Select fill spec from your soil report
Custom Home Pads
Select fill for a new house, built to the soil report's thickness and the surveyed floor elevation.
Residential Site Work
House & Building Pads
in Houston, TX
Select fill house pads for homes, shops and barndominiums across Greater Houston. Built in tested lifts, to the height your county requires.
23Years on Houston Clay
95%Standard Proctor Target
$2MGeneral Liability
98%Repeat & Referral
Service Overview
A House Pad Built in Tested Lifts
Houston's expansive clay gains volume after heavy rain and pulls apart in dry months. A house built right on it rides those swings, and that movement is a common reason older Houston homes need slab foundation repair. A building pad is a raised layer of compacted select fill that gives the house steady, drained ground. Jimenes Construction builds house pads with our own operators, one tested lift at a time.
The pad sits high enough for the floor to clear your county's flood height. It reaches past the slab edge, often about 5 feet on every side. We build them for custom homes on acreage, shops, metal buildings, barndominiums and builders on a schedule. Raw ground gets our site preparation first. Yard raises take plain fill dirt.
Your soil report sets the fill's plasticity, the pad thickness and any lime for the native clay. A testing lab checks density and moisture on every lift. The slab crew starts once the density report passes.
Building Pads at a Glance
- Select fill spec from your soil report
- 8-inch lifts, rolled one at a time
- 95 percent Standard Proctor target
- Density tests on every lift
- Pad height set to the county rule
- Wider than the slab on every side
Coverage
Building Pads for Houston Homes & Shops
Six kinds of pads, all built from tested select fill by our own crews.
Shop & Metal Building Pads
Wide, flat pads for steel shops and garages, with room for forms and the erection crew.
Barndominium Pads
Living-plus-shop pads on acreage, sized for the full footprint and a drive-in apron.
Lime-Treated Pad Subgrade
Lime mixed into very active native clay before the first lift goes down.
Pad Raises for Floor Elevation
Extra fill to lift the floor above the curb, street or ground line your county sets. In unincorporated Harris County, only outside the 100-year floodplain.
Pads With Driveway & Culvert
Pad, driveway base and a permitted culvert in one trip, so trucks can reach the build.
Our Process
How We Build a House Pad
Five steps from bare dirt to a released pad. Keep your soil report and survey close by and dial (832) 576-3278.
- 01
Soil Report & Pad Elevation
The geotech report gives the fill spec and pad thickness. Your surveyor and county rule set the floor height.
- 02
Strip & Prep the Ground
Topsoil and roots come off past the building line. The native clay on top is moistened and recompacted.
- 03
Haul & Check Select Fill
Select fill comes from a source the lab has tested for plasticity and liquid limit.
- 04
Place in Lifts & Test
Loose lifts of about 8 inches, rolled to 95 percent Standard Proctor. The lab tests each one before the next.
- 05
Shape, Protect & Hand Off
The pad is trimmed and sloped to shed water. The slab crew takes over when the last test passes.
Timeline
How Long Does a Building Pad Take?
Typical Houston-area ranges, from the first strip to the last passing test.
| Project Type | Typical Size | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Shop or garage pad | 30x40 - 40x60 ft | 2 - 4 Days |
| Barndominium pad | 40x60 - 60x100 ft | 3 - 6 Days |
| Custom home pad, 2 ft of select fill | 2,500 - 4,000 sq ft footprint | 4 - 8 Days |
| Tall pad raise for floor elevation | 3+ ft of fill | 1 - 2 Weeks |
| Pad with lime-treated subgrade | any size | Add 2 - 4 Days |
Engineering & Compliance
Select Fill, Density & Pad Height
Every lift has to pass on its own. These are the numbers each one is built to.
Select Fill Spec
- Lean sandy clay, tested before it ships
- PI about 7 to 20, per your soil report
- Liquid limit under 35 or 40
- No topsoil or roots in the pad
Lifts & Compaction
- Loose lifts of about 8 inches
- 95 percent Standard Proctor, ASTM D698
- Moisture at or just wet of optimum
- Native clay recompacted before fill
Height & Floodplain Rules
- Houston floodplain: 500-year level plus 2 ft
- Unincorporated Harris: no fill pads in the 100-year floodplain
- Many Harris lots: 12 in over grade 10 ft out
- Fort Bend: at least 2 ft over curb or high ground
Testing & Hand-Off
- Third-party lab tests every lift
- Often 2 or more tests per lift, 1 per 2,500 sq ft
- Pad wider than the slab, often 5 ft
- Density report before the slab crew starts
Why Jimenes
Why Choose
Jimenes Construction
Our Operators Build Every Lift
A pad pushed up in one dozer pass can settle later. Our crews roll each 8-inch lift and wait for its test.
