Dirt Work & Yard Grading in Columbus, OH

Dirt work and yard grading in Columbus is the part of a lawn job nobody sees and every lawn depends on. A yard that holds puddles, slopes toward the house, or sits on compacted fill with an inch of topsoil will not grow good grass no matter what seed goes on it. We do the land grading, soil prep and topsoil work that comes before seeding, and we take on grading jobs on their own when a yard simply needs to drain.

Flat land, slow drainage

Central Ohio is flat because a glacier covered most of the state in the last ice age. The soils it left behind are often silt loam over dense, clay-rich till. The USDA's description of the Crosby series, common on Ohio and Indiana till plains, notes a perched water table that can sit 0.5 to 2 feet below the surface in winter and spring. On ground that flat and that slow to drain, a few inches of grade make the difference between a dry lawn and a soggy one. Our goal on most jobs is positive slope away from the foundation and a clear path for water to reach a swale, the street or a drain.

Fine grading and topsoil

Fine grading is the last pass before seed: removing rocks and debris, filling small dips, and leaving a smooth, firm surface that will mow evenly. When builders strip topsoil or bury it under subsoil from the basement dig, the yard ends up growing grass in clay. We spread screened topsoil to bring the root zone back, blending it into the surface so there is no hard layer underneath. Where the ground has been driven on all summer, we rip or till the compacted layer first.

Drainage fixes

Some yards need more than a few loads of dirt. Low spots that never dry out, water running toward a basement, or downspouts that flood the lawn may need a shallow swale or a buried line. The same crew that grades your yard digs the trenches for drain lines and downspout extensions, so grading and drainage get done as one job.

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Before you seed or sod

Whether you hire us to hydroseed or not, the same rules apply. Get the grade right first, because seed or sod on a bad grade means tearing it out later. Test the soil if the yard has had problems. And plan the timing: grading in spring when Central Ohio ground is saturated smears and compacts the soil, so we schedule heavy dirt work for when the ground has dried enough to work.

Utility locates

Before any digging or trenching, underground utilities have to be marked. We call in locates before work and keep equipment clear of marked lines.