Do you work from approved civil plans?

Yes. We build to the approved civil plans and the elevations shown on them. Before we price a job we review the plan set to identify the dirt work, drainage, ponds, and site work it shows, and we flag missing information or conflicts so they get answered by the engineer before work starts, not in the field.

Do you provide the engineering or the civil plans?

No. The civil design comes from the project engineer. We review the plans, coordinate drawing revisions and field questions with the engineer, and build what the approved plans call for.

Can you provide quantity takeoffs or a site work budget?

Yes. From the plans and information provided, we can prepare quantities and a site work budget broken out by work item, which helps a developer or builder set a budget before the project goes out for bids.

Do you handle density testing and SWPPP?

We install the SWPPP and erosion control items listed in the scope, such as silt fence and construction entrances, and we coordinate directly with the project engineer and testing lab on density testing. Compaction test documentation is provided when the scope calls for it.

Do you handle the 811 locate and permits?

Yes. We call in the 811 locate before any digging starts. When a job needs a permit, we can handle that side too. Private lines that 811 does not mark are worth pointing out on the site walk.

What areas do you serve?

We work across Greater Houston from our yard in Magnolia, within roughly 100 miles, including Harris, Montgomery, Waller, Washington, and Fort Bend counties.

Commercial building pad graded to plan elevation in the Houston area

Commercial Site Work Contractor in Houston, TX

Daniel Dean builds commercial sites to your approved civil plans: clearing, mass grading, soil stabilization, building pads, underground storm drainage and detention ponds, with our own crews and equipment since 1993.

Estimate My Job (281) 356-3478

Commercial Site Work Contractor in Houston, TX

Estimate My Job (281) 356-3478

Years Exp.

1,000's

Of Projects

Counties

33 years in businessSoutheast Texas since the start
1,000's of projectsResidential and commercial
Fully insuredCertificate available on request
Free on-site estimatesPriced from your actual property
11 counties servedHarris · Montgomery · Waller · Washington · Fort Bend and beyond

Cost

How is commercial site work priced?

Commercial site work is priced per project, from the plans. These are the things that move the number. We review the plan set and put the scope and price in writing, broken out by work item.

What moves the price

The civil plan set: Complete, current plans with grades, pad elevations, and drainage details let us price the work as drawn. Missing details or conflicts between sheets are flagged before we quote, so they do not turn into change orders later.
Earthwork quantities: How much material has to be cut, filled, moved across the site, or brought in to reach the plan elevations is the biggest single driver on most commercial sites.
Soil and stabilization: Expansive Houston-area clay often needs lime or fly ash stabilization under pads and paving. What the geotechnical report calls for, and how wet the site is, changes the scope.
Clearing and demolition: A wooded tract or a lot with old slabs and structures has work to do before grading can start. How much, and what happens to the debris, is its own line.
Underground storm drainage and detention: Pipe sizes and lengths, inlet counts, and the size of the detention pond on the plans add up quickly, so they are priced from the plan quantities rather than estimated.
SWPPP, testing, and phasing: Erosion control items, density testing, and whether the site has to be built in phases around other trades all affect the schedule and the number.

Send us the civil plans, or tell us where the project stands, and we will review it and price it in writing.

Get my free estimate

Clearing and Demolition

Commercial tracts are usually cleared completely to make the most of the usable land. Once the initial erosion controls are in, we clear trees and brush, remove old slabs and structures, and settle what happens to the debris before grading starts.

Full-site clearing for commercial tracts
Removal of existing slabs and structures
Debris handled as its own line on the estimate
Initial erosion controls in place before clearing

Mass Grading, Building Pads, and Stabilization

Houston-area clay swells and shrinks with moisture, which is why commercial pads and paving areas often need lime or fly ash stabilization. We cut, fill, and grade to the plan elevations, build pads to the specified compaction, and prepare parking lot and drive subgrade, coordinating density testing with the project engineer.

Cut, fill, and mass grading to plan elevations
Building pads built in compacted lifts
Lime and fly ash stabilization for expansive clay
Parking lot and drive subgrade
Floodplain fill mitigation excavation
Density testing coordinated with the engineer

Underground Storm Drainage and Detention

Most commercial sites around Houston have to offset the added runoff they create, and the drainage plan decides how: an open pond, parking-lot storage, underground pipe, or another method the reviewing agency approves. We install the storm drain pipe, inlets, and structures shown on the plans, and build the detention your engineer designed, including outfalls, spillways, and lift stations.

Storm drain pipe, inlets, and junction boxes
Detention ponds and other approved storage
Outfalls, spillways, and lift stations
Grades set so water reaches the inlets

SWPPP and Erosion Control

Construction stormwater rules apply before the first day of disturbance, so erosion controls go in before clearing starts. We install the SWPPP and erosion control items listed in the scope, such as silt fence, inlet protection, and rock construction entrances, and stabilize disturbed ground with seeding when the work is done.

Silt fence and inlet protection
Rock construction entrances
SWPPP items installed as listed in the scope
Seeding and hydroseeding to stabilize disturbed ground

Recent Commercial Site Work

FAQ

Commercial site work questions

On a Houston-area commercial project it typically covers clearing and demolition, soil stabilization with lime or fly ash for expansive clay, mass grading, building pads built to the specified elevations and compaction, parking lot and drive subgrade, underground storm drain installation, detention pond construction, and SWPPP and erosion control items. We handle that work with our own crews and equipment.

Related commercial services

Before work starts

A commercial site that disturbs an acre or more generally needs construction stormwater coverage and a SWPPP before ground is broken, which is why erosion controls go in first. You can read the current rules straight from TCEQ construction stormwater permit, and we confirm what applies to your property during the site visit rather than guessing at it from an address.

If you are weighing us against another contractor, the work our customers describe is a better read on what we are like to deal with than anything we could write here.