Just trying to start conversation with fellow skidsteer members so... How do you all usually do your grading?
Undercut myself and fill it back up to grade. Except when I have to cut a slope with one, then I make sure to take my time and get it right on.
Cool, when i have a pad for a pole building, if they have good top soil i'll take out 4" pile it to the side. then bring in sand and raise the pad from 2"-4" above the ground so that when the floor is pored there should never be any issue of water in the building. then i'll use the top soil around the building to dress it up any left over i usally will level of any where that they might need it.
If i was putting up a building i would definatly want it well above grade . you would have to take any organic material out anyway and hopfully the sub materinal is good other wise you will have to take that out and backfill to at least to grade or higher then make your forms for the slab if your doing a pole building ,but after you get the poles in the ground naturaly.Always better to have it higher than level or lower.
with 4" or more of concrete on top of the pad will put you atleast 6" above, and here the base is usually very good. Before any concrete is pored my sub-contractor always tamps it.
if the soil is unsuitable though it should come out, any organics should be stripped and good fill put back
i would never allow any building of mine to be built with any topsoil left underneath the structure
No Organic Material whatsoever should be left in the area under the slab unless of course you enjoy breaking out concrete later on in life. All national building codes and standards require the removal of organic matter from under any structural concrete. Once you put reinforcement in concrete it is pretty much considered structural even though it may not support the building itself.
Why would you bring in sand and not either gravel, Item 4 or crushed stone? The sand will compact very niceley but if there is any clay in it whatsoever it will stop the flow of moisture away from you conctrete. also, if a heavy rain run off found its way under the slab it could wash the sand from under the slab in sections causing voids. I would and do use one of the materials stated above and stay away from the sand. If you use sand just because its easier to level and install you might be suprised how easy a load or 3/4 in or 1" stone spread into place.
This is standard practice here on the eastern shore. Got to remember different regions there are different soils. This is how building pads and driveways are done. I understand that there are many ways of doing pads. Here there is not a lot of top soil until you hit sand in most areas, some areas there is clay. The sand we use here has a little clay in it, the same stuff all the big excavation companies use for fill on there pads. We dont use much stone on pole buildings is simple cost people want the build as cheap as the can get compare stone $450 to sand $110 a load.