Building Our Forever Home: Site Prep, Grading + Creating the House Pad | Phase 1
- Aug 16
- 2 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Site Prep & Grading for the Pad
Once we finally had our permit and were ready to break ground, the first step was bringing the surveyor out to stake the corners of the house pad so we knew exactly where everything needed to go.
Once the stakes were in, the machines arrived and site prep officially began.
We started by clearing the build area and preparing the land for construction. This meant removing the necessary trees and vegetation, scraping the site, and creating a level starting point before we could begin building up the homesite.
From there, we began bringing in fill dirt to create our elevated house pad.
Building Our Elevated House Pad
One of the biggest decisions we made during this phase was how we wanted our home to sit on the property.
While elevating our homesite was not required because of our property, it was a personal choice my husband and I made. We wanted our home to sit higher, so we chose to bring in additional fill and create an elevated pad before beginning our foundation.
We ended up having approximately 65 truckloads of fill dirt delivered while the machines worked continuously to spread, build up, and level everything out.
We did have one truck get stuck during the beginning of deliveries, but thankfully another truck was able to come help rescue him — definitely one of those moments that made the process memorable. 😂
Once the dirt was in place, the pad was laser leveled to ensure we were at the correct elevation and ready for the next phase of construction.
Where The Money Went: Phase 1 Site Preparation Costs
Site Prep + Initial Grading
$3,000
Machines and labor to clear the build area, remove necessary trees, scrape the site, and create a level starting point.
65 Truckloads of Fill Dirt
$15,000
Material and delivery for approximately 65 loads of fill used to raise our build site.
House Pad Build-Up + Grading
$4,500
Machines and labor to spread, build up, level, and shape the fill into our elevated house pad.
Phase 1 Total: $22,500
The Beginning of Our Forever Home
It’s easy to look at a finished home and only think about the exciting parts:
The kitchen.The bathrooms.The finishes.The furniture.
But before any of those details can exist, there has to be a place for the home to stand.
This phase may have been mostly dirt and heavy machinery, but it was the first time this dream started feeling real.
For five years, this property existed as an idea.
Now, we could finally stand on the exact ground where our home would be built.
There is still so much ahead, and I hope you follow along as we share every part of this journey — from major construction milestones to the small decisions that will eventually make this house feel like home.
