A Cheyenne pad has to survive deep frost, spring melt and a wind that strips bare dirt. We test the ground, compact each lift and cover the soil as soon as the grade is set.
Site prep in Cheyenne starts with what is under the grass. Much of the city sits on sand and gravel that compacts well, but caliche layers can be as hard as rock and clay pockets can swell under a slab. We strip the topsoil, cut and fill to the planned grades and compact each layer, digging test holes first where the plans call for them. On open ground, we set the pad and the drive with the winter wind and drifting snow in mind.
Grading here has to handle both summer cloudbursts and spring snowmelt. Ground around a house should fall away from the foundation on every side and carry water to a swale, the street or a drainage way, not to a low corner where it freezes into an ice sheet. On lots near Crow Creek and Dry Creek, we check the floodplain map before raising or filling any ground.
Bare soil does not stay put in Cheyenne wind. Before grading starts, silt fence or wattles go in on the low side and a rock entrance where trucks come and go, and when we finish, the ground is seeded, mulched or covered fast. Projects that disturb one acre or more fall under the Wyoming DEQ construction stormwater permits, which have extra steps at five acres.
Site prep & grading in Cheyenne: common questions
Can you grade when the ground is frozen?
Not well. Frozen ground cannot be compacted, and fill placed on frost settles when it thaws, so finish grading waits for thawed, workable soil.
What is caliche, and does it cost more to dig?
Caliche is a hard, cemented layer of soil common on the High Plains. It digs slowly, sometimes with a ripper or a breaker, so it can add time to a job.
How do you stop the wind from blowing the dirt away?
We keep bare areas small, water them when needed and seed, mulch or cover them as soon as the grade is set.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We walk the site with you.
- Written quote: Scope, equipment and price in writing.
- Utility locate & plan: We have utilities marked and plan access, haul-off and erosion control.
- Dig, grade & clean up: We complete the work, grade the site and haul away spoil.