Sod, seed and pavers show every bump and low spot in the ground under them. We rough and finish grade yards so they drain away from the house and are ready for your landscaper, your sod crew or your own weekend work.
Grading for Landscaping in Boise
Most new yards in the valley start the same way. The builder hands over the keys, and the backyard is packed clay with tire ruts, lumber scraps and a few rocks. The HOA wants landscaping in by a deadline. The landscaper wants a finished grade before they'll bid sod and sprinklers.
That gap between bare dirt and a yard you can plant is what we fill. We grade yards in Boise, Meridian, Star, Kuna, Eagle and Nampa, for homeowners and for landscapers who would rather not run the dirt work themselves.
What We Check on the First Visit
We start at the house. We look at the grade along the foundation, the window wells, the AC pad and where each downspout lets out. Then we follow the water: where it goes now, how the neighbor's yard sits, and whether there's a swale or drain to carry it off. Gate and side-yard widths tell us what equipment fits. We also ask what's going in, since lawn, beds and pavers each need different heights.
The Order of Work for a New Yard
Getting the order right keeps you from tearing up new sod. Each trade needs the ground at a certain stage, and doing a step out of order usually means redoing the one before it. On most new-build yards in the valley, the work runs like this:
- Clean up and rough grade. Pull out construction debris, break up the ruts and shape the yard so water runs away from the house toward the street or a swale.
- Sprinklers and other lines. The sprinkler installer trenches in mains and laterals, plus any low-voltage lighting or drain pipe.
- Topsoil. Spread over the rough grade at the depth the plants need.
- Finish grade. Smooth the surface, settle the sprinkler trenches and set heights at sidewalks, patios and bed edges.
- Sod, seed, pavers or planting. Your landscaper or you take it from there.
Doing the finish grade before the sprinkler trenches go in means paying for it twice. Sprinkler trenches also settle. We fill and firm them during finish grade so they don't show up as sunken lines in the new lawn a month later.
Slope Away From the House
The building code calls for at least 6 inches of fall in the first 10 feet away from the foundation. On a new build that slope usually gets set at rough grade, then lost when topsoil is raked up against the house or a planting bed is built along the wall. We set finish grade so the slope still works after topsoil and mulch go on, and we keep the soil below the siding and the weep screed on stucco.
Past those first 10 feet, the water still needs a path, usually toward the street, a side-yard swale or a drain, and never onto the neighbor. If grading alone can't move it, see drainage solutions. If you want the yard shaped with berms or swales for looks, that's landscape contouring.
Topsoil Over Clay and Caliche
New lots in Meridian, Kuna and Nampa are often left with subsoil that's heavy clay or full of caliche. Sod laid straight on that struggles. Roots stay shallow, water runs off or puddles, and the lawn browns out in July.
The usual fix is a layer of good topsoil over the rough grade, often 4 to 6 inches for lawn and more in planting beds. Where the rough grade sits high, some dirt may need to come out first so the new topsoil doesn't end up above the sidewalk. See topsoil spreading and soil removal.
For sod, finish grade sits about an inch below sidewalks and driveway edges so the sod lands flush instead of sticking up and drying out along the concrete. Seeded areas sit closer to flush, since there's no sod thickness to make up. Bed edges and paver areas get their own heights based on the mulch, rock or base going in them.
Sprinkler Timing and Irrigation Season
Most of the valley waters lawns with pressurized irrigation that runs roughly April through October. New sod needs a lot of water right away, so a yard that's finish graded after the water shuts off may sit bare until spring. If you want a lawn before winter, get on the schedule in late summer.
Digline (811) doesn't mark private lines. If you already have a sprinkler system, flag the valve boxes and heads before we start. The same goes for low-voltage lighting, a buried downspout line or a gas line to a grill or fire pit. A shallow sprinkler lateral is easy to work around when it's flagged, and a repair job when a machine finds it first.
New-Build Yards in Meridian, Star and Kuna
Subdivisions in Meridian, Star and Kuna usually come with an HOA, and many HOAs give new owners a set amount of time to finish landscaping. Some want plans approved first. Check your CC&Rs when you close, because spring is when every new neighbor is calling the same landscapers. A rough grade done early gives your landscaper a clean start and keeps you ahead of the deadline.
Pavers, Patios and Play Areas
Hard surfaces need a firmer, flatter grade than lawn. For a paver patio we cut to the depth your installer needs for base and sand, keep a slight fall away from the house and leave the subgrade compacted. Play areas, sport courts and shed spots get a flat, firm surface. For larger areas that just need to be leveled, see grading and leveling.
Landscaping Dirt Work
Our landscaping work is the heavy part of the job: clearing out the old yard, removing sod and rock, bringing in topsoil, shaping beds and berms, cutting in paths and patio areas, and setting the grade so water runs away from the house. From there your landscaper, sod crew or you can take over. For berms, terraces and dry creek beds, see landscape contouring.
Why Hire Ultimate Excavation LLC
We're an Idaho registered contractor (RCE-65836) with a 5.0 rating on Google. Our reviews describe us as "professional, efficient and highly skilled" and say we "value communication and arrive on time," which counts when a landscaper and a sod delivery are waiting on the dirt work. Call (208) 697-2429 or request a free estimate.
