LANDSCAPE
Grading, drainage and the invisible work that matters
By Tom Marsan
Example 1: A commercial property was nearing completion; the walkways were poured, the plant palettes selected and the building exterior looked flawless. The property manager was imagining the final photos for the leasing brochure. Then, after one heavy rain, the newly installed turf turned into a swamp. Mulch washed across the parking lot and water pooled against the foundation because the subgrade wasn’ t shaped correctly.
Example 2: A retail center suffered major damage when runoff from an unfinished bioswale overflowed into a loading dock, flooding two storefronts. The landscaper had followed the plan exactly, but the civil drawings didn’ t match field conditions. Until the drainage was redesigned and the grading corrected, the grand opening had to be postponed.
These aren’ t one-off examples. Even“ finished” properties can be derailed when foundational sitework isn’ t managed correctly. Contractors can frame and finish with precision, but if the site itself isn’ t dialed in, schedules stretch and frustration mounts for everyone involved.
For landscaping companies, sitework is the backbone of a successful install. It spans everything from stripping and amending soil to shaping swales, placing drainage systems, compacting subgrade, and coordinating with paving and utility crews. In short, it’ s everything that happens to the land before the first plant or paver goes in.
Accurate early estimates and realistic schedules for sitework determine the tempo of the entire project. When the ground is right from the start, the finish line stays the finish line— not a moving target.
Hidden ground problems
Ask any landscape contractor where projects go sideways and many will point below the surface. Soil that looks fine on paper can be wildly different in the field.
For example, on a commercial campus project, a landscaping team uncovered a buried layer of construction debris, old asphalt, rebar and busted concrete that never appeared in the geotech report. That hidden layer turned a simple planting bed into a full excavation job. Weeks were added and budgets ballooned.
18 OPE + March 2026 www. OPE-Plus. com