(573) 754-2482 
Open 7am–6pm Mon–Fri, 7am–3pm Sat 
Gravel driveway grading done right — so the UPS truck makes it up in February
A driveway with a ten-foot rut in it doesn't get fixed by dumping another few bags of crushed limestone in the hole every spring. It needs the base built right — graded, crowned to shed water, and compacted so the rock stays put. Same goes for a pad: if you're putting in a shop, a patio, or a shed, the concrete is only as good as the ground under it.
Brandon Bange, owner. I bid every driveway and pad myself.
You're tired of buying gravel that disappears
Every spring the rut comes back, the truck scrapes bottom, and you haul another load of rock that's washed into the ditch by July. That's because the base was never built to drain or hold — the rock's just sitting on soft clay with nowhere for the water to go. And if your concrete guy told you "you need a dirt guy to prep this first" before he'll pour, this is the dirt guy.
How does gravel driveway grading actually work?
- Set the grade and the crown. A drive should shed water off both sides, not channel it down the middle. I cut the grade with a crown so it drains instead of washing out — that crown is the single biggest reason a gravel drive holds.
- Dig out the soft stuff. Where the clay's pumping and won't hold, I excavate it out so I'm not building on mush.
- Lay and compact the base rock. The right rock, spread to depth, and compacted so it locks in and stays where I put it.
- Building pads & full site prep, when that's the job. For a shop, garage, shed, dumpster pad, or a whole build-ready site, I handle the site preparation — clear and strip it, bring in and place material, build the pad to the dimensions your concrete crew needs, extend the driveway, and shape it all to drain. You get a flat, square, properly-drained site ready to build on.
I don't pour the concrete myself — but if the old concrete has to come out first, I tear it out, haul it off, and through my <a href="/services/concrete-tear-out-and-removal">concrete tear-out partnership</a> I can coordinate the new pour too. We don't just move dirt — we solve the property problem, start to finish.
Real work and reviews
Real reviews from real neighbors are on the way.
I post them with a first name and a town as folks send them in — I don't run made-up quotes. Want to be the first? Book a bid and I'll earn it.
Done dumping rock in the same hole?
Let me build the base once, right. I'll come look, tell you what it needs, and give you a real number.
Frequently asked questions
Driveway Building & Pad Prep questions I hear
Will gravel grading stop my driveway from washing out?
Yes, when it's graded with a crown and built on a compacted base. Gravel washes out because the drive has no crown to shed water and the rock is riding on soft clay with nowhere to drain. Cutting a crown so water runs off both sides, then locking the rock into a compacted base, is what actually stops the washout — not another load of rock in the same rut.
How much does gravel driveway grading cost?
It comes down to length, width, how much soft ground has to be dug out, and how much base rock goes in. A short flat drive that just needs regrading and a crown is a much smaller number than a long drive over soft clay that needs the base rebuilt. I measure the actual drive and give you a straight figure — and I'll tell you honestly whether it's a patch or a rebuild instead of selling you the bigger job.
How deep should the base be under a gravel driveway?
On our clay-heavy ground you generally want the soft material dug out and a base of larger rock laid and compacted before the top gravel goes on. The exact depth depends on how soft the clay is and how much weight the drive carries — a drive a loaded truck uses needs more base than a light car drive. I read the ground when I bid it and build the base to what that spot actually needs.
Do you pour the concrete too?
No — and I'll save you the headache of finding out the hard way. I do all the prep: excavate, lay base rock, grade it, compact it. Then your concrete crew pours on a pad that's actually ready. I won't pitch you services I don't do.
Why does my gravel keep washing out?
Almost always because the base was never crowned to drain or compacted to hold — the rock's riding on soft clay. Build the base right once and you stop feeding the ditch a load of rock every spring.
How fast can you start?
Bid the week you call, work usually two-to-three weeks out, weather depending. Want a quick read? Call (573) 754-2482 or text me a photo of the drive.
Want a ballpark fast? Text us a photo of the problem to (573) 754-2482.
Towns I do driveway building & pad prep in
This is some of my most-asked-for work across Lincoln County and the St. Charles County line. Here's where I do the most of it — tap your town for the local details.
Worth a read before you call
Book a bid
Book a bid for your driveway or pad
Four fields. Under a minute. No sales runaround.
Name, phone, your town, and a sentence (or a photo) of the drive or pad. Email's optional. I come out and look at every job myself — no commercial site work, no landscaping pitch, just honest dirt work for homeowners. Bid this week, work usually in the next two-to-three.