talk is cheap, dirt is not

We have been in contact with a few grading contractors, each with varying opinions/theories/positions about how and when a piece of property should be graded. One would think that the business of soil logistics would be a (logical) science. However, here it seems to be more akin to alchemy, with every contractor believing his wizardry to be superior.

Since we are in the rainy season, we've been told that dirt is hard to find-- since construction never commences during the rainy season, foundations are not currently being dug, and hence, there is no excavated dirt available in town (to transport onto our site). We just received a couple of very high bids-- approximately 550,000 Baht to raise 1 rai (1600 square meters) of land by 1 meter, putting our grand grading total at about 840,000 Baht, or roughly $25,000 (this is only for Phase One because we are only working with one-half of the site right now). These contractors say it is wiser to wait until the monsoons are over. By November, they tell us, construction projects will start up again, foundations will be excavated, and dirt will be cheap and plentiful. Dirt for everyone!

So that is one story.

The second camp of contractors believe that dirt is dirt, and it will cost the same regardless of the season. They argue that while soil contractors prefer to grade during the dry season (road transportation is easier, and dirt weighs less when it is not saturated with water), it benefits landowners to grade during the rainy season, since dirt settles more evenly when it is moist. Dry dirt, they argue, crumbles and results in uneven settlement. So grade now! They say. Don't wait, silly fool! Prices will only rise!

Keep in mind here that the methods of soil compaction are pretty low-tech here (unless you are building a tower, a condominium, or a mammoth-sized mall). Dirt is hauled onto the site, dumped, spread evenly (um, "evenly"), and driven over a few times by a 10-wheeler truck (a.k.a. "compaction").

I have been on the phone with grading contractors all morning today, getting enough information from one contractor, then calling the next, and so on and so forth-- building my knowledge base a little more with every phone call so I am starting to actually sound like I know how things are done around here...