How to Prep a Site for a New Build in Kentucky (Builder's Checklist)

Site prep is the foundation under the foundation. Skip a step here and the framers, the roofer, and the homeowner will pay for it for the next 30 years. This is the checklist we run on every new-build site we touch in Kentucky.

1. Pre-construction walk

Before any machine moves, walk the site with the plans, the surveyor's pins, and the builder. Confirm:

• Setbacks and easements
• Tree-save areas (mark them with ribbon)
• Access route for trucks and concrete pumps
• Where spoils get stockpiled
• Where the silt fence goes

2. Clear and grub

Drop trees you can't keep, grind stumps below grade, push brush. If you can burn (county permit required), do it — it's cheaper than haul-off. Save salvageable lumber if there is any.

3. Strip and stockpile topsoil

This is the step builders skip when they're rushed. Pull the topsoil aside and stockpile it separately. You'll spread it back at finish grade and your homeowner gets a lawn that actually grows. Skip this and the new sod sits on subgrade clay and dies the first dry summer.

4. Cut and fill to engineered subgrade

Move dirt to where the grading plan says it goes. Compact fill in 6–8 inch lifts. Density testing if the plans call for it — and on any fill deeper than 4 feet, ask for it whether the plans call for it or not.

5. Build the pad

For the building footprint, cut to 1 inch above subgrade, compact, then bring up to grade with engineered fill. Final pad should be:

• Within 0.1 ft of plan elevation
• Pitched slightly (about 0.5%) away from the future house in all directions
• Compacted to 95% Standard Proctor or as specified

6. Storm and silt fence

Code requires it. We install at the property low side and at any disturbed slope >3:1. Inspect after every rain.

7. Construction driveway

Lay 4–6 inches of #2 stone for truck access. This becomes the base for the final driveway later — don't waste material.

8. Utility trenches and stub-outs

Stub water, sewer, gas, and electric to 5 ft inside the foundation per the plumber and electrician. Bedded in sand, tracer wire, warning tape, marked with stakes.

9. Final hand-off to framers

Pad ready, utilities stubbed, silt fence inspected, access road compacted. Framers should be able to start the day after we leave.

Common site-prep mistakes Kentucky builders make

• Pouring foundations on undocumented fill. If you can't show the inspector compaction tests on fill deeper than 4 feet, expect a redo.
• Skipping the topsoil strip. Costs you 2 hours of machine time. Saves the homeowner $5,000 in landscaping rework.
• Underbuilding the construction driveway. When the concrete trucks rut it out, you eat the regrade cost.
• Ignoring drainage in the pad pitch. Water has to leave the building before the gutters are even on.

If you're a builder in Louisville or surrounding counties looking for a reliable site-prep crew, give us a call. We've prepped pads for one-house custom builds and 12-lot infill subdivisions, and we don't hold up the framers.