Three things to know
- Describe future use, required levels and relationships to nearby buildings.
- Cutting, additional loads and water changes can affect slope behaviour.
- Plan terrain, required structures and logistics together.
Contents of this guide
- Describe the intended result, not just a soil quantity
- Altering a slope involves more than moving material
- When to contact a designer and other specialists first
- Address water and retaining structures with the ground design
- Example: a level area can mean different briefs
- Use the design to plan excavation, transport and sequence
Describe the intended result, not just a soil quantity
Mark areas for seating, paths, lawn or further construction. Add a plan, available level information and photographs of the whole slope taken from safely accessible positions. Include the house, nearby buildings, boundaries, access and known services in the sketch.
If you have only an idea, distinguish it from a completed design. An image of a similar garden can help discuss use; it does not define safe ground geometry on your site. Have the required additional documents explained before feasibility and scope are confirmed.
Altering a slope involves more than moving material
Cutting away ground, adding soil and changing what stands on the area are not interchangeable interventions. Site conditions and the proposal's implications need understanding. No single safe gradient, fill height or distance from a building can be recommended for every property.
The Czech Geological Survey's methodology includes artificial undercutting, additional loading and changes in water conditions among factors in slope movement. This explains why design must be site-specific. The methodology itself is not a design for your garden.
Czech Geological Survey — slope deformation recording methodology, section 4.2 (Czech) ↗
When to contact a designer and other specialists first
If changes affect foundations, create an area supported by a structure, retain soil or add fill carrying new loads, address the design before pricing digging alone. The designer determines required assessments, such as structural or geotechnical, for the proposal. A slope photograph does not replace that preparation.
Where ground movements, new cracks or water seepage are known, do not start before causes and conditions are clarified. Keep away if danger is immediate. Arrange specialist assessment and information handover to the contractor first. This guide is not instructions for cutting into a slope toe or stabilising a landslide.
Address water and retaining structures with the ground design
Record where water collects after rain and where it flows according to your observations. Attach available drainage records. Future levels and work beside a house must address water together; redirecting it towards a neighbour or foundations without assessment is not a solution.
If a retaining wall is involved, structural, foundation and drainage design follow decisions on the terrain. A separate guide covers preparation for a particular wall. Here, first clarify whether your proposal needs a structure and what kind; do not choose type or dimensions by appearance alone.
Example: a level area can mean different briefs
In one garden, a small area is part of designed ground alterations. In another, a new area beside the house needs structural support and will carry another building. Both owners may say 'I want it level', while required documents and subsequent trades differ.
This is an illustrative comparison, not a safety assessment of a particular property. The enquiry should also describe what will stand on the altered ground and what must not change nearby. If required levels or water arrangements remain unknown, mark them outstanding rather than a finished excavator brief.
Use the design to plan excavation, transport and sequence
For logistics, photograph access and the transfer route between excavation and loading. Describe surfaces, gradients and manoeuvring space. Equipment suitability is confirmed for the actual route; owning a dumper does not imply it can traverse every slope.
Define material for removal, retention or delivery and next-stage handover requirements. With SORTI, you can enquire about earthworks, transport and related structures within an agreed scope. Send the municipality, available design and photographs; design or specialist assessment is not automatically included in an excavation order.
Frequently asked questions
Can the slope simply be cut level?
That cannot be decided generically. Site conditions, nearby buildings, water and future use matter. Clarify required design and assessment first.
Does every alteration need a retaining wall?
There is no automatic rule. The particular project's design determines whether a structure is needed and what solution suits it.
Can a price be established from a photograph alone?
A photograph helps the first discussion. A specific quote needs scope, levels, access, material arrangements and the required execution documents.
Sources and further reading
Have a proposal for sloping land?
Send the municipality, photographs of the whole slope, intended use and available design. We will discuss the documents needed to assess earthworks and related work.