Gradeline helps you learn about excavation and grading work and connect with local contractors, but we do not perform the work or guarantee any contractor’s services.
Acceptance of these terms
By accessing or using Gradeline, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the site or submit a request through our matching service.
These terms apply to all visitors, homeowners, property owners, and anyone else using our website, guides, cost information, or get matched forms. We may update these terms from time to time, and your continued use of the site means you accept the updated version.
What Gradeline does
Gradeline is a free education and matching service for U.S. property owners who need help understanding excavation, land grading, drainage, site prep, and related work. We provide general information about topics like rough grade vs. finish grade, cut and fill, compaction, building pads, French drains, swales, culverts, erosion control, and typical cost ranges.
Gradeline is not an excavation contractor, grading contractor, engineer, surveyor, architect, or law firm. We do not perform site work, operate mini-excavators or skid steers, supervise crews, provide stamped plans, pull permits, or give construction, structural, engineering, surveying, drainage design, legal, tax, or insurance advice.
If you use our service, we may help connect you with independent local contractors. You are responsible for choosing whether to contact, hire, or work with any contractor.
No professional advice
Content on this site is for general educational purposes only. Even when we discuss common site-work topics like positive slope away from the foundation, footing depth, trench safety, shoring, haul-off, topsoil vs. fill, or cubic-yard estimates, that information is not project-specific advice.
Every property is different. Soil conditions, groundwater, utilities, access, permits, local code, setbacks, erosion requirements, and existing structures can change the right approach and the total cost. You should rely on qualified licensed professionals, and when needed, engineers, surveyors, or local officials, for decisions about your property.
Always call 811 before any digging to have utilities located and marked.
Using the matching service
Our matching service is free to property owners. To request a match, you may provide basic project and contact information, such as your name, phone number, email address, property location, and a description of the work you need.
Please provide accurate, current information. Do not submit false, misleading, or incomplete details about ownership, site conditions, access, timing, or the type of work requested.
By submitting a request, you agree that Gradeline may use the information you provide to contact you and to share your request with independent contractors who may be able to help. Submitting a request does not guarantee that a contractor will be available, interested, licensed for your project type, or willing to offer services in your area.
Contractor relationships and your responsibility
Any contractor you speak with through Gradeline is an independent business and not an employee, agent, joint venturer, or representative of Gradeline. We do not control how contractors price work, schedule projects, communicate, perform services, handle change orders, or resolve disputes.
You are solely responsible for evaluating and selecting any contractor. Before hiring, you should verify that the contractor is properly licensed if required, insured, and bonded if applicable. You should also review references, confirm experience with your project type, and ask questions about grading, drainage, compaction, spoil haul-off, erosion control, and permit handling.
Gradeline does not guarantee contractor availability, workmanship, timelines, permit approval, code compliance, pricing, or project outcomes.
Costs, estimates, and project information
Any pricing, cost ranges, yardage examples, timelines, or scope descriptions on this site are general educational information only. They are not quotes, bids, guarantees, or promises of final price. Actual costs can vary widely based on soil, slope, access, export or import of fill, equipment size, travel, dump fees, retaining needs, weather, and local permit requirements.
A contractor’s estimate or proposal is separate from Gradeline. We are not responsible for errors in measurements, assumptions, plans, or verbal discussions between you and a contractor. If your project involves excavation near a foundation, deep trenching, retaining structures, drainage discharge, or major site changes, you may need additional professional review and permits.
Acceptable use of the site
You agree to use this site only for lawful purposes. You may not use Gradeline to submit spam, impersonate another person, interfere with the site, scrape content, introduce malicious code, or attempt unauthorized access to our systems.
You also may not use the site to collect contractor information for resale, marketing lists, or unrelated commercial solicitation. We may limit, suspend, or end access to the site or matching service if we believe someone is misusing it.
Intellectual property
The content on Gradeline, including text, page design, graphics, logos, and original educational materials, belongs to Gradeline or its licensors and is protected by applicable law.
You may use the site for personal, non-commercial use. You may not copy, republish, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from our content without prior written permission, except as allowed by law.
Disclaimers and limitation of liability
Gradeline provides the site and service on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent allowed by law, we disclaim warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, availability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
To the fullest extent allowed by law, Gradeline will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, business interruption, property damage, personal injury, utility strikes, delays, or disputes arising out of or related to your use of the site, your reliance on site content, or your interactions with any contractor.
If you have a site-work project, use caution and common sense. Excavation can involve serious risks, including trench collapse, buried utilities, unstable soils, drainage problems, and damage to structures. Hire qualified professionals and call 811 before digging.
Third-party links, privacy, and contact
This site may include links to helpful internal resources such as services, costs, and guides. If we include any third-party tools or links, we do not control or endorse those outside sites and are not responsible for their content, availability, or practices.
Your use of the site is also subject to our privacy practices regarding the project and contact information you choose to submit. Please do not send sensitive financial, government ID, or immigration information through our forms. If you need help with a project, use get matched to share basic project details and contact information.
If you have questions about these Terms of Use, you may contact Gradeline through the website contact options available on the site.