Gravel & Pad Prep
Gravel and pad prep is the residential service that lays a flat compacted base for what is about to sit on it — a new shed, a delivered hot tub, a trash and recycling enclosure, a small equipment pad — from $800 for a 10x10 shed footing to $3,000 for a multi-pad package on a larger property. A new shed is sitting in the driveway, delivery driver gone, and the only flat ground on the lot is the front walk. A hot tub delivery is scheduled for Friday and the previous tub left a soft mud crater behind. A trash enclosure has been sliding into the lawn since the last neighborhood haul. Handis builds the gravel pad that gives the shed, the tub, or the enclosure a dry, flat, drained base — over geotextile filter fabric because Puget Sound clay sub-base does not forgive its absence.
Service
What Does a Gravel & Pad Prep Visit Include?
A Handis gravel and pad prep visit is a residential service that builds a flat, compacted, drained gravel pad for whatever is about to sit on it — five families of work, all within honest handyman scope, all designed for the Puget Sound clay sub-base that defeats most pads built without filter fabric. Pricing starts at $800 for a shed-footing pad (10x10 through 12x16) and runs to $3,000 for a multi-pad package (shed plus trash enclosure plus walkway gravel refresh). Each family has its own rock spec, depth, and compaction sequence.
Shed Pads — 10x10 through 12x16
Most residential sheds (the prefab and kit sheds from Lowe's, Home Depot, Tuff Shed, Costco) need a flat compacted gravel base that drains. We grade the sub-base by hand or with a small skid steer where access allows, lay nonwoven geotextile filter fabric the full footprint plus a 6-inch margin, spread 4 to 6 inches of 5/8 inch crushed minus in 2-inch lifts, and plate-compact each lift before the next goes down. The finished pad sits 2 to 3 inches above grade for drainage, with a slight slope away from any structure. Shed delivery driver finds a flat dry surface to set on.
Hot Tub Gravel Bases
Hot tubs need a flat compacted base that handles 4,000 to 7,000 pounds of distributed load (water plus tub plus occupants). We grade the sub-base, lay geotextile filter fabric, and spread 4 to 6 inches of 1-1/4 inch base rock topped with 1 inch of 5/8 inch crushed minus, compacted in lifts. The pad is sized to the tub footprint plus a 12-inch step-up margin. We do not engineer for tubs that require a structural concrete slab per the tub manufacturer (some larger swim spas) — that routes to a concrete contractor.
Trash & Recycling Enclosure Pads
Three-bin trash and recycling enclosures sit on a smaller pad — typically 6x12 or 8x12 — that takes the rolling load of full bins and the drag-back load when the bins move at curbside collection. We grade, geotextile, 4 inches of compacted 5/8 inch crushed minus. The pad ties into the existing walk or driveway with a graded edge so the bins do not catch on a lip when rolled.
Small Equipment Pads — Generators, Mini-Splits, AC Condensers
Generator pads, mini-split outdoor units, and central AC condensers sit on small compacted pads — typically 3x4 or 4x5. The pad spec depends on equipment weight (generators are heavy) and vibration (vibration isolators usually come with the equipment). We do the gravel base; the equipment install (any gas, electrical, refrigerant-line, condensate-drain) is licensed-contractor scope.
Walkway and Driveway Gravel Refresh — Sections Only
Sections of a gravel walkway or gravel driveway that have rutted, settled, or lost their gravel surface to rain runoff — we refresh those sections. Re-grade, geotextile where the original install skipped it, fresh 5/8 inch crushed minus, plate-compact. Full driveway construction (new gravel driveway over undisturbed sub-base, drainage engineering, culvert work, full-width sub-base regrade) routes to an excavation or driveway contractor.
How Gravel & Pad Prep Works
Five sequential steps from the on-arrival site walk through the homeowner walk and 30-day guarantee — the actual order we run on every Handis gravel pad so the pad drains and stays flat instead of sinking into clay sub-base.
On-Arrival Site Walk & Sub-Base Check
We walk the pad location with you, check the sub-base for clay condition (most Puget Sound lots are clay), confirm the access for gravel delivery, and verify the pad dimensions against what is about to sit on it (shed footprint plus margin, hot tub plus step-up, enclosure plus rolling clearance). The walk happens before any sub-base disturbance.
Sub-Base Grade & Drainage Slope
We grade the sub-base by hand or with a small skid steer where access allows — flat for a shed, sloped 1 to 2 percent away from any structure for drainage. Any organics (sod, roots, debris) come out so the pad sits on mineral sub-base. We do not engineer for soft spots that need over-excavation and structural fill — that routes to a contractor.
Geotextile Filter Fabric, Full Footprint Plus Margin
Nonwoven geotextile filter fabric goes on the graded sub-base — the full pad footprint plus a 6-inch margin on every side, with fabric edges overlapping if seams are needed. The fabric keeps the clay sub-base separated from the gravel above so mud cannot migrate up. Without the fabric the pad turns into a mud sandwich within one wet season.
Gravel in 2-Inch Lifts, Plate-Compacted Between Each Lift
5/8 inch crushed minus (or 1-1/4 inch base rock under a heavier load) goes down in 2-inch lifts. Each lift gets plate-compacted with a vibratory plate compactor before the next goes down — single-lift dumping leaves voids that settle later. Shed pads finish at 4 to 6 inches deep; hot tub pads at 5 to 7 inches deep.
Final Level Check, Homeowner Walk & 30-Day Guarantee
We level-check the pad with a 4-foot bubble level on the long axis and the short axis, confirm the drainage slope, walk the pad with the homeowner, and document the work for the 30-day workmanship guarantee. Sub-base failure unrelated to our compaction, weather damage, and load-cycle settlement from improper use are not workmanship issues and are outside the guarantee.
