Asphalt paving, sealcoating and striping across south Alabama
3M Paving and Excavation LLC
Our Services

Excavation and Grading in Grove Hill, AL

Excavation and Grading · Grove Hill, AL

The dirt work and drainage that come before paving

Most of our excavation and grading is site work for paving. Before a driveway or a lot gets built, the ground has to be shaped so water runs off it. We strip the sod, cut the high spots and fill the low ones, then pack the grade. After that the base goes down and the hot mix asphalt is laid and rolled while it is hot.

We also set driveway culverts and drainage pipe. That is a pipe under the drive, a culvert at the road, or a swale to the ditch line. The same dirt work goes in ahead of a new asphalt driveway, a gravel drive or a shop pad. We work about 100 miles around Grove Hill, and our second yard in Robertsdale covers the Gulf Coast side.

What We Handle

  • Grading and site prep for driveways, parking lots and roads
  • Cut and fill to bring a site to grade
  • Pads graded and packed for shops, barns and new buildings
  • Driveway culverts and drainage pipe set to the size the road owner calls for
  • Ditches and swales cut to move water off the lot
  • Low spots raised and storm washouts rebuilt
  • Land grading and fine grading with our own motor grader and track loader
  • Fill dirt, select fill, topsoil, crush and run and stone delivered by the load

Excavation and Grading Quote

Tell us about the driveway, lot or road. We come out, look at the job and give you a written quote.

Site prep and grading before the asphalt goes down

Site prep starts with water. We look at where it comes from and where it has to go. High ground gets cut, low ground gets filled, and the area is graded to fall one way. The Asphalt Institute puts the minimum at 2 percent of slope, a quarter inch per foot.

Flatter than that, and water sits on the pavement instead of leaving it. Once the shape is right, the ground gets packed. Soft spots and clay pockets get dug out and replaced with fill that compacts. On a pad for a shop or a new building, the same work happens first.

We grade with our own motor grader and track loader, and we pave with our own equipment. That keeps the dirt work and the parking lot paving on one schedule. Nothing gets paved until the grade sheds water.

Why does water stand on my driveway or lot?

Water stands because it has nowhere to go. The fall is too flat, or a low spot has settled. Sometimes the ditch has filled in, or the culvert at the road is crushed. Some drives were built on ground that holds water to begin with.

South Alabama ground makes it worse. Mobile averages about 66 inches of rain a year in the NOAA climate normals. Around Grove Hill and Clarke County, sandy loam sits over clay that holds water. Down in Baldwin County the ground is flat, and the water table sits close to the surface.

The fix is grade and pipe. We cut the surface back to fall, open a ditch or a swale, and set pipe where water crosses. A washed-out drive then gets rebuilt with crush and run and rolled.

Driveway culverts and drainage pipe at the road

A driveway culvert carries ditch water under your drive. Too small a pipe and the ditch backs up, then the drive washes out. The road owner sets the pipe size and how deep it sits.

On a county road, that is the county engineer's office. Where a drive ties into a state or US route, ALDOT's driveway rules apply. Ask before the work starts, and we build the drive to what they call for.

Buried lines get located before we dig. Alabama 811 asks for at least two working days of notice, not counting the day of the call. Private lines, like the water line out to a barn, are not always in that system.

Excavator lowering a large drainage culvert pipe into a cut Drainage pipe bedded in a gravel trench along a driveway

Ready to get started?

Site visits and written quotes across south Alabama, about 100 miles around Grove Hill, from the Black Belt to the Gulf Coast.

(251) 589-9970
How We Work

How a Job With 3M Paving and Excavation Runs

From the first call to the day you can drive on it, here is how it goes.

1

Call, text or send the form

Tell us what the driveway, lot or road is doing and where it is.

2

We come look at the site

We measure the area, check how water moves across it and look at what is under the surface.

3

You get a written quote

It lists the square footage, the base work, the asphalt thickness and the material.

4

Grading and base work

The ground is shaped to drain, soft spots are rebuilt and the base rock is compacted.

5

Paving day and after

Hot mix is laid and compacted, or sealer, paint or material goes down if that is the job. You get care instructions and a date for striping or sealing where it applies.

FAQ

Excavation and Grading Questions, Answered

Common questions about excavation and grading across south Alabama, about 100 miles around Grove Hill, from the Black Belt to the Gulf Coast. If yours is not here, call and ask.

Call (251) 589-9970

Do you take on excavation work that is not tied to paving?
Our excavation and grading is site work for paving and drainage. We grade driveways, lots, roads and pads, cut ditches and swales, and set culverts and drainage pipe. Pond digging, land clearing, septic systems and utility work go to a contractor who specializes in that.
Who decides what size culvert goes in at the road?
The road owner does. On a county road, the county engineer's office sets the pipe size, the length and how deep it sits. Where the drive ties into a state or US route, ALDOT's driveway rules apply. Ask before the work starts, and we build to what they call for.
Can you stop a driveway from washing out every time it storms?
Usually, yes. Washouts happen when water runs down the drive instead of off it. We regrade the drive for fall, open a ditch to carry water away, and set pipe where it crosses. Then the surface gets rebuilt and rolled.
What does grading and drainage work cost?
It depends on the job. How much dirt has to move, how wet the ground is and what pipe the road owner requires all count. So does the mileage from our yard. We come out, look at the site and give you a written quote.
Do the utility lines get marked before you dig?
Yes. Alabama 811 is the one-call service that gets buried utility lines located. It asks for at least two working days of notice, not counting the day of the call. Private lines, like a water line to a barn, are not always in that system.
Do you bring the dirt and the rock, or do I have to?
We bring it. Fill dirt and topsoil come by the dump truck load. Crush and run, stone and gravel for the base come the same way. Your quote lists the material, the number of loads and the mileage from our yard.
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Fill dirt, select fill and topsoil delivered by the load around Grove Hill and south Alabama. We spread, shape and compact it where the job calls for it.

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Why Choose 3M Paving and Excavation LLC

Built for Asphalt Paving Across South Alabama

Built from the ground up

The site is graded to drain, the base is compacted, and the hot mix is rolled while hot.

Paving and upkeep in one place

The company that paves your driveway or lot also patches it, fills the cracks, seals it and stripes it.

Materials by the load

Fill dirt, topsoil, crush and run, stone and millings delivered, then spread or graded for the job at hand.

Two yards across south Alabama

We work from the timber country down to Mobile, Baldwin County and the Gulf Coast.

Get a Quote

Get In Touch With 3M Paving and Excavation LLC

Tell us about the driveway, lot or road, and where it is. Call or text (251) 589-9970 or send the form, and we will set a time to come look at it.

  • (251) 589-9970
  • Grove Hill, AL · serving south Alabama, about 100 miles around Grove Hill, from the Black Belt to the Gulf Coast
  • Driveways, parking lots, roads, sealcoating, repair, striping and materials

Get a Quote

Tell us about the driveway, lot or road. We come out, look at the job and give you a written quote.