Civil engineering that clears plan check

Site work, engineered as one system

A site is a single system wearing four costumes. Grading decides where the water goes; drainage has to agree with it; utilities have to fit underneath both; and the site plan has to satisfy a reviewer checking all of it against a different checklist for each. Torch designs the four together, so the storm line doesn't discover the sanitary line in the trench and the finished floor doesn't fight the floodplain.

The result is a civil set that reads as one argument: this site works, here is the math, here are the details. That is the set that clears plan check on the first submittal.

What we design

· Grading plans — earthwork, pads, slopes, and retaining interfaces, balanced against the site's drainage story
· Drainage and stormwater — hydrology and hydraulics, storm systems, detention and retention, and the drainage reports jurisdictions require
· Wet utilities — water, sewer, and fire lines, sized and routed from the main to the building connection
· Site plans — layout, paving, and the civil backbone behind the architectural site plan, coordinated with access and parking
· Supporting studies and exhibits — drainage studies, utility exhibits, and the engineering documentation behind entitlements and permits

What you receive

A permit-ready civil package: plans, profiles where the work needs them, calculations and reports that stand behind the drawings, and details a contractor can price and build without a phone call per sheet. The drawings are sealed through Apex Grid Engineering's licensed Professional Engineers, and plan-check responses are part of the engagement — civil comments are answered by the engineers who designed the site, not forwarded to you as homework.

Because Torch also houses structural and MEP teams, the civil set is coordinated against the building it serves — foundation elevations, utility stubs, and equipment pads agree across disciplines before submittal, not during construction.

Who hires Torch for civil work

Developers taking raw or underused land through entitlement and construction documents. Contractors and design-build teams who need a civil set that matches the building team's schedule. Owners improving existing sites — expansions, parking, drainage fixes — where the existing conditions are half the design problem.

The work runs from single-building pads to multi-building sites, commercial and industrial, plus the civil scope inside larger multifamily and hospitality projects. State coverage starts with civil engineering in Arizona and extends through the state pages under our services.

Common questions

Do I need a grading plan?

Most jurisdictions require one whenever a project moves earth beyond minor thresholds, changes drainage patterns, or builds near slopes and floodplains — which covers nearly every commercial project and many residential ones. The grading plan is also where drainage gets decided, so even when it isn't required, it is usually where the site's problems are cheapest to solve.

What is a drainage study?

An engineering analysis of how stormwater behaves on and around your site — where it comes from, where it can legally and physically go, and what has to be built to manage it. Reviewers ask for one when a project adds impervious area or alters flow; our drainage study answer walks through what it contains.

Who seals the civil drawings?

All PE stamping is backed by Apex Grid Engineering. Seals are applied by licensed Professional Engineers through Apex's licensed team in the project state. Torch coordinates the work; Torch does not present itself as the licensed entity.