Grading Ashland ground means working red clay, the slick Lake Superior clay that turns to grease in April and bakes hard by August. Our equipment lot is on the edge of town, so grading Ashland driveways, yards and building sites is home turf for Mark Hazelquist and the crew he has led since 1988.
Rated 4.9 on Google · Owner on every job since 1988
Red clay barely lets water through, so whatever lands on it runs to the low spot. Too often that low spot is the corner of the house. Yard grading reshapes the lot so it falls away from the walls and carries water to the street or a swale instead.
A clay yard needs cover fast after grading or the first rain carves it up. We spread topsoil and can seed the new Ashland lawn on the same job.
Every April the clay under a thin gravel drive turns soft and pumps up through the stone. Driveway grading fixes the shape, a crown in the middle and ditches on the sides, so water leaves before it can soften the base. We have been grading Ashland drives long enough to know the clay always wins if the crown is gone.
Drives that have sunk past saving get a new stone base through our Ashland gravel driveway service. For a brand-new road into raw land, see how we build driveways from scratch.
Out toward the Fish Creek sloughs on the west end, the water table sits high and clay lots can stay wet into June. Site grading there means raising the pad, compacting it in lifts, and leaving the builder a slab elevation that stays dry.
We take wooded parcels from standing timber to bare ground with lot clearing in Ashland, then roll into full site preparation.
About a third of our work comes from builders, townships and county boards. Parking areas, shop yards and road shoulders all need land grading that holds up under trucks and plows. Bigger grounds projects run through our commercial landscaping crew in Ashland.
The clay is workable from late May into fall, and lake-effect snow can shut things down early. If the grade is done by October, there is time to get grass up before the plow trucks come through.
Since our machines already live here, grading Ashland jobs can often start sooner than work out of town. If you searched grading contractor near me from Ashland, the crew is a few minutes away.
Mark Hazelquist has run heavy equipment around Chequamegon Bay since May 1988, and his operators have stayed with him for more than 15 years. Owning the machines means grading Ashland property does not wait on a rental yard. Whoever you hire, it is fair to ask for a certificate of insurance before work begins.
Read how the business got started and why Mark still runs every job.
Ashland is home base. Across the bay we cover yard grading in Washburn, and further up the shore we do hillside grading in Bayfield. South along Highway 13 and Highway 63, Sanborn, Mason and Mellen are all within easy reach.
Anyone searching grading contractor near me between Moquah and Mellen can call the same number.
Red clay barely absorbs water, so it runs to the lowest point. If that point is your foundation or driveway, you get wet basements and soft spots. Grading moves the low point somewhere harmless.
Usually. We regrade it with a crown and ditches, and where the clay has pushed through the stone, we rebuild the base.
Yes. On high-water-table lots we raise and compact the pad so the slab sits above the wet ground.
Yes. Builders, townships and county boards make up roughly a third of our jobs.
From late May, once the clay dries, until the ground freezes in fall.
Yes. Topsoil and seeding are part of what we do, so the new grade gets cover fast.
Monday through Friday, 7 to 5. Weekends are for emergencies only.
Calls are answered or returned within an hour, and quotes go out within 48 hours.
Quality Tree Service is a full-property crew — many Ashland projects involve more than one service. Explore what else we do for your neighborhood.
Prefer to start with the service overview? Visit our service hub or the full service-area directory.
Request an estimate or call. The crew is right here in town.
