Every lot in Rutherford County is dirt work before it's anything else.
Grade it, dig it, drain it, pad it, gravel it. Heavy clay over shallow limestone, handled by an independent local company that works in it for a living. You get a walk-through, a number, and a yard that finally sheds water.
Mon–Sat 6:30am–5:00pm · Murfreesboro · Smyrna · La Vergne · Christiana
Cannonsburgh Grading connects Rutherford County property owners with one independent local grading company. The dirt work is priced and performed by a licensed Tennessee contractor.
Murfreesboro is the 16th-fastest-growing city in America. All that growth starts the same way: somebody moves the dirt.
What the work covers
Gravel Driveway Installation
New drives built on a real compacted base — plus regrades and fresh rock for drives that have sunk into the mud. Typical new installs $1,500–$6,000.
Land Grading & Yard Leveling
Slope correction, rough spots smoothed out, and lots resloped so water runs away from the house instead of at it. Most jobs $500–$5,000.
Excavation & Trenching
Utility trenches, stump-hole and foundation dig-outs, and general dirt moving. Full-size and mini machines for tight access.
Drainage Correction
Standing water, soggy side yards, downspouts dumping at the slab. Swales, regrades, and French-drain earthwork that give water somewhere to go.
Building Pads
Compacted pads for barns, garages, shops, and barndominiums — cut, filled, and proud of grade so the slab stays dry. Typically $1,500–$10,000.
Driveway Regrades & Culverts
Crown restored, ditches reopened, entrance culverts sized right — the maintenance side of gravel, done before the potholes win.
The builder finished. The dirt didn't.
Rutherford County has roughly 906 new-construction homes moving across some 157 active communities right now. Every one of those lots got a fast machine-grade the week before sod. Then the fill settles. The downspouts dump straight at the foundation. The backyard holds water for three days after a good rain. By the second spring, the homeowner is searching "foundation repair" for what is actually a grading problem.
Most of these requests end the same way: a regrade to put fall back in the yard, a shallow swale to carry the water between houses, and downspout runs that discharge somewhere useful. A day or two of dirt work, and the "settling problem" is done settling arguments. (Weighing pipe against channel? Start with French drain vs. swale.)
Clay over limestone — the ground rules here
Middle Tennessee soil is heavy clay sitting on shallow limestone. Clay doesn't drink water; it holds it on the surface until gravity finds a path. That's why grade is everything in this county — the difference between a dry crawl space and a swamp is often two inches of fall across thirty feet. The limestone matters too: dig deep enough almost anywhere around Murfreesboro and you'll meet rock, which is why dig depth gets scoped honestly before excavation is quoted.
The season works in your favor. Dirt work here runs close to year-round; short freezes slow it down, they don't stop it. Spring is the busy stretch, because spring rain exposes every shortcut the original grading took. Standing-water season is when the quote requests pile up, so if your yard failed this spring's test, send the request before the next one.
About the name
Before Murfreesboro was Murfreesboro, the settlement on the west bank of Lytle Creek was called Cannonsburgh — a name the city keeps alive today at the Cannonsburgh Village pioneer museum. The name was taken because it belongs here: this county's dirt, this county's history, this county's work.
Dirt work only — and all of it
The work starts where the lot is already clear and open. From there the whole dirt trade is in scope: grade, dig, trench, drain, pad, gravel. If your project needs a different trade before or after the dirt, that is a separate hire; dirt is the only lane here.
Straight numbers up front
- Grading and yard leveling: most residential jobs land between $500 and $5,000, driven by lot size and how much dirt has to move.
- Excavation: typical projects run $1,100–$5,600 depending on depth, spoils, and whether the bucket meets rock.
- Building pads: $1,500–$10,000 by footprint and fill height.
- Gravel driveways: new 100–200 ft installs $1,500–$6,000; a regrade-and-refresh usually $500–$1,500. Full length-by-length math on the gravel driveway cost guide.
Every quote is walked on your property and itemized, and a cheaper fix that will genuinely hold belongs in it.
Where the work goes
Murfreesboro and all of Rutherford County, including Rockvale, the Blackman area, and everything in between.
Got dirt that needs moving?
Grading, excavation, drainage, pads & gravel driveways — Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne & Christiana.
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