Hello,

I have seen many posts foundation grading. Has anyone done this,
and how were the results?

Let's collect some good instructions here. I understand grading is but
one aspect of the battle against water, and other things contribute
their own solutions (gutters, etc).

My situation (but feel free to generalize) is a small rectangular house
that hasn't had gutters - ever! After installing those I plan to
correct a slight negative grade on three side of the house. I have
neighbors to either side, and understand about 6" per 10 feet is a good
slope. I am hesitant to rent a back hoe and prefer to do it by hand.

After ordering some black dirt, how does one do the job?

Get a string line level and establish the grade. Then use a wheel
barrow, shovel, and rake. Depending on how much you are changing the
grade, you may need to remove and replant existing shrubs, etc. The
only real problems in all this is if what's there already is in the
way, ie land 10 ft away is too high already, sidewalk, etc.