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By Kendrick Hunter, owner of Hunter Excavating. Durham, NC. Short version: regrading moves water across the surface. A French drain moves water that's already in the ground, or water the surface can't get rid of fast enough. They fix different problems, and the reason people end up paying twice is that somebody sold them one when the yard needed the other. I get called out to yards in Durham most weeks where a homeowner already spent money on drainage and still has standing w

Nobody calls a grading contractor because they want to. They call because water is sitting against the house, or a lot won't pass inspection, or a driveway has turned into a washboard. And the first question is almost always the same: what's this going to cost me? Fair question. The frustrating answer is that grading doesn't have a sticker price, and anyone who quotes you a firm number over the phone without seeing the property is guessing. I run grading jobs across Durham an

People pick gravel because it's cheaper than asphalt or concrete. That part's true. What nobody tells you upfront is that gravel isn't a "install it and forget it" surface. It needs a little attention every year, and if you skip that attention for too long, the cheap driveway stops being cheap. So here's the honest breakdown of what a gravel driveway actually costs to keep in good shape each year here in the Triangle — Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and the

People call me all the time already halfway into a gravel project, standing in the driveway with a tape measure, trying to figure out how much to order. It's the single most common question I get before a job. Order too little and you're paying a second delivery fee while the truck loops back around. Order too much and there's a pile of crusher run sitting in the yard for a month, in everybody's way. So here's how I actually run the math on a Durham driveway, step by step, so

By Kendrick Hunter, owner of Hunter Excavating. Written from our yard in Durham, NC. Short version: if it's your tree, on your own residential property, and you're not in the middle of a building project, the City of Durham almost certainly does not require a permit to take it down. That surprises people. They've heard a horror story from a friend in another city, or read a scary forum thread, and they assume Durham works the same way. Mostly it doesn't. But "mostly" is doing

So the tree's gone. The crew swept up, hauled away the chips, and pulled out of the driveway. And there's still this stump sitting in your yard, looking weirdly bigger than it did when the whole tree was attached to it. A lot of homeowners around Durham don't realize that stump grinding is a separate service from tree removal until the truck has already left. Kendrick Hunter, who owns Hunter Excavating, gets calls every week from people whose previous tree company "didn't inc

If you've spent ten minutes looking up tree removal costs in Durham, you've probably noticed the numbers don't agree on much. One site says $400. Another says $4,000. The "average" calculators want your zip code and then spit out a range so wide it's basically useless. Kendrick Hunter, who owns Hunter Excavating, has been running quotes across Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Mebane for years now, and his crew has done well over a hundred removals just in the past

Watching a massive oak tree come down is a little nerve-wracking. Whether it’s leaning precariously over your roof after a North Carolina summer storm or it’s just a diseased pine that’s seen better days, you want to know that the people in your yard have a plan. At Hunter Excavating , we don’t just show up with a chainsaw and hope for the best. As a veteran-owned crew, we specialize in professional tree removal in Durham, NC and the surrounding areas, bringing a level of di

If you live in Durham, you know our weather can be unpredictable. One minute it’s a beautiful afternoon at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and the next, we’re dealing with a signature North Carolina downpour. For many homeowners here, those storms bring more than just rain—they bring the headache of standing water, "marshy" backyards, and the sinking feeling of seeing a puddle inching toward your foundation. At Hunter Excavating , we see these "soggy yard" stories every week. While a

Anyone who’s spent a spring in Durham knows the routine: you start the morning with a coffee on Ninth Street and end it checking to see if your Hope Valley backyard has officially turned into a lake. It’s not just "rain"—it’s that heavy, red-clay mess that seems to sit forever. While every NC homeowner deals with water, Durham has its own brand of drainage chaos thanks to our specific soil and how fast we’re building. Here’s why your yard is likely struggling more than your c

Standing water, soggy lawns, and erosion are common issues for homeowners in Durham, NC. With our region’s clay-heavy soil and seasonal heavy rainfall, poor yard drainage can quickly lead to damaged landscaping, foundation concerns, and unusable outdoor space. A properly designed drainage system is not a quick fix—it is a methodical process that addresses the root cause of the problem. Below is a step-by-step look at how a professional yard drainage job is completed in Durha

At Hunter Excavating, we know that grading is the foundation of every construction, landscaping, or site-development project. Grading isn’t just about moving dirt — it’s a methodical process for stability, correct drainage, long-term durability, and compliance with local requirements.

Since the beginning of our journey in Durham, NC , our mission has been to combine professional skills, reliability, and integrity . We founded this company so people could genuinely count on us. The market is competitive, but we've never let our team cut corners . That commitment is what has made us one of the most trusted names in grading and drainage across the Triangle. Built on Veteran Values and Local Commitment As a veteran-owned and operated business , Hunter Excav

As an excavation company with many years of experience in the Durham, NC area, we understand that any successful construction project starts with proper excavation. Serving Durham, NC, and surrounding areas, our veteran-owned team provides expert excavation and grading services for both residential and commercial projects. Here’s an inside look at the typical excavation process when you work with us. Step 1: Planning and Permitting Every project begins with careful planning: