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Residential & Commercial Site Work

Site Preparation
in Houston, TX

Site preparation for homesites, shops and commercial pads across Greater Houston. We clear, strip, proof-roll and stabilize the clay, so your builder starts on ground that passes testing.

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Dozer spreading fill on a graded lot at the edge of a Houston subdivision while a worker holds a grade rod
23Years on Houston Ground
1Superintendent Per Job
$2MGeneral Liability
98%Repeat & Referral

Service Overview

Site Preparation Built on the Soil Report

Houston clay holds water, moves with the weather, and hides old stumps and buried fill. Build on it without prep and the pad softens the first wet week. Site preparation is the clearing, stripping, testing and stabilizing that turns raw ground into a subgrade a builder can trust. Jimenes Construction is a self-performing site preparation contractor in Houston, TX, and our own operators run every step with one superintendent on the job.

Site preparation runs in order. We locate utilities and check the surveyor's layout, set erosion controls, clear and grub, then strip and stockpile the topsoil. Next we proof-roll the ground, dig out soft spots, add lime or cement where the report calls for it, and rough grade the site to drain. The steps are the same for a family building on three acres in Magnolia and a general contractor with a five-acre commercial pad on the Grand Parkway. This work sits between land clearing and finish grading, and it ends at the building pad your foundation crew needs.

The soil report drives every choice. Ground north and west of Houston runs sandier, and south and east it is heavier clay. The borings tell us which one your lot has. Fat, high-plasticity clay usually gets lime. Leaner or sandy soil usually gets cement. The lab tests sulfates first, because sulfate-rich soil can heave after lime goes in. On City of Houston work the spec starts at 5 percent lime by dry weight, compacted to 95 percent. We price it line by line, so undercut and stabilization each show up as their own line. When the pad passes testing, we hand it to your foundation crew.

Site Prep at a Glance

  • Self-performed crews and operators
  • Geotech report read before we price
  • Topsoil stripped and stockpiled
  • Proof-rolled to find soft ground
  • Lime or cement where the report calls
  • Third-party density testing coordinated

Coverage

Site Preparation Services We Self-Perform

Six jobs that happen before anything gets built. Our own crews and operators run all of them.

Homesite & Acreage Lot Prep

Clear, strip and rough grade a house site on acreage in Montgomery, Waller or Fort Bend County, with the driveway line cut in.

Commercial Pad & Parking Prep

Strip, proof-roll and stabilize building and paving subgrade to the civil sheets and the geotech report.

Lime & Cement Subgrade Stabilization

Lime for fat clay, cement for lean or sandy soil, mixed to the lab's percentage and compacted to 95 percent Standard Proctor.

Stripping, Grubbing & Undercut

Topsoil stripped and stockpiled, stumps and roots grubbed out, soft spots dug out and replaced with select fill.

Erosion Control & Construction Entrances

Silt fence, rock entrances and inlet protection set before the first tree falls, so mud stays on the site.

Layout, Locates & Pre-Dig Checks

Texas 811 tickets, private utility checks and grade stakes from your surveyor's plan before a blade touches dirt.

Our Process

Our Site Preparation Process

A one-acre homesite and a ten-acre commercial pad get the same five steps. Call (832) 576-3278 and the first step is a walk of your site.

  1. 01

    Soil Report & Site Walk

    We read the geotech report, the borings and the PI results. Then we walk the site for access, trees, old fill and the way water runs off it.

  2. 02

    Locates, Layout & Erosion Controls

    We call the Texas 811 ticket, check the surveyor's stakes, and set silt fence and a rock entrance before clearing starts.

  3. 03

    Clear, Grub & Strip

    Trees and stumps come out with the roots. Topsoil is stripped, usually 6 inches or more, and stockpiled to spread back later.

  4. 04

    Proof-Roll & Fix Soft Ground

    A heavy loaded roller or dump truck runs the stripped subgrade. Anything that pumps or ruts gets dug out and replaced with select fill.

  5. 05

    Stabilize, Rough Grade & Test

    Lime or cement is mixed in where the report calls for it, compacted, shaped to drain, and density-tested by the third-party lab.

Timeline

How Long Does Site Preparation Take?

Planning ranges from mobilization to the day the pad passes testing.

Project TypeTypical SizeDuration
Shop, barn or barndominium site1/2 - 1 acre3 - 5 Days
Custom homesite on acreage1 - 5 acres1 - 2 Weeks
Residential lot with lime-stabilized pad1/4 - 1 acre1 - 2 Weeks
Commercial building and parking pad2 - 10 acres3 - 6 Weeks
Industrial or multi-building site10+ acres6 - 12 Weeks

Engineering & Compliance

Materials, Methods & Code Compliance

Clay that looks dry on top can be soft a foot down. The soil report and the proof-roll tell us which.

