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What Does a Land Preparation Company Does?

The first step in any construction process – whether for a residential, commercial, industrial, government, or agricultural project – is preparing the construction site. This is the very reason you need to employ the services of a professional and reputable land preparation company.

Most importantly, a site preparation company will ensure that the location of your project is a safe working environment for everyone.

Before you begin building, extensive planning is needed. The process to prepare the site for construction is straightforwardly called site preparation.

It All Starts with Site Preparation

Generally, the success of a construction development project starts with proper site preparation. If you hire an inexperienced, ill-equipped, or shady land preparation company, don’t expect that your construction project is going to go smoothly and end successfully.

A land preparation company can take care of all your site prep needs.

You’d be setting yourself up for disappointment.

You’d also be wasting a lot of precious resources, time, and money if you fall short on on-site preparation.

That’s why the role of a professional land preparation company in any construction is vital.

Site Preparation 101

If you don’t have  a good understanding of what occurs during site preparation, we’ll explain it in this section of the article.

It’s quite common for many to think of it as a tedious and complicated process. It can get overwhelming. However, the good thing is there are land preparation companies out there who are good at what they do – and to take the stress off for you.

Aside from doing the actual site preparation processes, one of the advantages of hiring a professional land preparation company is that they know what obstacles to expect during site prep and how to pass them.

In a perfect world, your site preparation process would go smoothly and without a hitch. Unfortunately, that’s not true.

In most cases, you wouldn’t know there’s a problem on the construction site until after you’ve literally started digging and unearthing them.

An experienced and professional site preparation company will have the equipment, expertise, and other resources at their disposal to face these challenges.

What Is Site Prep?

Site preparation entails doing a series of work on the construction site prior to building or construction. Some of these

Some of these works include surveying the site, acquiring permits, finalizing the details of the construction site, gaining access to the area, planning for the drainage system on-site, and many more.

Site prep is crucial.

The whole land or site preparation process allows you to, quite literally, unearth and discover the complications and issues of the location.

This way, you can address all these problems before starting construction and avoid any potential issues they may bring to your project in the future.

As you know, problems are more manageable – and not to mention cheaper – to solve before other massive equipment or other contractors and specialists are brought on site.

The Role of a Land Preparation Company

Land Clearing

This is the first step to site preparation, and it’s quite self-explanatory. However, the sub-processes involved under this step of site preparation are influenced by the scope, magnitude, and goals of your construction development.

Generally, during this step, a land preparation company will do the following:

  • remove all trees and vegetation
  • demolish any existing structures if needed
  • detach all old infrastructure existing underground,
  • get rid of any other obstructions or barriers that will negatively affect the construction or building process.

It’s exceptionally vital to start the construction on a site that is completely level, flat, and smooth with no existing hindrances.

Site Excavation and Land Grading

You may know excavation as the process of digging and removing dirt. This is a vital step in the site preparation phase of your construction project. Depending on the needs of your project, an excavation and land preparation company will know what specific types of excavators to use.

A land preparation company handles your construction site's drainage system needs.

Generally, the first dug during excavation is used later in the project or during the land grading process.

Speaking of land grading, it’s the process of compacting, leveling, and smoothing out the soil, so the site inclines based on how you need it to.

This is a crucial step to ensure that you have a good drainage system on site.

Site Surveying

A surveyor does site surveying – quite self-explanatory. He or she identifies the building block of the project. A surveyor’s primary responsibility is to clearly determine the site and lines that the project or the structure will be built.

All these identifications of the site and lines are in accordance with essential zoning laws and permitting processes. Through the site surveying, you and your contractor can come up with a clear and forthright physical representation as well as a solid construction plan for your building project.

Soil Testing Conducted by a Land Preparation Company

This is an essential step that a land preparation company does. For most projects, particularly residential, property owners tend to overlook the importance of this step for their residential structure.

In actuality, the construction of any structure – whether it’s commercial or residential – will be influenced by the results of soil testing.

Soil testing is an important component of site prep.

Land preparation contractors or engineers will have to conduct soil testing prior to you purchasing the property or the land.

This is an essential first step to know if the soil meets the requirements of your construction project or building structure.

The composition or the structure of the soil will allow you to distinguish whether or not the site can hold your building or structure.

Soil testing will also allow you to know if the site can survive inclement weather conditions.

If the soil on site is too moist and absorbent to water, muddy, or soft, then it’s not suitable for building.

If your land preparation contractor or engineer deems the soil unfit for the structure you are planning to build, then the development cannot take place.

Construction Site Planning and Design

The next step in the site preparation process is the planning and design. Once the soil testing is done, you can do the installation of septic tanks and drainage systems.

What follows next is the planning and design of the plumbing system and other plumbing fixtures. If these are not adequately planned and taken into consideration, you’ll be looking at a construction project in complete disorder.

You must have a good understanding of what takes place underground and work around it. A professional land preparation company has the expertise you need for this step of the project.