Fill Dirt for home site

Help!

My husband and I are putting a manufactured home on our property in the country. We need to improve the drainage of the back part of the property and are in the proces of finding out about french drains. HOWEVER, the contractor said we should build up the area where we want the home with "fill dirt" to make sure it is high and dry. (Yeah, I thought that's what contractors did, too.)

I don't want just any ol' yukky dirt going in. Like the folks here at DG, I want to have healthy soil all around my home, and don't want to have to worry about lead or polluntants leaching out from some imported soil.

Has anyone here been through this? How can I get "good, clean" soil for my home site? My understanding is that bulldozers are going to push everything around, so some of this "fill dirt" will end up in areas where I will be planting, I'm sure.

One way to get around this is to have the existing top 6-10" of soil removed and moved to the side. After they have completed grading with fill dirt, then the landscaper uses a bobcat to lay the topsoil back. You can also bring in good quality topsoil and/or compost and roto till it into the top layer of filldirt if you want.

Filldirt is any kind of dirt available and which may not be (i.e. is unlikely to be) suitable for planting. It it was suitable for planting it would be sold as topsoil at a premium. Filldirt is at the bottom of the scale in terms of price and quality. Also, there are no restrictions as to where such must come from, but there are codes for hazardous contermination, so they can not just pickup a scoop from hazardous waste sites. However, it can contain high levels of concrete and/or other building materials making it unsuitable due to compaction and/or soil pH for planting.

My recommendation would be to have a soil test done by your local county extension agent before the fill dirt is layed. If you can not be sure that you are getting the same dirt which you test, then I would insist on the construction contract having a clause saying that the dirt should be free of visible debris and must not contain any unsuitable chemical or organic substances (such as motor oil, asbestos, concrete residule, hazardous chemicals etc and have a soil pH between 5.5 - 8.0). The contract should state that the fill dirt will be tested (by you at your expense through a mail in soil test) once the dirt is on site, and if it does not pass such test, they have to remove and replace the dirt at their expense. You may find some contracters barking at this, but it does not hurt to ask. At this point it time, it may pay to have a lawyer write up this portion.

I live next to a gravel pit and there is nothing coming out but what the glaciers dumped in. Go to where the fill comes from and look for site elevation, surrounding industries, and then decide. Yes you can soil test but it is already there in your yard and you can only check a small area. I have a large area of "pit run" on the back of my drain field and nothing would grow due to the rocks and clay. I built raised beds over that and now I have a beautiful garden. Sandy Loam is not too expensive and would allow drainage and soil improvement with compost added.