Field guide

A Grading Quote App for Work Judged by Where Water Goes

Grading is the trade where the deliverable is invisible until it rains. The estimate that states the target — slope away from the house, pad to tolerance, driveway crowned and ditched — is the one that survives the first storm and the final invoice. A grading and site prep quote app puts those targets in writing from the site walk.

Say the target, price the passes

• Drainage correction: "Regrade north side to fall away from foundation, six feet out" — machine hours, imported fill by the ton if the site is short, swale shaped and stated.
• Pad prep: cut/fill to elevation, compaction in lifts, moisture conditioning if clay, tolerance named ("pad-ready ±0.1 ft") — and testing/certification by others stated if that's the arrangement.
• Driveway: strip, geotextile where soils are soft, base and surface stone by the ton, compacted, crowned, ditched. Tonnage math: area × depth × ~1.4–1.5 tons per compacted cubic yard.

The tolerance line prevents the callback

"Rough grade" to you and to a homeowner are different planets. Stating the deliverable — rough shape vs. seed-ready vs. pad-certified — converts the vague job into a checkable one, and upgrades become priced options instead of free expectations.

Photograph the water story

Shoot the foundation stain, the pond in the yard, the rutted drive. Narrate the fix. The drafted lines carry the evidence, and the customer signs a plan they can see — which is also your protection when the neighbor's runoff, not your grade, floods the corner next spring.

Tailgate to signature

FieldSquire drafts machine, material, and restoration lines from your narration at your saved rates; deposit and e-signature close it on site. The excavation estimating app is free for 14 days, no credit card.