House Pad Construction in Fairview, TX: Tiered Pad on a Four Acre Hillside Lot
Fairview, Texas (Collin County)
House pad construction in Fairview, TX for a custom home builder on a four acre hillside lot. Cut and fill grading, imported low-PI select fill, lift compaction, and a finished pad tiered for the house, patio and office.
The project
The Job
A custom home builder in Fairview called for house pad construction on a four acre hillside lot. Building on a slope without cut and fill would leave part of the house buried in the hill and the rest hanging in the air, so the pad had to be cut into the high side and built up on the low side.
The finished pad also had to be tiered for three things at different elevations: the house, the patio and an office, and it had to shed water away from the foundation on a lot where rain runs downhill toward a creek.
The work
What We Did
We cut the high side of the lot and filled the low side, then trucked in low-PI select fill to bring the pad up to grade, because the site did not have enough suitable material on its own.
The fill was placed in lifts and compacted with a padfoot compactor, one lift at a time. The pad was shaped into tiers for the house, patio and office, and the dirt uphill of the house was crowned so rain sheds around the pad and down toward the creek instead of against the foundation.
Equipment
Equipment on Site
- Padfoot compactor for compacting select fill in lifts
- Cut and fill grading equipment across the hillside
- Trucked-in low-PI select fill
Finished
The Result
A tiered, compacted house pad on a hillside lot that used to have no level ground on it, crowned to shed water and ready for the foundation crew. The aerial photos show the house, patio and office pads taking shape at their separate elevations.
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Questions
Questions about this project
What is house pad construction?
House pad construction is building a level, compacted dirt base for a home's foundation. The pad is built in layers of low-PI fill, each compacted before the next goes on.
What are the steps to building a house pad?
Set grade stakes and check benchmarks. Strip the grass. Rough grade and import dirt. Fill the pad in lifts and compact each lift. Finish grade the top for the foundation.
Why do house pads on hillside lots need cut and fill?
Building on a slope without cut and fill would leave part of the house buried in the hill and the rest hanging in the air. The high side is cut, the low side is filled, and more dirt is trucked in if needed.
What is silt fence for?
Silt fence keeps loose dirt from eroding down the hill and into creeks during construction. It comes down once grass is established.
How does a house pad handle water runoff?
The dirt uphill of the house is crowned so rain sheds away from the pad, around the edges, and down toward a creek instead of against the foundation.
Need Grading and Dirt Work in Fairview?
Tell us what the job involves and we will come look at it. Estimates are free and we respond in about a day.