Gravel & Pad Prep Pricing
Final pricing depends on pad dimensions, gravel volume, sub-base condition, access for gravel delivery, and whether geotextile and filter fabric are already in place. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us what is going on the pad and where — we will quote the prep before delivery day.
Why Handis for Gravel & Pad Prep
Most gravel pad calls we get are timed against a delivery — a shed showing up on Saturday with a flat-bed driver who refuses to drop into mud, a hot tub delivered Friday with a crane that needs a level base, a trash enclosure that has been sliding into the lawn since the last neighborhood haul. The pad is the in-between work. Done right the first time, it lasts decades and the shed sits flat for the next forty years. Done wrong (no fabric, no compaction, no drainage slope), it sinks into the clay within one wet season and the shed ends up out of level by an inch on the long wall. We do it right the first time because the second time costs four times as much.
Geotextile under every pad — Puget Sound clay does not forgive its absence
The clay sub-base under most Seattle-area lots holds water and pumps mud upward into anything you put on top of it. A gravel pad set straight on clay turns into a mud sandwich within one wet season — every footfall, every load cycle on a hot tub or a shed, the mud and the gravel keep migrating until the pad is a soft soup. Nonwoven geotextile filter fabric (a thin permeable layer) keeps the two strata separated. Water still drains through, but the mud stays below and the gravel stays above. Pads last decades instead of a year. Skipping the fabric saves about $50 in materials and costs the pad ten years of life.
Gravel in lifts, plate-compacted between each lift
Dumping 6 inches of gravel in a single lift leaves voids that settle for months and shows up as a wavy uneven surface a year later. We spread gravel in 2-inch lifts and plate-compact each lift with a vibratory plate compactor before the next goes down. The compactor seats each layer into the layer below — the finished pad is dense, flat, and stable. Shed corners stay at the same elevation; hot tub levels stay within manufacturer tolerance.
Right rock for the right pad
5/8 inch crushed minus is the standard residential pad rock — angular particles that interlock when compacted, with the fines that pack the voids. 1-1/4 inch base rock goes under heavier loads (hot tubs, larger sheds) as a base layer with a 1-inch crushed-minus topping. Pea gravel is for decorative use and never the right call under a structural load — round particles roll instead of locking. We pick the rock to the load and tell you what we are bringing on the booking call.
Drainage slope, not flat
A truly flat pad pools water at the corners and the center after a heavy rain. We grade and compact every pad with a 1 to 2 percent slope away from any structure — about 1 inch of drop per 4 feet. The slope is invisible to the eye but obvious to the water. Shed bases stay dry, hot tubs do not get a standing-water ring, equipment pads drain in any storm.
Honest scope — handyman labor, contractor handoff on engineered work
Gravel pads are handyman labor. Anything that requires engineered footings (most attached structures, anything that needs a Seattle SDCI permit, anything with a structural calculation), structural concrete slabs, foundation work, retaining walls over jurisdictional thresholds, and any work crossing into utility-line territory routes to a licensed Washington L&I concrete or foundation contractor — we name the issue on the booking call and recommend a contractor when we know one. We come back for the prep work around their pour if you want us in the loop.
30-day workmanship guarantee on the pad we built
If a pad we installed settles unevenly from our compaction, a corner sinks because the lift compaction was skipped (it will not be), the drainage slope reverses because of a grade we set wrong, or the geotextile pulls back because of an edge we trimmed short, we come back and fix it at no extra charge within 30 days. Sub-base failure unrelated to our compaction (a soft spot we did not over-excavate because it was outside scope), weather damage from a 100-year storm event, load-cycle settlement from improper use (a hot tub overfilled, a shed loaded past its design weight), and normal weathering of the gravel surface are not workmanship issues and are outside the guarantee.
Estimate
Tell us about the pad — what is going on it (shed model and footprint, hot tub dimensions and full weight, enclosure size), the location, the access for a small truck or skid steer, the sub-base you know about, and the delivery date you are working against. We send a clear estimate that lists the gravel spec, the depth, and the install date.
Customer Reviews
Recent gravel and pad prep reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
Hot tub delivery scheduled for a Friday, mud patch in the side yard where the old tub used to sit. Handis showed up Tuesday with geotextile fabric and 3 yards of compacted 1-1/4 minus base rock, plate compactor, finished a flat dry pad by end of day. Tub landed level and has not moved.
New 12x16 shed coming in on Saturday from Costco delivery. Crew built the pad on Wednesday — geotextile, 5 inches of compacted 5/8 minus, slight slope away from the back fence. Shed delivery driver said the pad was the flattest he had set on in months. Shed floor is dead flat at every corner.
Trash enclosure had been sliding into the lawn for two years. Handis built a 6x12 gravel pad tied to the existing driveway with a graded edge, plate-compacted. Bins roll back and forth on collection day without catching. Small project, huge quality-of-life improvement.
Generator pad for a 22 kW Generac. Handis built the 4x5 gravel base, plate-compacted, slight slope for the condensate. Generator installer did the gas and electrical the next week and said the pad spec was exactly right. They were upfront the install itself was contractor scope and would not touch it.
Section of our gravel driveway had rutted out where the runoff cuts across in heavy rain. Handis re-graded the section, laid geotextile (the original install had skipped it), refreshed with 5/8 minus and plate-compacted. Two atmospheric river events since — no re-rutting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis gravel and pad prep — pricing, scope, materials, drainage, scheduling, and what routes to a licensed contractor.