Regrading is the deliberate reshaping of the ground surface to control where water goes, what slopes look like, and what's possible to build or plant. On a residential lot it usually means:
A good regrading job leaves the area looking better than it started while solving the underlying water or shape problem.
The 10-foot zone around the foundation is the most important strip of yard you own. Water that gets to your foundation goes through it. The right grade in that zone:
We regrade this strip on existing homes that didn't get it right at construction, or where settlement has changed the original grade.
Laser / precision grading is for surfaces that need to hit tight tolerances — typically commercial pads, slabs ready for a concrete pour, or sports surfaces where the slope is precise to 1/8 inch. Yard regrading is rougher, larger-scale, and more about water control than precision elevation. Different tool, different price, different intent.
Some wet yards need both. Some need just one. The general rule:
We walk the site in dry conditions and in or just after a rain to see what the water is actually doing, then recommend.
A regrading job either:
We measure the cut and fill volumes during the walk so the dirt accounting is settled before work starts.
Most yard regrades end with topsoil respread and seeded or sodded back to grass. We stockpile the original topsoil during the cut, work the subsoil, and spread the topsoil back as the last step. If the original yard was thin on topsoil, we bring more in.
The area we're working will lose its grass. We strip it, work the soil underneath, and reseed or resod at the end. Areas we're not actively working stay intact.
Seeded areas need 3-6 weeks of irrigation and protection before they can be walked on regularly. Sodded areas can be walked on within a week and look established immediately. We coordinate the timing with the season — fall and early spring are ideal in our area.
We can rough-in irrigation trenching during the regrade. For sprinkler head installation and head-to-head coverage layout we coordinate with an irrigation specialist.
It depends on the square footage of the area, how much dirt has to move, whether fill needs to be hauled in or out, and what the finished surface is (seed, sod, mulch, gravel). We measure on site and quote in writing.
Yes, with brought-in fill. We've raised yards 2-3 feet across larger areas. The bigger the lift, the more compaction matters and the more careful we have to be with the trees and existing structures.
Usually it helps significantly, because most basement leaks trace to surface water reaching the foundation. But if the leak is from a hydrostatic issue (groundwater pressure on the wall) or a failed perimeter drain, regrading alone won't fix it. We walk it and tell you which.
