Rough Grade a Residential Building Site

Job Overview

This project qualifies you to rough grade a residential building site consisting of re-established grade stakes and benchmarks, controlled cutting of high areas, controlled filling and compaction of low areas, shaped temporary drainage, and a verified rough-grade surface, using the approved grading plan, benchmark, proposed elevations, drainage arrows, building-pad limits, and tolerances. The finished work product is a stable rough-graded site that supports construction traffic and directs water away from excavations, foundations, and active work areas.

You will review the grading plan and re-establish disturbed grade stakes and benchmarks; identify cut areas, fill areas, haul routes, stockpiles, and no-disturbance zones; confirm fill suitability and remove unsuitable material from fill areas; cut high areas and place compacted fill in low areas; shape temporary drainage and rough slopes away from the building area; check elevations and drainage; and correct high spots, low spots, loose fill, rutting, and blocked drainage before updating the grading record.

This is the tenth project in the site preparation sequence. It follows the utility trenches excavated and prepared in Project 9, which must be backfilled and compacted before rough grading proceeds over them. The rough grade established here supports the concrete slab building pad of Project 11 and the foundation backfill and drainage work of Projects 12 through 14, and must remain protected until those projects proceed.

Skills You Will Demonstrate

• SP-055 — Review the grading plan, benchmark, proposed elevations, drainage arrows, building-pad limits, and tolerances, and re-establish disturbed grade stakes and protected benchmarks.
• SP-056 — Identify cut areas, fill areas, haul routes, stockpiles, and no-disturbance zones, and shape temporary drainage so runoff does not enter excavations or neighboring property.
• SP-057 — Confirm fill material suitability, remove unsuitable material from fill areas, and place approved fill in compactable lifts in low areas.
• SP-058 — Cut high areas in controlled passes, moisture-condition and compact fill as required, and blend transitions without abrupt humps, depressions, or ponding pockets.
• SP-059 — Maintain required elevation below future finished surfaces, provide rough slopes away from the building area, and maintain equipment access without rutting prepared subgrades.
• SP-060 — Check elevations and perform a visual and measured drainage review, correct high spots, low spots, loose fill, rutting, and blocked drainage, and update the grading record with final rough elevations and unresolved conditions.

Where This Skill Fits

Project 9 prepared and protected the utility trenches that must be backfilled and compacted before this project shapes grade over them; a trench that is still open or unprotected is a stop-work condition for this project, not a grading obstacle to work around. Project 6 established the compaction discipline this project extends to broader site areas, and Project 4 established the cleared, stripped limits within which cutting and filling occur.

The rough grade established here remains in place, protected from traffic, rain, and rutting, until Project 11 builds the concrete slab building pad and Projects 12 through 14 backfill and drain the foundation. Do not proceed to Project 11 while a required rough elevation, drainage shape, or compaction condition established in this project remains uncorrected.

Scope and Intended Use

This project covers:

• reviewing the grading plan, benchmark, proposed elevations, drainage arrows, building-pad limits, and tolerances
• inspecting the site after clearing, excavation, and utility work is complete
• re-establishing disturbed grade stakes and protected benchmarks
• identifying cut areas, fill areas, haul routes, stockpiles, and no-disturbance zones
• confirming fill material suitability before use
• removing remaining organic, saturated, frozen, or unsuitable material from fill areas
• cutting high areas in controlled passes
• placing approved fill in compactable lifts in low areas
• moisture-conditioning and compacting fill as required
• shaping temporary drainage so runoff does not enter excavations or neighboring property
• maintaining required elevation below future finished surfaces
• providing rough slopes away from the building area
• blending transitions without abrupt humps, depressions, or ponding pockets
• maintaining equipment access and preventing rutting of prepared subgrades
• checking elevations using the approved grade-control method
• performing a visual and measured drainage review
• correcting high spots, low spots, loose fill, rutting, and blocked drainage
• updating the grading record with final rough elevations and unresolved conditions, and protecting the rough grade until subsequent work proceeds

This project does not authorize the learner to:

• rough grade over a utility trench from Project 9 that has not been backfilled, compacted, and cleared for grading
• place fill material that has not been confirmed suitable against the project specification
• establish a rough elevation, slope, or drainage pattern that differs from the approved grading plan without first obtaining direction
• direct shaped drainage onto neighboring property or into an excavation
• operate grading or compaction equipment over an unprotected trench, unmarked utility, or preserved control point
• leave the rough grade unprotected from traffic, rain, or rutting once shaping and compaction are complete

Any condition requiring a revised elevation, a different fill source, an engineer's determination, or a decision outside the approved grading plan must be escalated before work proceeds in that area.