Ace Excavating Austin

TL;DR On Central Texas lots, surface water problems are best solved with surface solutions. If rain visibly sheets or pools, start with regrading and a vegetated swale that carries flow at a 2–8% fall to a safe outfall. Use a French drain (perforated pipe in gravel with fabric) only when water is subsurface—springy clay seams, […]

TL;DR A durable building pad in Central Texas starts with a clear geotech-backed plan: confirm subsoil, strip organics, over-excavate weak zones, place select fill in thin lifts (4–6″ loose) at the proper moisture, and compact to the project’s spec (often 95% of Standard Proctor for pads/approaches). Shape the perimeter with 1.5–2% fall for the first

TL;DR Expansive Central Texas clays are fickle: they expand when wet and shrink when dry. If surface water lingers near your slab, driveway, or utility trenches, volume change (heave/settlement) can cause flatwork to tilt, joints to crack, and ruts to telegraph. The cure is a disciplined grading and drainage plan built for our soils: maintain

TL;DR Austin’s live oaks are the backbone of Hill Country lots—but they’re vulnerable during clearing. Protect them by (1) fencing the tree protection zone (TPZ) before any machine rolls, using a radius of 1.5× to 2× the trunk diameter at breast height (DBH) in feet, or the full dripline—whichever is larger; (2) planning machinery paths

TL;DR Laser grading makes Central Texas lots build-ready by dialing precise slopes for drainage, pads, and driveways—even on expansive clays and limestone shelves. The key is a tight layout (benchmarks + control points), the right equipment (rotary laser, receiver, grade rod, machine-mounted laser or 2D/3D control), and Austin-smart slopes: 2%–5% for yards, 1%–2% for hardscape

TL;DR If you’re clearing 1–5 acres around Austin, your budget will live or die by four drivers: density/type of vegetation (light brush vs cedar thickets vs hardwood pockets), access & terrain (gates, slopes, rock shelves), method (forestry mulching for selective, traditional push/rake/haul for build-ready), and scope coupling (do you stop at “park-like” or continue into

TL;DR Central Texas burns hot and fast when wind, heat, and brush stack up. To keep homes and barns safer, design your lot with defensible-space zones: a lean, clean, and green zone closest to structures (think noncombustible or well-kept materials within the first few feet), a reduced-fuel zone out to ~30 feet, and a managed

TL;DR In Central Texas, on-site forestry mulching usually wins for speed and total cost when your goal is selective thinning, visibility, trails, and wildfire-risk reduction—with minimal soil disturbance and no trucking fees. Brush haul-off (push/rake/stack → grind or load-out) becomes the better value when you need a “clean sweep” aesthetic, you’re building this season in

TL;DR  A great driveway or access road in Central Texas starts with the right clear, not the last paving pass. Clear a corridor wide enough for equipment and fire access, protect your oaks with tree protection zones, then build the roadbed in thin, well-compacted lifts over a subgrade that drains on purpose. Aim for 1–2%

TL;DR Central Texas brush behaves differently on limestone shelves than it does on clay flats. Ashe juniper (cedar) forms dense, resin-rich thickets and ladder fuels that raise wildfire risk and rob water from the understory. Mesquite resprouts from a deep taproot; cut wrong, and it multiplies. Other junipers and thorny invaders crowd wildlife corridors and