- What does site prep actually include?
- Everything that has to happen before vertical construction starts: clearing, stripping and stockpiling topsoil, rough grading to design elevations, excavating for foundations and utilities, placing and compacting structural fill, establishing access and staging, and installing erosion controls. Scope varies by project, which is why we define it explicitly rather than assuming.
- Can you reuse the soil already on my site?
- Often, and it usually saves real money. Topsoil should be stripped and stockpiled separately for reuse in finish grading rather than buried or hauled away. Suitable subsoil can frequently be reused as fill. Organic material, wood debris, and highly variable soils cannot go under structures, so those need to leave. Balancing cut and fill on site avoids trucking, which is typically the largest cost in earthwork.
- What happens to brush, stumps, and debris?
- They follow different disposal routes, and keeping them separated matters for cost. Clean brush and wood can often be chipped or processed. Stumps have specific disposal requirements. Construction debris goes to a permitted facility, and mixed loads cost significantly more than sorted ones. Burying stumps or debris on site is not a legal shortcut and becomes a liability later.
- Do you need a permit for site work?
- It depends on scope. Building and foundation work requires a permit through your town. Larger disturbances may trigger stormwater permitting with an erosion control plan. Work near wetlands requires a Conservation Commission filing. Septic falls under Title 5 and the Board of Health. We will tell you what we see coming, but permits are generally the property owner's or general contractor's responsibility.
