Most projects around a home start with dirt, whether anybody planned it that way or not. Before you can pour a pad, seed a lawn, or set a foundation, the ground has to sit right, drain right, and hold up under whatever comes next. That is what excavation and grading really is: shaping earth on purpose. It covers site digging for new construction, cutting and filling a yard so water moves where it should, and working the surface into a smooth finish grade that is ready for seed or sod.
Here in Hendricks County, a lot of the calls we get come after some other project wraps up. A pool went in and the yard around it got torn up. An addition was built and the backfill has been settling ever since. A builder handed over the keys but left the lot rough. Casey and Ashley Jones run Sterling's Affordable Excavating as a husband and wife team, and this kind of work, taking a rough patch of ground and turning it into a yard you can actually use, is the heart of what we do.
What's Included
Every property is different, so we scope each job around what your ground actually needs. Most of our excavation and grading work falls into a few buckets:
- Site digging for garages, pads, additions, and outbuildings
- Yard grading and regrading to correct slopes and low spots
- Earth work after pool installs, additions, and new construction
- Cutting swales so surface water has somewhere to go
- Spreading and compacting fill dirt where ground has settled
- Topsoil placement and finish grading for seed or sod
Rough grading gets the big shapes right: the slopes, the swales, the elevations. Finish grading is the fussy part, working the top layer smooth and clean so a landscaper or a homeowner can seed straight over it. We handle both, and we will tell you honestly which one your project needs.
When Do You Need Excavation and Grading?
Is water standing in the yard or leaning against the house?
Standing water is almost always a grading problem, not a rain problem. If puddles hang around for days or water creeps toward your foundation during storms, the ground is pitched wrong. Regrading resets those slopes so water runs away from the house instead of into it.
Did a pool, addition, or new build leave your ground a mess?
Contractors who build pools and additions are good at pools and additions, not always at putting the yard back together. One of our customers called us for exactly this kind of earth work after their pool was installed, and we shaped the surrounding ground so it drained properly and was ready for grass. If your project left ruts, piles, or bare uneven dirt behind, that is our kind of job.
Are you getting ready to seed or sod?
Grass only looks as good as the grade underneath it. Seeding over lumpy, compacted, or poorly pitched ground means fighting bare spots and wet patches for years. A proper finish grade with clean topsoil gives seed or sod a fair start and makes mowing easier for as long as you own the place.
Are you planning a shed, garage, or concrete pad?
Anything you build is only as good as the ground you build it on. We dig and grade building sites so the pad sits level, sheds water, and does not settle later. Getting this right before construction is far cheaper than fixing a tilted slab afterward.
How We Work
It starts with a call or text to (317) 503-6782. Tell us what the ground is doing and what you want it to do instead. Then Casey comes out and walks the property with you, because grading is one of those trades you cannot quote honestly from a photo. We look at the slopes, where the water goes now, where it should go, and what is in the way.
You get a free estimate in plain language, no pressure and no upsell. When the work starts, we plan our machine paths to keep the rest of your yard intact, keep you in the loop while we dig, and leave the site clean and raked out. Before we load up the equipment, we walk the finished grade with you so you can see for yourself that the water finally has somewhere better to be.
What Affects the Cost
Every grading estimate comes down to a handful of factors. Access is a big one: a wide open back yard works faster than a fenced lot with a narrow gate. Soil matters too, since wet ground and heavy Indiana clay move slower than dry loam. The size of the area and how much cut and fill it needs drives the machine time. Material is the last piece: whether dirt has to be hauled off, brought in, or simply moved from a high spot to a low one, and how far it has to travel.
None of that should stop you from picking up the phone. Estimates are free, so call and we will put a real number on your actual yard instead of a guess.
Why Sterling's
Sterling's Affordable Excavating is family owned and operated by Casey and Ashley Jones, a husband and wife team here in Hendricks County. Customers keep pointing at the same two things in our reviews: communication and respect for the property. One reviewer put it this way: "Casey and his team worked quickly, taking pride in respecting our request and property." That is the standard on every job, whether it is a full site dig or a one day regrade.
Common Questions
Can you fix negative grading around my foundation?
Yes. Ground that slopes toward the house is one of the most common problems we correct. We build the soil back up and pitch it away from the foundation so rainwater stops collecting where it does the most damage.
Will the equipment tear up the rest of my yard?
We plan our routes before we ever unload, use the lightest machine that can still do the job, and repair our tracks as part of the work. Respecting the property is something our reviews mention for a reason.
Do you bring in topsoil and fill dirt?
We can. Some yards have enough material on site to cut from the high spots and fill the low ones. Others need fill or fresh topsoil hauled in, and we handle the loading, hauling, spreading, and compaction.
Is my job too small for you?
Probably not. We take on everything from single low spots and small regrades up to full site digs. If it involves moving dirt in Hendricks County, it is worth a call.
If your ground is not doing what you need it to do, let's walk it together. Call or text and we will take a look, talk through your options, and give you a straight answer on what it will take.
Free Estimate: (317) 503-6782