Grading &
Drainage Prep
Water moves where grade tells it to. If the grade is wrong, water finds the foundation, the slab, or the neighbor's property — and that's a failed drainage review, a warranty claim, or a city notice. We finish grade to the engineered plan and document it with RTK before we leave.
Four Scope Items.
Water Goes Where the Plan Says.
Finish Grade to Engineered Plan
We grade to the drainage plan — not to "looks flat." Every finished surface gets slope direction and percentage matched to what the civil engineer or architect specified. If there's no plan, we grade to industry minimums and document what we built.
Swale Formation + Surface Flow
Swales collect and route water off the lot. We form them to the plan dimensions, verify they drain continuously with no low spots that would allow ponding, and check them against adjacent grades so they actually connect to the downstream system.
Re-Sloping + Corrective Grade
When existing grade has settled, was built wrong, or doesn't match what the drainage plan calls for — we re-slope. This is common on lots that have been through multiple contractors, infill sites with legacy fill that has shifted, or older pads that need adjustment before a new structure goes in.
Surface Drainage Add-Ons
When grading alone isn't enough to move water off a constrained lot, we add surface drainage elements that pair directly with the grading work — catch basins at low points, channel drains at structures, and French drain stubs where sheet flow needs to transition underground.
Three Reasons Grading
Fails Inspection.
Drainage review failures in Austin and Salt Lake City almost always trace back to the same root causes — and none of them are exotic. They're execution problems that happen when grading is treated as an afterthought rather than a documented deliverable.
Grade verified by eye, not instrument. "It looks right" doesn't hold up against a city inspector with a level. RTK grid documentation gives you something to stand behind if the review gets contested.
Slope direction wrong at the foundation. The most common failure: positive drainage toward the structure instead of away. Usually happens when a contractor grades "level" instead of grading to a plan.
Swale has a low spot that ponds. A swale that doesn't drain continuously creates a standing water point. Austin's expansive clay makes this worse — water that ponds at the edge of the lot ends up at the foundation.
Grade Documented.
Not Assumed.
Most grading contractors hand off with a verbal — "looks good." We hand off with an RTK elevation grid across every finished surface. You have a document. Your GC has a document. Your inspector has a document.
The Drainage Review
Is the Finish Line.
For infill developers in Austin, a drainage review failure doesn't just cost a week — it can unwind a permit, trigger a full re-survey, and put the build schedule six weeks back. The city's reviewer has a level and a plan set. You need to have graded to that plan set.
RTK documentation is what closes that gap. We grade to plan, verify with instrument, and send you the data. If a reviewer questions a slope, you have the shot data. If a GC questions a swale elevation, you have the grid. It's not extra paperwork — it's your protection against a failed review.
- Grade verified to engineered plan dimensions, not visual inspection
- Swale elevations shot to confirm continuous fall — no ponding points
- Elevation data delivered before demobilization
- Pairs with site prep and pad prep — no additional mobilization for the final grade pass
From Rough Grade to
Drainage Review Ready.
Plan Review + Scope Confirmation
We review the drainage plan or grading plan before mobilizing. Target elevations, slope directions, swale dimensions, and drainage structure locations are all confirmed against what's on the ground before the first blade pass. If there's no plan, we document what we're grading to and confirm with you before we start.
Existing Grade Assessment
We shoot the existing grade with RTK before touching it. This gives us a baseline — we know where the high and low spots are, how much material needs to move, and whether the existing conditions are close to plan or significantly off. No surprises once we start.
Rough Grade + Swale Formation
We move material to get close to target elevation and form the primary drainage features — swales, berms, and transitions between grade zones. This is the bulk of the earthwork. We work from high points toward drainage outlets so water has a continuous path.
Final Grade Pass
Final pass refines slope percentages, eliminates any low spots or flat spots in drainage paths, and brings the surface to finish tolerance. At this stage we're checking slope with every pass — not eyeballing it at the end.
RTK Verification Grid
Before we demobilize, every finished drainage surface gets an RTK elevation grid. Swales are shot along their full length to confirm continuous fall. Slopes adjacent to the structure are verified against the plan. We find problems before your inspector does.
Surface Drainage Add-Ons (if scoped)
If the project includes catch basins, channel drains, or French drain stubs, these are installed after final grade is set and verified. We don't install drainage structures and then try to grade around them — grade first, structures after, so everything ties in cleanly.
What Grading & Drainage
Actually Costs.
Grading is typically bundled with site prep or comes as the final phase of an excavation project. These ranges apply when grading and drainage are scoped as a standalone engagement — most often on sites where prior work has been done and the final grade pass is all that remains.
| Scope | Lot Size | Timeline | Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Grade + RTK Verification | Residential lot | 1–2 days | $1,500–$3,000 | Finish grade to plan, swale verification, elevation grid delivered |
| Re-Slope + Corrective Grade | Residential lot | 1–3 days | $2,000–$4,000 | Existing grade corrected to plan — legacy fill, settled pads, wrong slope direction |
| Swale Formation (standalone) | Per swale run | Half–1 day | $800–$2,000 | New swale formed and verified, including connection to downstream drainage |
| Surface Drainage Add-On | Per structure | Concurrent | $800–$2,500 | Catch basins, channel drains, French drain stubs — tied into final grade |
| Grading + Pad Prep Bundle | 0.25–1 acre | 3–6 days | $6,500–$16,000 | Full site prep + final drainage grade in one mobilization — most common scope |
The Drainage Review
Is Someone's Problem. Make It Ours.
Your Pro Forma Doesn't Have Room
For a Failed Drainage Review.
Austin's drainage review is one of the most common single-point delays on infill projects. A re-grade and re-inspection adds two to six weeks to a schedule that was already tight. The fix isn't a better grading contractor — it's a grading contractor who delivers documentation your reviewer can verify against the approved plan.
ClearGround grades to your civil engineer's plan, verifies with RTK, and sends you the elevation grid before we leave the site. If the inspector shows up and questions a slope percentage, you have data. That's the difference.
- Grade verified against approved drainage plan, not visual check
- RTK elevation documentation delivered before demobilization
- Swales shot along full length — continuous fall confirmed, no low spots
- Heritage tree CRZ respected throughout grading — flagged before we start
- Usually bundled with clearing and pad prep — one mobilization, full sequence
What People Ask
Before They Call.
Drainage Review Ready.
Documented. Handed Off.
Tell us what you've got and we'll quote from your drainage plan. No guesswork, no ranges that change once we're on-site.