Land Grading
Land grading shapes your ground so water runs off it instead of standing on it. We handle yard leveling and lot grading within a 50 mile radius of Hammond.
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Excavation is digging and moving dirt with a machine. J-Rod's Dirt Work is based in Hammond and covers 50 miles out from town. That takes in Baton Rouge, Covington, New Orleans and into southern Mississippi. We run a Case excavator and a Kubota SVL75-3 tracked skid steer. We take residential and commercial jobs. The work is cuts and fills, soft ground dug out, ditches and drainage swales, and trenching for site drainage. Most calls here start with water sitting somewhere it should not. Small equipment or big equipment, we bring the machine that fits the lot. Estimates are free. Call or text (985) 500-4145.
Ground around Hammond is flat and holds water. Dig a hole in spring and it can fill on its own. That changes how the dig gets planned. We work the low side last so the hole drains while we cut. Wet spoil gets set where it can dry out. When a cut leaves you short of dirt, we bring in fill dirt and build the ground back up. When it leaves you long, we find a place for the extra dirt. Every lot sits different, so we come look at yours before we quote. A wet week can push a start date. Call (985) 500-4145 and we will set a time.
Tell us about the job and the ground. We will get right back to you.
First we come look at the ground and hear what you need. You point out the property lines, the septic lid, the well head and anything buried you know about. Before the machine turns dirt, the locate call goes in to Louisiana 811. State law gives the utility owners two working days to mark their lines. Those flags decide where we can cut and where we dig by hand. Then we stake the work and pick a spot for the spoil pile. On a tight lot that spot matters more than people expect.
The Case excavator does the deep work: cuts, ditches and drainage trenches. The Kubota SVL75-3 skid steer moves the dirt and backfills behind it. Tracks spread the weight, which helps on soft Louisiana ground. We cut to the depth and fall the job calls for, then check it as we go. Once the dig is done, land grading shapes the surface so water leaves the property. Ruts get filled and the spoil gets spread or hauled off. The lot goes back to usable before we pull the machines.
Hammond gets about 63 inches of rain a year. Soil maps for this parish show a hard, tight layer under a lot of the ground. It starts about a foot and a half to three feet down. Rain soaks to that layer and stops, so water sits on top of it. Contractors around here call it hardpan. Dig past it and the hole can take on water with no rain that week. That is why a dig here looks nothing like a dig on high dry ground.
Wet ground changes the plan more than most people expect. Heavy rain can shut a lot down for a few days. A loaded machine will rut soft dirt and leave a mess worth fixing later. We time the cut and keep the machine traffic on one path. Low lots often get built up instead of dug down, which is why building a pad is common here. The 2016 flood showed people in Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes what a foot of elevation is worth.
A cut takes ground down and a fill builds it up. Most jobs need both, and the goal is to balance them so less dirt has to move. We cut the high side and use that dirt to raise the low side. That only works when the material is worth keeping. Soft muck, old fill and buried debris have to come out instead. We dig down to ground that will hold, then build the level back with material that packs. Skipping that step shows up later as a low spot or a crack.
Ditches and swales are the other half of this work. A swale is a shallow, wide dip that moves water off a lot. We shoot the fall so water keeps moving and does not pond partway. Old ditches that silted in get cleaned out and given fall again. Footings and slab edges left after a demolition job come out the same way. The hole gets filled back and packed so the ground does not settle. We check the fall as we cut, and again when the run is done.
Free, no-obligation estimates across a 50-mile radius of Hammond.
(985) 500-4145From the first call or text to the finished ground, here is how it goes.
Reach us at (985) 500-4145. Tell us the address and what the ground needs. A photo or two helps us size the job.
We drive out and look the property over. We check how the machines get in and where the water goes, then size up what has to move.
You get a price for the work, with the scope spelled out. Take your time with it. The estimate is free either way.
Once you say go, we set a day that fits your build schedule and the weather. Wet ground can push a job, and we tell you when it does.
The crew runs the skid steer or the excavator and works the job through. Debris and extra dirt get hauled off as we go.
We smooth the ground to final grade and clean up behind us. Then we go over the finished job with you before the machines leave.
Common questions about excavation across a 50-mile radius of Hammond. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Land grading shapes your ground so water runs off it instead of standing on it. We handle yard leveling and lot grading within a 50 mile radius of Hammond.
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We sell fill dirt and haul it to your property. Loads get dumped where you want them, spread out, and packed down so the ground holds.
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We take a lot from raw ground to a pad you can build on. Fill placed and compacted in lifts, rough grade set, and access roughed in for the trucks.
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We take down houses, mobile homes, sheds, barns and small commercial buildings. The debris gets loaded out and hauled off, so the lot is clear when we leave.
Learn MoreNobody prices your job from behind a desk. We walk the ground, check the access and where the water goes, and price the work from what we see.
Send us the address and tell us what needs doing. We come look at the ground, then give you a price for the job. The estimate costs nothing.
We run out to Baton Rouge, Covington, New Orleans, and up into southern Mississippi. If your property sits inside 50 miles of Hammond, we can get a machine there.
We work house lots and job sites for builders and businesses. A backyard that holds water and a commercial pad both get the same machine time and the same attention.
Call or text (985) 500-4145, or send the form and we will get back to you. Tell us the address and what the ground needs, and we will set up a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and the ground. We will get right back to you.