
steel rake
wheelbarrow
tractor with front-end loader and rear scraper
backhoe
Tool and hardware-related resources on the Web