Thinking About Building an Outbuilding?

April 10, 2025

Here’s What Landowners Should Consider Before Breaking Ground

If you’re a rural landowner dreaming of a barn, workshop, detached garage, or something in between, you’re probably thinking about the structure. It’s exciting, right? But….while you dive into computer-generated designs, door sizes, and picking colors, let’s talk about the first step you might not be thinking about enough: the site work!

I’m Cami, owner of Reiss Earthworks based in Kansas City, MO, and we’re usually the very first contractor on-site for most rural outbuilding projects. The decisions made at this stage — about drainage, elevation, pad placement, and access — affect everything that comes after. Our work sets the stage for all the trades that follow and the success of your building.

Why Site Prep Comes First

Before your building package arrives and the truss truck cautiously attempts the tight squeeze up your driveway (a surprisingly common scenario—how does a property on acreage end up with such a narrow entrance?), the site needs proper prep work. This includes clearing, grading, drainage, constructing a compacted building pad, and possibly extending or reinforcing the driveway to handle heavy loads over time. It’s definitely more than just scraping the grass and calling it good.

Depending on your site, the pad might be built up with imported aggregate, cut into the existing grade, or built up from onsite clay — and each approach has unique considerations. We will discuss and evaluate these options with you at the consultation and in preparing our estimate.

Important Big-Picture Considerations for Your Site

➡📍Location! The “flattest-looking spot,” which you hope might be the cheapest option without considering water flow, is most likely not the best option.
➡🚛 Access for trucks, trailers, future expansion, and driveway/turnaround needs should be carefully planned.
➡🛠️ What method, material, and process will the contractor use for the building and compacting of the site?
➡📐Does the estimate you received consider slopes and drainage around the pad?
➡🔌Do private or public, existing or proposed utilities need to be considered?

What We Do Differently

Reiss Earthworks is invested in not only earthwork but specifically in building pads. You’re not just hiring someone to move dirt around and get the site “good enough.” We have a scientific process nailed down, we can repeat these steps time and time again, and start our client’s projects off with precision.

At the consultation, we’ll walk the site with you, ask questions, listen, and think big-picture. We want you to tell us about your future plans so we can consider them in the current project plan and look for smart ways to grade, slope, and place things now so it works better later. Maybe you want to run water lines. Maybe you want to park an RV next to the building. Maybe you want a future mother-in-law suite, an accessory dwelling unit, or an attached greenhouse. We are not your builder, your survey crew, your engineer, your architect, or your lawyer — and we’ll remind you of that in our terms and conditions — but we want to provide as much help as we can. This help is a complementary part of our service: we share what we know, what we’ve seen, and what we’d do if it were ours. You will find many of our clients have found value in this process and they have mentioned it in their reviews (see one here and also here.)

One of the tools that sets us apart is our laser grading and precision leveling equipment. We’ve invested in laser-guided equipment that lets us construct pads and ancillary slopes with precision down to a tenth of an inch. We’re not checking grades all day— we’re getting feedback in real time in the equipment cab via lasers. Our laser system confirms grade live while we work — we’re not checking strings, driving stakes, or hoping the slope is right. We know it’s right. That means no water ponding, no rework, and no ‘we’ll fix it later.’ You’ll have to see this in person or check out our videos; the control and the accuracy are impressive. It’s the same tech used on larger highway and commercial jobs, but we’ve brought it to smaller scale projects. That means faster installs, more accurate pad and slopes, and way less risk of drainage issues or grade problems later on. It also means we don’t need a big crew checking grades constantly — the machine hits grade automatically.

🗣 “The company putting up our building said, ‘This was done the way it’s supposed to be done.” —📍Building Pad Client – Lee’s Summit, MO

The Process, Start to Finish, Simplified and Summarized

Here’s what working with us usually looks like:

You reach out — We’ll ask questions, gather some details, and set a consultation appointment.
We visit the site — We’ll come take a look and talk through options, collect elevation shots, and measurements.
We send you a clear, detailed estimate — No vague text messages or a single number written on a business card, we provide thoroughly spelled-out estimates. If you’re a paper printer (like me), you can hold it in your hand. If not, you can scroll up and down to your heart’s delight.
You decide — After you sign the estimate to accept and your deposit is received, your project receives a place on the schedule, starting all the behind the scene work.
We show up ready — We manage the job, respect your property, and keep you in the loop.

How Much Will the Dirt Work for My Building Cost?

We get this question all the time — and the honest answer is that it depends. Every site is different. Factors like access, terrain, cut or fill, the size of the pad, how much and what fill is needed, tree clearing and/or drainage work needs can all affect the final number.

That said, our rural outbuilding site work services commonly start at $8,000.

Counties We Serve

We install building pads and provide site work for pole barns (and more) for rural homeowners and builders within roughly a one-hour radius of our shop in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. This includes:

✅ Jackson County, MO
✅ Cass County, MO
✅ Johnson County, MO
✅ Lafayette County, MO
✅ Henry County, MO
✅ Johnson County, KS
✅ Wyandotte County, KS
✅ Miami County, KS
✅ Leavenworth County, KS
✅ Douglas County, KS
…and more. If you’re in or near these areas, reach out and let’s talk about your project.

Let’s Get Your Groundwork Right

A phone call or text is all it takes to start a conversation. We’ll help you plan smart, avoid regrets, and make the most of your land from day one.

📬 Want to talk through our site? Reach out here → www.reissearthworks.com/contact

– Cami Reiss, “Dirt Girl”, CEO & President of Reiss Earthworks
Send me a message through the contact form on my website if you’d like to discuss a project, have an idea for me to write about, have a question (dirt or business-related), or have any feedback.

Note: Our blog posts are written from within the company. Sometimes by one, sometimes by many. Sometimes, they are like a friendship quilt in which everyone puts forth effort. They are not a result of a social media manager typing into artificial intelligence asking for a 900-word blog post, followed with copy and paste and calling it good. If Cami’s writing…. sentences are sometimes long and the thoughts bounce around. If Cali’s at the keyboard, nothing will be spelled correctly for sure. And if Cadi’s typing away, you’ll get “to the point” and probably spelled correctly. Yes, a lot of C names. Needless to say, clients don’t hire us to write for them (not yet, at least. We are interested in technical writing in our industry if anyone’s looking to hire us and provide housing in a warm winter climate- Only half kidding, of course.) Thanks for showing interest. The goal is to meet clients here and assist business owners on the same journey as us if we can.

The information provided in this blog is for general entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be construed as professional advice or a guarantee of service or result. While I aim to provide accurate and helpful information, any statements, details, or pricing shared are approximate and may change based on specific project details. Reiss Earthworks does not accept liability for any inaccuracies or errors. Always consult directly with us for precise estimates or advice for your specific project.