Welcome to Ben’s Zap
Specializing in Driveway Maintenance, Ben is your trusted local expert in gravel driveway care and repair. Ben also offers asphalt driveway maintenance and takes pride in delivering durable, long-lasting solutions that enhance the beauty and functionality of your driveway.
• Whether you need gravel driveway and asphalt pothole repair, crack sealing and sealing coating, Ben has you covered.
• Ben also performs grading and drainage work, including culverts, swales, water bars, and pads.
• Fire road maintenance , garden structure demolition, log stacking and removal, and snow removal round out his service offerings.
ABOUT
Here for You!
Since 2016 Ben has been serving Nevada County home and business owners with their property maintenance and improvement needs.
Ben’s family roots go back three generations in Grass Valley, with rural land development and a retail landscape nursery as family traditions.
Ben holds a State contractor’s license for Earth and Roadwork and offers homeowner financing, early payment discounts, and a 10% discount to Seniors (62+) and Disabled people on full priced services.*
*State License #1057146. Conditions apply.
Ben’s Zap Services
• GRAVEL DRIVEWAYS
Ben specializes in revamping your gravel driveway and parking areas:
Nevada County and surrounding areas–including Auburn, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, and Nevada City, have many gravel driveways and private roads. A well-maintained gravel driveway adds curb appeal and improves accessibility to your property. Do you need gravel driveway grading and leveling?, pot-hole or washout repair?, gravel replenishment and compaction? Call Ben today!
• ASPHALT MAINTENANCE
Asphalt driveway maintenance including pothole repair, crack filling, and asphalt sealing: Ben added asphalt driveway and parking area repair and maintenance in 2024 and enjoys improving the appearance and performance of your “blacktop” driveway and parking areas. Preventative maintenance extends the life of your driveway. Regular maintenance can extend the life of your asphalt driveway for up to 15 or even 30-years!
• FIRE ROADS
Installing and maintaining fire roads on your property can help create safety for your home and property: Ben’s family has owned and cared for rural property in Nevada County for several generations and Ben operates equipment for maintenance or installation of fire roads; providing emergency access or exit routes for your safety and convenience.
• PAD GRADING
Gravel pads for parking areas, sheds, RV’s, boats, water tanks, etc. Parking pads can add to the safety of your home by providing emergency vehicle parking and turn around in the event of a wildfire or other emergency. Water storage tanks can be used for emergency fire suppression, livestock, and reserve potable water.
• DRAINAGE
Unwanted water can be a real problem! Proper drainage is ket to a long-lasting driveway. Ben installs culverts and maintains or establishes drainage ditches and grades surfaces to allow water to naturally run off to a suitable location. Puddling on gravel roads is the main contributor to degradation, including pot holes, rutting and washouts. A poorly maintained driveway can result in loss of traction and is no fun to drive on and can cause a problem for two wheel drive vehicles and especially low profile “sports” cars.
• EROSION CONTROL
Ben offers erosion control and slope stabilization for minimizing and channeling runoff to suitable locations away from structures and driveways.
• DEMOLITION AND REMOVAL
Ben offers demolition and removal of garden sheds, travel trailers, and similar nuisances, reclaiming your valuable space!
• LOG STACKING AND REMOVAL
Did PG&E contractors leave you with a bunch of logs to deal with? Possibly you had some tree work done and the tree company left the logs on your property? Ben offers log removal, both large and small; and stacking for natural decomposition (far away from structures on rural properties).
Our Founder
Ben Lawton McPherson
President
Ben grew up predominantly in a rural part of Santa Cruz, California and operated farm equipment from the age of fourteen; tending two acres of ecologically sensitive agricultural land in a riparian corridor. He later studied landscape design and architecture as well as engineering technology (drafting) for three years at Cabrillo College, and U.C. Berkeley Extension in San Francisco, and later refreshed his plan reading and drafting skills at Sierra College; earning two certificates.
Ben managed McPherson’s Nursery in Grass Valley and a retail garden department in Honolulu, Hawaii. He won three Blue Ribbon awards and one Best of Show award for garden design at the Santa Cruz County Fair. Ben was a flight attendant for 17-years for United Airlines, based in San Francisco, flying both domestic and international flights. Ben most enjoyed layovers in Soul, South Korea and Paris, France.
One side of his family operated a well-loved Grass Valley landscaping nursery for over thirty years, and the other operated a rural land development business–installing and maintaining roads, fire breaks, building pads, clearing brush and performing fire safety maintenance–in You Bet (Lawton Way, and Eowana Lane are namesakes) for three generations.
Ben holds a Bachelors degree from U.C. Santa Cruz and an Associates degree along with two drafting certificates from Cabrillo College in Aptos, and enjoys recreating with his loving partner Rachel and amazing “rescue” dog Marley in nature, and social dance.
Mission Statement
To deliver reliable, affordable and durable driveway solutions to our customers.
I have had the opportunity to work with Ben on many projects, both at home and at work. He has performed a wide variety of dirt work, gravel driveway repair, gravel parking lot repair, land clearing, and debris removal. Throughout each project, he has been professional, communicative, and executed great work. To top it all off, he owns his own equipment, so his prices are great, too! I highly recommend Ben to friends and family alike. His dog, Marley, too.
Steven S.
Grass Valley