Land Clearing
Land clearing for overgrown lots, fence lines and acreage across Southeast Louisiana. We take out the underbrush and small trees, then dig the stumps and root balls out with the excavator.
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Water is the first problem on most Mandeville lots. Lake Pontchartrain sits right at the south end of town, and the ground near it runs low and flat. The city's own flood notes name Bayou Chinchuba and tidal surge off the lake as the two big sources. Bayou Castine, Little Bayou Castine, and Ravine aux Coquilles flood during or soon after heavy storms. So a Mandeville yard can hold water for days after the rain quits. You see it as soft low spots, a drive that washes out, or a ditch that stopped running. Dirt work in Mandeville is mostly about giving that water a way off the lot. That means cutting some ground down and building other ground up.
J-Rod's Dirt Work is based in Hammond, about 31 miles west of Mandeville on I-12. We run a Kubota SVL75-3 tracked skid steer and a Case excavator, and we pick the machine that fits the lot. Small equipment or big equipment, the job gets done the same way. Around Mandeville that means grading yards that hold water and hauling in fill dirt to build low ground up. We also cut swales, put in gravel drives, and open up wooded back lots. Residential and commercial both. Mandeville sits well inside the 50 mile radius we cover from Hammond. No job too big or too small. Estimates are free. Call or text (985) 500-4145.
Tell us about the job and the ground. We will get right back to you.
Mandeville sits about seven feet above sea level, and the blocks closest to the lake sit lowest. Those blocks run behind the lakefront seawall, and they have taken storm surge more than once. The city's list of past floods runs from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to Ida in 2021. Soil across this part of the Northshore is sandy loam over ground that holds water. Rain soaks in a few inches, then it stops and sits. North of I-12 the lots run higher and more wooded, but the water table still comes up fast.
Mandeville Public Works inspects the ditches, streams, and channels at least twice a year. City rules make it illegal to block water flow in a ditch or waterway, debris included. So a grading plan here has to end somewhere the water can actually go. Development in the floodplain also needs a city permit, and that covers more than putting up a building. We shape the cut and the fill around those rules. When a job needs a permit first, we say so before any dirt moves. On this ground the grade decides everything.
A wet yard on a finished Mandeville lot usually needs grade work and a few loads of fill. A low lot that has to carry a house or a shop needs a real building pad. That pad gets built up in layers and packed down as it goes. Older properties near the lakefront often start with demolition instead. An old camp, a shed, or a leaning garage comes down and gets hauled off first. Wooded lots north of town start with clearing, and grade comes after. Sorting out which one you have is most of what an estimate is.
Old Mandeville lots come with history buried in them. You find a slab from a shed that is long gone, or a drive broken into pieces. Breaking out that old concrete comes first, because grade will not hold over it. The hole gets filled, packed, and brought back level with the yard. On the north side the order usually flips. Brush and small trees come off, and stumps and root balls get dug out with the excavator. Then the lot gets shaped and left ready for what comes next. Call or text and we will come look at yours.
Communities and areas we serve around Mandeville: Old Mandeville, Old Golden Shores, Lewisburg, Beau Chene, Greenleaves, The Sanctuary, Chinchuba Creek, Fontainebleau, Hidden Pines, The Woodlands.
Mandeville ZIP codes served: 70448, 70471.
Free estimates throughout St. Tammany Parish and the surrounding area.
(985) 500-4145 Land clearing for overgrown lots, fence lines and acreage across Southeast Louisiana. We take out the underbrush and small trees, then dig the stumps and root balls out with the excavator.
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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.
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Excavation covers cuts and fills, soft or bad material dug out, and ditches and drainage swales. A Case excavator and a Kubota SVL75-3 skid steer do the work within 50 miles 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 build new gravel driveways and gravel roads from the subgrade up, with base rock under the top rock. We also re-gravel and regrade older drives that have gone to potholes and soft spots.
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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 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 break out old driveways, slabs, patios, sidewalks and footings and haul the pieces off. The ground gets graded smooth or built back up with fill.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Mandeville. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
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.