Excavation, Grading & Land ClearingGaston, Lincoln, Catawba, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland & Rutherford Counties
Rodney Little brings thirty years of experience to the work, and he covers these seven counties out of Cherryville. He runs the machine, he writes the estimate, and he is the one you call if something is not right. Free on-site estimates, insured for $1 million.
Get a Free Estimate
No cost for the visit, no pressure afterward.
Nine Services,
One Crew, One Number
Most of our work is dirt — moving it, shaping it, or getting trees and brush off it first. We also put in dry creek beds, pour concrete drives and set rip-rap along lake shorelines. Most of it is done by our own crew on our own equipment; where a job needs a trade we do not run, we bring in a subcontractor and tell you who.
Excavation & Grading
Site prep, lot grading, building pads, cut and fill
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Land Clearing
Trees, brush, stumps and debris
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Demolition
Outbuildings, slabs, mobile homes & old concrete
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Brush Hogging & Heavy Brush Cutting
Overgrown fields, pasture & heavy growth
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Gravel Driveways
New drives, rebuilds, crown & drainage
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Concrete Driveways
Driveways, parking pads, walks & aprons
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Drainage & Dry Creek Beds
Dry creek beds, river rock, swales, ditching and culverts
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Shoreline Restoration
Rip-rap shoreline repair, rebuilds and bank work
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Emergency & Storm Cleanup
Downed trees, washouts & blocked access
Learn more →Thirty Years of Dirt
Behind Every Job
Little Acres Grading is Rodney Little’s outfit, run out of Cherryville. Thirty years of grading, clearing and driveway work stand behind it. Today that work runs from Gaston County up through Caldwell and west into Rutherford — ground he is on most weeks, which is how he knows which parcels off Highway 274 sit on rock, where the bottomland along the South Fork will not hold a pad, and how fast a bare slope in Burke County washes when it rains hard.
It is a small operation on purpose. Rodney gives the estimate, runs the machine and answers the phone. Some jobs call for a trade or a machine we do not run ourselves, and then we bring in a subcontractor we have worked with and tell you who is coming. Nothing gets quoted by someone who has not stood on the ground, and the job stays ours from the first look to the last load.
Estimates are free and done on site. Coverage is $1 million in liability, and we will send a certificate to you or your builder before the first bucket of dirt moves.
Not sure how to compare one dirt contractor against another? We wrote a plain guide to choosing a grading contractor in North Carolina — insurance, licensing, estimates and deposits.
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Shoreline Restoration
on Norman, Hickory,
James & Moss Lake
Bigger boats and wake boats put more water against a shoreline than it was built for. Once a bank starts to undercut it does not stop on its own — the roots come out, the soil drops into the lake in slabs, and the wall behind it starts to lean.
We set rip-rap along the waterline to hold the bank, rebuild what has already gone, and re-set the runs that are still sound before they fail. Where we can get a machine down to the water, the whole job is done from the land instead of off a barge, and that takes a large part of the cost out of it. All we need is somewhere to drop stone and a seven-foot opening to get through.
Shoreline restoration →
Jobs from Around
the Whole Service Area
These are our own photographs from our own jobs — driveways, pads, shoreline stone and pasture work from Gaston County up to Caldwell and west into Rutherford.
One Cap, One Crew,
One Phone Number
That cap turns up on tractor tires, truck seats and the dash of the dozer from Cherryville out to Morganton. Behind it is one small outfit: Rodney sets the price, Rodney runs the machine, and the figure at the bottom of the estimate is the figure you pay.
Tell Us What You Need Done
Fill this out and we will get back to you to set up a time to come look at the job. No cost for the visit and no pressure afterward.
- Rodney looks at the job himself
- A written price, not a range that moves
- Insured — $1M liability, certificate on request
Get a Free Estimate
What You Actually Get
When You Hire Us
The owner runs the job
Rodney quotes every job and runs the machine. If a job needs a subcontractor he brings in one he has worked with, and he stays on site.
The price is written down
You get a number on paper after we have walked the ground. It does not move unless you ask for something different.
We know this ground
Piedmont clay, Burke County rock, Lake Norman shoreline — we work all of it and price accordingly.
Insured for $1 million
Certificate available on request, for you, your builder or your HOA.
Water gets dealt with
Most of what we get called to fix is somebody else’s drainage. We grade so water leaves, not so it sits.
We clean up after ourselves
Debris hauled off, ruts filled, the site left in a condition you would be happy to show somebody.
Seven Counties, One Crew
Every town we cover, by county. Pick yours and see what the ground does there.
Seven Counties Across
the Western Piedmont
Cherryville sits in the northwest corner of Gaston County, which puts most of these seven counties inside an easy run. Free on-site estimates anywhere on this map.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions we hear most. If yours is not here, call (828) 455-0928 and ask.
We would put Little Acres Grading up against anyone working the western Piedmont. Rodney Little has 30 years on the machine and runs the job himself, so the person who quotes your work is the person running it. Where a job calls for a trade we do not run, he brings in a subcontractor he has worked with and is still on site. We are insured for $1 million in liability, estimates are free and on site, and the written price does not move once you accept it. Call (828) 455-0928 and we will come look at it.
We are based in Cherryville and cover seven North Carolina counties: Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland and Rutherford. That runs from Belmont in the east to Ellenboro in the west and Lenoir in the north, and takes in Gastonia, Lincolnton, Denver, Hickory, Newton and everything between.
No. Estimates are free and we do them on site, not over the phone. Rodney walks the ground with you, looks at access, drainage and what is under the grass, and gives you a written price based on what is actually there.
Excavation and grading, land clearing, demolition, brush hogging and heavy brush cutting, gravel driveways, concrete driveways, and emergency and storm cleanup. Residential and light commercial both.
Yes. We carry $1 million in liability coverage and can send a certificate to you, your builder or your HOA before we start.
For some work, yes. Rodney does the dirt work himself — grading, clearing, drives, drainage and stone. Where a job calls for a trade or a machine we do not run, we bring in a subcontractor we have worked with before, rather than turn the job down or learn on your property. You are told who is coming and what they are doing before they turn up, the price you agreed does not move because of it, and Rodney stays the person you call.
Rodney has 30 years of experience running equipment and grading dirt. That is the whole reason the estimate is worth having — he has already seen what a lot like yours is likely to do.