Land Grading
We level and grade yards, lots and acreage around Bastrop. Low spots get filled, high ground gets cut, and the surface is sloped so water leaves.
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A gravel driveway is only as good as the ground under the rock. Dupree's Dirt and Excavation builds new gravel and crushed limestone drives around Bastrop and Monroe. We cut out the topsoil and shape a base with a crown. Then the rock is hauled in with our dump truck and spread in layers.
Most of the driveway calls we get are about a drive that already failed. The ruts are deep, the potholes hold water, and the rock has sunk into the clay. We regrade it, reshape the crown and add rock where it has gone thin. Where the ground beside the drive holds water, that is land grading and it can go on the same job.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
Work starts with the topsoil. Black dirt and roots hold water and will not carry a load. We cut that layer out with the skid steer. The excavator digs out soft pockets where the ground pumps, and that dirt goes off in the truck.
Then we shape the base. The middle is left higher than the edges. Rain sheds off both sides instead of standing in the wheel tracks. On ground that stays soft, we lay fabric before the rock, which keeps it from working down into the mud.
Rock goes on in layers, not in one thick pass. Each layer is spread and packed before the next one goes down. Rock dumped deep in a single pass stays loose and pushes out to the sides under a tire.
Two things take a drive apart here, water and clay. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put Bastrop near 58 inches of rain a year and Monroe near 55. April is the wettest month at both, and winter rain falls on ground that cannot dry.
The dirt itself decides a lot. On the natural ridges around Monroe and Sterlington the soil is well-drained silt loam. That ground carries a drive when it is dry, and pumps like grease when it is wet. Step off the ridge into Perry clay, which runs 60 percent clay and drains very slowly.
Water under the drive matters as much as the rain on top. On the Hebert soils that cover a lot of Morehouse Parish, the water table rises from December through April. Rock laid on soft ground over that winter table sinks, and the drive ruts. A crown, and ground sloped away from the drive, is what keeps it out.
A washed-out drive does not always have to start over. If the base under the rock is still solid, a regrade and a fresh layer of rock puts it back. Where the base is gone, the fix goes deeper and the bad ground comes out first.
Long drives on rural land are their own job. A quarter mile back to a house or a camp has to shed water the whole way. Low spots get built up with fill, and material can be hauled in by the load. We keep the rock heavier where the drive turns or climbs.
A new drive cut through woods starts with clearing the route and pulling the stumps out of it. On a build, the drive usually goes in with the pad for the house. That gives the trucks something solid to run on.
Free estimates and site visits across Bastrop, Monroe and about 60 miles around.
(318) 614-2073From the first call to the final grade, here is how it goes.
Call (318) 614-2073 and tell us what the property needs. We ask a few questions about size, access and what you want at the end.
We come out and look at the ground, the access and where the water sits. Seeing it is the only way to price it right.
You get a price for the work and a plain list of what is included. The estimate is free.
Louisiana 811 is called before we dig, and any permit the job needs is sorted out first. Then the machines and the truck go to work.
The ground is graded back out and the debris is gone. We take a last look over it with you before we pull off.
Common questions about gravel driveways across Bastrop, Monroe and about 60 miles around. If yours is not here, call and ask.
We level and grade yards, lots and acreage around Bastrop. Low spots get filled, high ground gets cut, and the surface is sloped so water leaves.
Learn More
We haul fill dirt, select fill, topsoil, sand, gravel and crushed limestone by the load. It can be dumped where you want it or spread and graded with the skid steer.
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We build raised dirt pads for houses, shops, barns and mobile homes. Topsoil comes off, select fill goes in, and the pad is compacted and sloped.
Learn MoreWe are based in Bastrop and work northeast Louisiana, from Minden on the west side to Tallulah on the east.
The tracked excavator, the skid steer and the dump truck belong to us. Digging, grading and hauling all come from the same company.
Clearing, the pad, the drive and the final grade all run through us. You deal with the same company the whole way.
We come out and look at the ground before we put a price on it, and that visit is free.
Tell us where the property is and what you want done, and we will set a time to come look. Call (318) 614-2073, or fill out the form and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
