House pad question for those in the know...

[curtintex]

You're hired! Are chosen builder came out today for a little site inspection and shoot some elevations and it's claiming it would take about $100kto $150,000 worth of dirt work and compaction. Looking for single wide trailer in the classified currently

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

He's full of $$$$. Choose another builder! For $100k, you could make that 9' up with a split level.

[Chew]

We already found a builder, paid money for house plans, they showed up today to start the long process. And then drop the bomb on us about the dirt work. We don't really have a lot of spots where we can put the house so not sure what we're going to do

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

[Twist]

So you're saying that he's telling the truth?

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

By no means am I saying that, but the dirt alone? I came up pretty close to what Curt did.

The rest of it depends on the other contractors and builders are always going to add in for themselves. Think buying a used car. On steroids.

[curtintex]

We already found a builder, paid money for house plans, they showed up today to start the long process. And then drop the bomb on us about the dirt work. We don't really have a lot of spots where we can put the house so not sure what we're going to do

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

Tell him you're going to get additional pricing for the pad and at the very least will provide him with a "Build-Ready" pad. I'd guess he pulled that number out of his *** because he doesn't want to mess with the pad.

[be12hunt]

Without doing much math on it. I would say to expect a few hundred loads of dirt. Depending on cost per load(I would say anywhere from $100 to $150 for select fill) and labor that can get expensive.

We built up our house pad basically 7’ with roughly a 4:1 slope out. We ended up with right at 500 loads of dirt delivered. I can give you more exact dimensions and help out with comparing if you want.

[curtintex]

Those figure are just dropping dirt.

So you're saying that he's telling the truth?

I think he meant to end with a question mark, Bobby.

[mavrick]

Rent a dozer and compactor for a week and get after it.

[Chew]

I'm having a bad day at work...so just fired the builder.

Disregard this post.

Wife has another guy on the phone right now.

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

[RMW]

I’ve never seen a house built up on 9Ft of dirt, I’ve seen 6 or 7 and it was horrendous, I bet he cried every time he had to mow the yard on that steep slope. I wouldn’t go no less than a 6:1 slope, also I wouldn’t do with a dozer, I’d use a tractor with a dirt buggy so it’s compacted.

[Twist]

I think he meant to end with a question mark, Bobby.

No, I was talking about the volume, not the price.

Guesstimations involved of course, but I came out basically in the middle of what you stated.

I have absolutely not idea what the rates are for actual dirt work is in Leon County. I was talking about the amount of dirt alone.

[be12hunt]

Assuming that one end of the pad is ZERO and 90' away it needs 9' of fill you can assume the following. Number one, you want a minimum of a 5' apron (pad that extends past the slab). So let's say a pad of 100'x50' area with an average depth of 4.5'. You're also gonna want a 3:1 slope down from that 9' side and back to grade zero all the way around. That's about 1400 tight yards of dirt, so figure 2100 loose yards or about 175 truck loads.

Select fill, placed, compacted, graded and finished, you should be able to get someone local to do it for about $12-15k in your area. That's assuming they're importing and not able to mine onsite.

I did this off the top of my head, so quantities and figures aren't exact. Just a best guess on my experiences and expertise and knowing that area.

I couldn’t find dirt that cheap. Everything I sourced around me was roughly $100 to $125 or more for select fill. I calculated about the same loose fill per load as you did, but at even $100 a load and no labor it would be $17,500.

[Mayhem]

I know nothing about building house pads and dirt, but 100k-150k for the pad to be built seems almost unbelievable to me.

I’m with Curt, I don’t think the builder wants mess with doing the pad and is trying to steer you somewhere else.


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[RR 314]

You're hired! Are chosen builder came out today for a little site inspection and shoot some elevations and it's claiming it would take about $100kto $150,000 worth of dirt work and compaction. Looking for single wide trailer in the classified currently

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

That is crazy! Then again, my parents just got a bid for landscape lighting at their house and the dude came back at $127,500! I think it is closer to $1,275.

[Shane]

I'm having a bad day at work...so just fired the builder.

Disregard this post.

Wife has another guy on the phone right now.

Team Little Debbie Pro Staff

If it needed to be done, it's way better to get it done now instead of halfway into a nightmare. Sorry for your bad day, but congrats on firing the guy. Sounds like this will save you tons of money and headache over time.

We're in the process of building right now. Builder is a good friend, and it's going well so far. But there's always something that's a curveball to deal with. No way around that. It would suck to be going through it with the wrong guy.

[Traildust]

Are you building on the side of a mountain