Fill That Matches the Report
Fill from an unknown pit can turn out to be fat clay. Ours comes from lab-tested sources that match the report.
Built to the Right Height
A pad a few inches low can fail the county's floor-height check. We build to the surveyed number and flag lots where fill pads are banned.
Line-Item Pricing
Strip, fill by the yard, compaction, lime, testing coordination and any culvert each get their own line.
Credentials
Insurance, Warranty & Testing
No Texas agency licenses dirt contractors, so our insurance certificate rides with every proposal. A third-party lab writes the density report on your pad.
Permitted & Inspected City of Houston and Harris County
Permitted & Inspected City of Houston and Harris County General Liability $2M per occurrence
General Liability $2M per occurrence Workers’ Comp Full crew coverage
Workers’ Comp Full crew coverage Warranty 1-yr workmanship
Warranty 1-yr workmanshipWhere We Work
Our Service Area
We build house pads on city lots inside the Beltway and on acreage out in Waller and Montgomery counties. Looking for house pad construction near me? Find your town below and call for a site visit.
- Houston
- Spring
- The Woodlands
- Conroe
- Cypress
- Katy
- Sugar Land
- Missouri City
- Pearland
- Pasadena
- Baytown
- League City
Do not see your town? Call us, we travel for the right project.Check Your Address
Good Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a survey or soil report you want read? Phone us and the pad superintendent will walk through it with you.
Talk to a Builder(832) 576-3278
What is a building pad, and how is it different from a foundation?
A building pad is the compacted select fill under and around your building. The foundation is the concrete that sits on it. The pad gives that foundation steady, drained ground. Your soil report sets both.
How much does a house pad cost?
There is no flat price. Cost tracks cubic yards: your footprint times the pad height, plus compaction shrink. Fill source, haul distance, lime, lifts, tests, prep, access and any culvert or driveway base also count. We price each item on its own line from your survey. Call (832) 576-3278 for an itemized estimate at no charge.
What is select fill, and why not regular fill dirt?
Select fill is a lean, sandy clay tested before it ships. Houston soil reports usually ask for a plasticity index of about 7 to 20 and a liquid limit under 35 or 40. It compacts evenly and moves less. Untested fill dirt can be fat clay or topsoil, so it goes in yards and low spots.
How high does my house pad need to be?
Your survey and county rule set it. In the City of Houston floodplain, a new floor sits at least 2 feet above the 500-year flood level. Many unincorporated Harris County lots need the floor 12 inches above the highest natural ground 10 feet out. If the street crown is higher, the floor must clear it by 12 inches. In the county's 100-year floodplain, fill cannot raise a house, so it goes on engineered piers or vented walls.
Does a new pad need to settle before the slab?
No. A pad built in 8-inch lifts at 95 percent Standard Proctor is ready when its tests pass. Soil reports often ask for the slab soon after, to hold that moisture. A pad that sits through a dry spell or a wet week gets its top lift reworked and retested. Long settling waits belong to pushed, untested dirt.
Do you build pads for barndominiums, shops and metal buildings?
Yes. The pad runs wider than the slab so forms, anchor bolts and the steel crew sit on firm ground. A drive-in apron and driveway base can go in the same trip. In unincorporated Fort Bend County, a detached shop serving a house outside the flood zone is exempt from the floor-height rule. A stand-alone shop, or a barndominium with living space, still has to meet it.
Keep Reading
Related Services
A pad sits in the middle of the build. These services come just before and just after it.
Site Preparation
Clearing, stripping and a proof-roll to get raw ground ready for the first lift.
Learn More
Lifted. Rolled. Tested.
Let's Build Your Padto the Right Height.
A free estimate with every item priced on its own line, and our operators rolling each lift until the lab report clears it.
OR CALL (832) 576-3278
