Site work rarely photographs well and it decides whether everything built on top of it holds up. Here is a look at the kind of jobs we take on around Hampton Roads and how each one was approached.
Acreage Cleared and Timber Removed
Location: Rural parcel, Hampton Roads region
The problem. A large wooded parcel had grown in to the point the owner could not get equipment across it or see the property lines. Mixed hardwood and volunteer pine, with heavy understory underneath.
What we did. Walked the parcel and marked what stayed. Cut and felled, stacked the merchantable timber for the owner and windrowed the rest. Grubbed stumps out of the areas earmarked for building, ground the ones in the sections staying open ground. Hauled the debris and left the cleared area rough graded so it would shed water rather than pond.
Result. Usable, open ground with clear property lines, ready for the next stage of the owner’s plans. No burn piles left behind and no stump field to work around.
Related: Land Clearing, Forestry Mulching, Grading
Trail and Understory Mulched In Place
Location: Wooded parcel, Hampton Roads region
The problem. The owner wanted access through a wooded tract and the understory brought under control, without losing the mature canopy and without a clearing bill that included trucking and tipping fees.
What we did. Brought in a tracked machine with a mulching head and cut the trail to a usable width in a single pass. Ground the understory and the invasive growth on either side while leaving the standing timber alone. Material stayed on the ground as a mulch layer.
Result. A trail you can drive, understory knocked back for several seasons, and no debris to dispose of. Cost a fraction of what conventional clearing on the same ground would have run.
Related: Forestry Mulching, Mulching in Chesapeake, Mulching in Suffolk
Overgrown Pond Bank Cleared and Regraded
Location: Waterfront property, Hampton Roads region
The problem. A pond bank had disappeared under years of brush and scrub. Water was standing where it should have been running off, the bank was eroding in places, and the owner had lost both the view and any access to the water.
What we did. Cleared the growth off the bank, then reshaped it. Cut the grade so the surface sheds toward the water instead of holding it in flat pockets, repaired the eroded sections and stabilised the slope so it would hold.
Result. The before and after on this one speaks for itself. Clean bank, water visible again, and a slope that drains and stays put instead of washing.
Related: Grading, Drainage Installation, Land Clearing
Gravel Drive Built on a Proper Base
Location: Rural approach, Hampton Roads region
The problem. A long approach through wooded ground that turned to mud every winter. Stone had been laid on bare dirt with no base under it, so it pumped into the ground and left ruts that got worse each season.
What we did. Stripped the organics down to firm subgrade and compacted it. Placed and compacted a stone base, then surfaced it. Crowned the run so water sheds off both sides rather than sitting in the wheel tracks, and cut drainage where the runoff needed somewhere to go.
Result. A drive that carries traffic year round instead of turning over every wet season. Built once rather than topped up annually.
Related: Gravel Driveway Installation, Driveways in Suffolk, Grading
Pond and Basin Excavation on a Wet Site
Location: Low lying site, Hampton Roads region
The problem. Excavation on ground with a high water table and standing water already present. The kind of site where a hole dug in the morning has water in it by lunchtime and sidewalls do not want to stay where you put them.
What we did. Planned the dewatering before opening the ground rather than reacting to it. Worked the site down to grade with the excavator, managed the water as we went and kept the spoil stockpiled back far enough that it did not surcharge the excavation. Shaped the finished basin so it holds and drains where it is supposed to.
Result. Finished to the depth and shape required, on ground that fights you the whole way. This is normal work in this region and it is worth hiring someone who expects it.
Related: Excavation, Drainage Installation, Site Preparation
Want to See Something Like Your Job?
If you have a project in mind and want to see comparable work, ask and we will send photos of something similar. We would rather show you the right example than a gallery of jobs that have nothing to do with your property.
Where We Work
These jobs come from across the region. Local detail by city: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News and Portsmouth.
Tell us what you are working on and we will walk it with you. Call (757) 239-0707.