Services
Landscaping
I take yards from dirt to done: grading, topsoil, rock beds, sod prep, and the drainage that keeps it all where you put it.
What it actually involves
My landscaping is the ground itself: rough and finish grading, topsoil, rock beds, sod prep, and the drainage that decides whether a new yard stays a yard. If your project is mostly plants and sprinklers, that’s a different trade and I’ll say so.
What it costs, and what drives it
Finish grade and sod prep on a small lot might be $1,500–$4,000; a full from-dirt yard with walls, drainage, topsoil, and rock can run $10,000–$40,000+. What moves the number:
- Starting point: debris-filled builder backfill costs more to fix than clean rough grade
- Topsoil: trucked-in soil is a real line item
- Drainage scope: swales and downspout runs are cheap now, expensive after sod
- Rock and boulder quantity: material plus placement time
Phasing is normal: dirt and drainage one season, finish surfaces the next.
Building yards on this ground
New-construction yards here mostly start the same way: compacted builder backfill, a skiff of soil, and a grade that pushes water at the foundation. The fix is ripping the compaction and correcting the grade, not more topsoil on top.
Secondary water lines are shallow, unmarked, and everywhere in this valley; they get located before any ripping. And sod on two inches of soil over clay dies its first February. Soil depth (4–6" under sod) is the cheapest insurance a yard can buy.