Whether it’s time to add outbuildings to your acreage or create an entirely new site, Acreage Development Solutions should be your first (and only) call. With over thirty years “in the dirt” around Calgary and Southern Alberta, we at ADS have a thorough working knowledge of the challenges developing the land. We are a family owned and operated company, and own different specialized equipment for a variety of rough terrain. When you’re ready to build a shed, barn, or even an arena and need your ground work done right, come to us first.
Give us a call at 403-815-0004 or tell us about your project.
How We Develop Your Pad
A stable foundation is key to a lasting structure, and a building pad is no different. We survey your site, checking the topsoil as well as the base material and even any bedrock. We prep the pad to be able to support the heaviest load. The extra support from the ground site helps with heavy and uneven loads on your building. We will level the site and back-fill. If you need gravel, we can even haul it for you. If it’s an especially difficult site, we also make recommendations for any foundation work needed like screw piles or geotextiles.
Every site is different – some may require retaining walls or berms for proper drainage. We can do that, too! We’ll measure, excavate, and can even handle the finished grading of gravel. We like a challenge – even if you think that your site is too tough or too remote, check out our completed projects gallery. You will be impressed with what we can do. Do you need to place a building pad on a steep slope, in a rock area, wet location, maybe we even need to remove standing water first, we’ve probably already encountered it and have a solution. We work around Calgary and the surrounding Foothills area and can construct building pads on acreage, farms, or work on large projects, such as campgrounds or commercial developments. Our specialties involve excavation and dirt work for all types of rural clients and we do it right!
Don’t Risk Your Stable on an Unstable Site
Our three decades of experience has given us a thorough understanding of how to properly prepare a site for an outbuilding or arena, as well as what can go wrong. We have been called in to fix problems with uneven sites, and improperly excavated pads. Be careful with your dig:
- Just dumping gravel on a “level” site and smearing it around with a rake won’t hold your load. Your footing will be inadequate and your building will end up moving, and could eventually become unsafe for use
- A rush job, without properly compacting the potentially several, layers of material needed, will not allow the site to give your building proper support
- Uneven pad or “base” preparation causes poor footing in arenas. This can be very unsafe for horses and riders both.
- Keep yourself and your animals safe – use expert services
When a building base isn’t completed correctly think about how expensive it is to “re-do” a building footing once the building is up and it has to be done from inside, call us and that won’t happen.
As always with ADS, we value quality and safety over discounting and rush. We view your property and the improvements you do to it as an investment and treat it as such. Our focus on safety has verifiable success, and we are COR certified – a designation awarded to employers who develop health and safety programs that meet strict safety standards set out by Alberta Labour.
Got questions? Here are some answers to some of the most common ones.
We have “Solution” in our name for a reason – we help with your ruggedest dirt work. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for here, we can still help you.
It's typical to use 3/4" crush gravel, in some cases the ground requires larger material and others smaller. We always assess the soil at your site to determine what is best.
Can't you just use dirt? In most cases, the ground below is dirt from site but there is always a layer of gravel recommended to “lock” everything together and create a stable base for whatever sits on top of it.
Most of the time yes, we have built several pads in cold weather with roaring success - give us a call and we'll come out for a site visit.
You bet we do! ADS uses state of the art, laser-guided machines for millimeter accuracy in placing gravel, limestone dust, arena footing and pretty much any granular material.
Absolutely! We have equipment specifically set up for re-leveling horse arenas that have rutted up over time. It's more common than you think!
Tell Us About Your Project
We can talk about what we do all day long. But it’s best to talk to you about what you’re actually looking for and let us see where we can help. Give us a Call or fill out the form below and we will contact you when it works best.