Grading in Fallbrook costs $150 per hour with a 4-hour minimum, operator and fuel included. A level pad for a shed or a backyard that drains the right way takes 4 to 6 hours. A rough-graded ADU pad on a sloped lot usually runs 6 to 12 hours, plus any fill dirt the cut does not supply.
Grading is the job most people call a Bobcat for: cutting high spots, filling low ones, and leaving a surface that is level where you want level and sloped where you want water to go. It is the first step for a shed, a barn, a workshop, an ADU, a pool deck, a parking area or a yard that floods every winter.
On a hillside lot the work is cut and fill. We cut into the slope, push the material downhill to build the pad, and track-roll it in lifts so it packs instead of settling. When the cut does not supply enough fill we tell you how many yards to order, or arrange the delivery, before the machine arrives.
The finish depends on what comes next. A gravel parking area gets a crown so rain runs off. A shed pad gets a few inches of compacted base. An ADU pad is rough-graded to your plans so the foundation contractor sets forms without re-cutting it. Tell us what you are building and the pad is graded for it.
What is included
- ✓Site walk and grade check with you before the machine unloads
- ✓Cut and fill with the Bobcat T300; excavator for tight corners and hard cuts
- ✓Fill placed in lifts and track-rolled; vibratory compaction arranged when a plan calls for it
- ✓Drainage built into the grade so water leaves the pad, not into it
- ✓Spreading base rock, DG or gravel you order or we arrange
- ✓Rough or finish grade to match the next trade: shed, foundation, pavers, turf or gravel
Typical hours and cost
Everything is $150 per hour with a 4-hour minimum. Here is what the common versions of this job usually take.
| Typical job | Hours | At $150 per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Level a 12 x 20 ft shed or carport pad | 4 | $600 |
| Level a 2,000 sq ft backyard for turf, pavers or a play area | 4 to 6 | $600 to $900 |
| Grade a 1,000 to 1,200 sq ft ADU or garage pad on a flat lot | 6 to 8 | $900 to $1,200 |
| Cut and fill a pad into a hillside lot | 8 to 16 | $1,200 to $2,400 |
| Regrade a yard that floods toward the house | 4 to 8 | $600 to $1,200 |
| Grade and base a gravel parking area for an RV or trailer | 4 to 6 | $600 to $900 |
Hours are typical ranges for normal ground and access. Rock, roots, steep slopes and tight gates add time. Material, haul-off and dump fees are quoted separately. 4-hour minimum applies.
The equipment
- Bobcat T300 compact track loader with a general-purpose bucket for cut and fill and a tooth bucket for hard DG.
- Mini excavator for cutting into a bank, digging out stumps or boulders in the pad, and shaping drainage.
- Laser level and grade stakes for pads that have to meet a plan.
Grading in Fallbrook and North County
Almost every Fallbrook grading job is on a slope. The lots off Reche Road, Via Monserate, Olive Hill Road and up Rainbow Valley Boulevard were cut into hills for groves, and the flat spots were used up decades ago. Building a pad means cutting into decomposed granite that packs like concrete and holds a cut face well, which is good news for the pad and the reason we run a tracked machine.
The County of San Diego generally requires a grading permit when a project moves more than 200 cubic yards of soil, or involves cuts and fills beyond set heights, or sits in a sensitive area or near a watercourse. A shed pad, a yard leveling or a driveway repair stays well under that. A full ADU pad on a steep lot can approach it. We will tell you when a job looks like it needs a permit, and we grade to the engineered plan when it does.