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Northern Georgia
John Franklin Land Group — North Georgia land development
Site Grading & Cut-and-Fill Earthwork in North Georgia in North Georgia by John Franklin Land Group — Excavator shaping a building pad in red Georgia clay on a cleared acreage tract bordered by pines

Site work

Site Grading & Cut-and-Fill Earthwork in North Georgia

Rough and finish grading, cut-and-fill balancing and compacted subgrade for homesites, barns and pastures on North Georgia acreage.

Grading is where a property's long-term behavior gets decided. Finished grade determines where water goes, how a driveway drives, and whether a slab stays dry. We grade to a plan with real elevations rather than moving dirt until it looks flat.

Part of our Land Development & Site Work in North Georgia work across North Georgia.

What we see most often

  • Fill placed in deep lifts without compaction, then settling under a structure
  • Finished grade that falls toward the house instead of away from it
  • Topsoil buried under clay so nothing will grow on the finished surface
  • Imported fill trucked in when the site could have been balanced

Scope of work

What this work includes

01

Survey & grading plan

Existing elevations, target grades, and a cut-and-fill balance calculated before any machine moves.

02

Cut, fill & compaction

Material moved and placed in controlled lifts with compaction appropriate for what is going on top of it.

03

Topsoil management

Stripping and stockpiling topsoil, then respreading it so finished areas can actually grow grass.

04

Finish grading & drainage tie-in

Positive slope away from structures, swales, and the tie-ins that connect grade to the property drainage plan.

Ground that sheds water, supports what you build on it, and does not change shape after the first winter.

How it goes

Our process

  1. Step 01

    Elevations

    Shoot the site and identify high points, low points and outfalls.

  2. Step 02

    Balance

    Design cut and fill to move as little material off site as possible.

  3. Step 03

    Rough grade

    Bulk earthwork, lifts and compaction to subgrade.

  4. Step 04

    Finish grade

    Topsoil, final contours, seeding and erosion protection.

Common questions

Site Grading questions we get

What is cut-and-fill grading?
Cutting soil from high areas and using it to fill low areas on the same site. Balancing cut and fill avoids paying to haul material off or truck material in, which is usually the single biggest cost driver in earthwork.
How much fall do I need away from a house or barn?
A common target is roughly six inches of fall in the first ten feet from the foundation, then continued positive slope to an outfall. On tight or flat sites we get there with swales and subsurface drainage instead.
Can you grade around an existing home?
Yes. Regrading around an existing structure is one of the most common repairs we do, usually paired with foundation drainage, downspout extensions and a swale to carry water to a safe release point.
How long does grading take to settle?
Properly compacted fill placed in lifts is ready to build on immediately. Uncompacted or over-deep fill can settle for years, which is why we compact and test as we go rather than after.

Where we work

Land Development across North Georgia

We handle land development for property owners across the north side of Atlanta — Cumming, Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Marietta, Woodstock, Canton and Ball Ground — and up through Jasper, Ellijay and Blue Ridge. Choose your area for local conditions, permitting and recent work nearby.

Regional overviews: Land Development in North Georgia, Land Development in Atlanta Metro, Land Development in North Georgia Mountains, Land Development in North Atlanta.

Also serving Johns Creek, Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Marietta, East Cobb, Helen.

Related work

Land Clearing

Selective land clearing, brush mulching, stump grinding and lot clearing for acreage in Cherokee, Forsyth, Dawson and Pickens County.

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Building Pads

Engineered, compacted building pads for homes, barns and shops — sited, drained and proof-rolled before the slab is poured.

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Pasture Restoration

Pasture renovation, grading, topsoil placement, liming and fescue seeding for horse and cattle farms across North Georgia.

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Start here

Tell us about your property

Send the basics and we'll come back with a straight answer on what your site needs, what order to do it in, and what it's likely to cost.

What are you planning?

No obligation. We'll respond within one business day.