Soils & Subgrade

  • Geotech report and PI read before we price
  • Topsoil stripped 6 inches or deeper
  • Stumps, roots and buried debris removed
  • Soft spots undercut and replaced

Stabilization

  • Lime for fat clay, cement for lean soil
  • City spec: at least 5 percent lime by dry weight
  • Cement usually 6 to 10 percent, set by the lab
  • Sulfates tested before lime goes in

Permits & Rules

  • Houston grading permit over 50 cubic yards
  • Engineered grading plan over 1,000 cubic yards
  • County development permit outside city limits
  • No runoff pushed onto neighbors (TWC 11.086)

Testing & Sign-Off

  • Proof-roll witnessed before stabilizing
  • Compacted to 95 percent of D698 density
  • Density test on every lift by the lab
  • Pad released to the builder in writing

Why Jimenes

Why Choose
Jimenes Construction

Our Operators, Start to Finish

Prep jobs stall when clearing, dirt work and testing are three different subs. Our own crews clear, strip, stabilize and grade, and one superintendent schedules the lab.

We Read the Soil Report First

Bids that ignore the report miss the undercut and the lime. Those show up later as change orders. We price the report's recommendations line by line.

Soft Spots Found Before You Build

A pad that looks fine can pump under a loaded concrete truck. We proof-roll and fix the ground before your builder mobilizes.

Line-Item Pricing

Clearing, strip, haul-off, undercut, lime, select fill and testing each get their own line. Extra undercut found at the proof-roll gets priced and signed off before we dig it.

Credentials

Insurance, Warranty & Sign-Off

No state license exists for site prep in Texas. So every proposal from us carries the insurance certificate, and every finished pad comes with the lab's density reports. These four tiles are the paperwork to ask any site preparation contractor in Houston for.

Permitted & Inspected City of Houston and Harris County
General Liability $2M per occurrence
Workers’ Comp Full crew coverage
Warranty 1-yr workmanship

Where We Work

Our Service Area

Based in Houston and preparing sites from inside the Loop to acreage past the Grand Parkway. If you searched for a site preparation contractor near me, this is the ground we cover, in the city and out in the county.

Do not see your town? Call us, we travel for the right project.Check Your Address

Good Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a soil report and a question about it? Call and talk to the superintendent who will clear, strip and grade your site.

Talk to a Builder
(832) 576-3278
What is included in site preparation in Houston?

Site preparation is every step between raw ground and a pad your builder can set on. On a Houston lot it usually runs like this.

  • Utility locates and the surveyor's layout.
  • Silt fence, inlet protection and a rock construction entrance.
  • Clearing and grubbing, then stripping and stockpiling the topsoil.
  • Proof-rolling to find soft ground, then undercut and select fill.
  • Lime or cement stabilization where the soil report calls for it.
  • Rough grading so the site drains, then density testing.
It ends at a pad-ready or paving-ready subgrade. Heavy tree and brush work comes first, as its own clearing line on the estimate.

How much does site preparation cost?

There is no flat rate, and two lots the same size can price very differently. These are the things that move the cost.

  • Tree density and haul-off distance.
  • Topsoil depth and soft ground found at the proof-roll.
  • The lime or cement percentage and mixing depth.
  • Imported select fill.
  • Permits, testing and site access.
Rain matters too, because wet clay stops the work. We do not publish a per-acre price, because a number given before the soil report is a guess. Ask for the free line-item estimate instead, and every one of those items gets its own line.

Do I need a soil report, and what is proof-rolling?

For anything you build on, yes. The engineer's report sets the strip depth, the lime or cement, and the fill spec. Proof-rolling is the test that follows. We run a heavy loaded roller or dump truck across the stripped ground and watch for spots that pump, rut or flex. Those soft areas get dug out and replaced with select fill before any stabilizing starts. See our building pads page for how we build the pad on top.

Lime or cement: which stabilization does my clay need?

The lab decides, but the pattern is steady. High-plasticity clay usually gets lime, which makes the clay easier to work and less likely to swell. Leaner or sandy soil usually gets cement. Sulfates are tested first, because sulfate-rich soil can heave after lime is added. On City of Houston work the spec starts at 5 percent lime by dry weight, compacted to 95 percent. Cement usually runs 6 to 10 percent by weight. The exact number comes off tests on your exposed subgrade.

What site prep does a house, shop or mobile home need on acreage?

Clear the building footprint plus a work zone, then strip and grub it. Next, build the pad to the county's required elevation and cut in a driveway and a drainage path. On a manufactured home, the installer has to make sure water drains away from the home, so the pad and the grade matter. A barndominium or metal shop needs the same prepared subgrade a house does. For a metal building on that pad, see our barndominiums page.

Do I need a permit for site prep in Houston or the county?

Often yes, and it depends on where you are. Inside Houston, a grading permit kicks in for any of these.

  • More than 50 cubic yards of fill on one lot.
  • Fill 3 feet or deeper.
  • More than a foot of fill meant to hold up a structure.
  • A cut deeper than 5 feet.
Over 1,000 cubic yards, a Texas engineer seals the grading plan. In unincorporated Harris County you need a development permit. Fort Bend County wants one for over 500 cubic yards of fill per acre, or a grade change of more than 6 inches. Disturb an acre or more and TCEQ storm water rules kick in. We sort the permits and the erosion control before a blade touches dirt.

Cleared. Stripped. Tested.

Let's Get Your SiteReady for the Builder.

Free estimates, line-item pricing, and our own operators from the first silt fence to the last density test.

Get a Free EstimateOR CALL (832) 576-3278
Jimenes Construction truck