Excavation & Earthwork
Bulk and precision excavation for foundations, basements, footings and full-site cuts.
Excavation and earthwork is the digging itself — foundations, basements, footings, slabs, ponds and full-site cuts — done to the elevations and dimensions on the plan and backfilled so nothing settles later.
- Builders needing a foundation hole cut and squared
- Homeowners adding an addition, garage or basement
- Contractors who need a subcontractor with their own iron and trucking
- Agricultural and commercial owners building pads, ponds or berms
- Foundation and basement excavation, squared and benched
- Footing trenches to bearing depth
- Bulk cut and fill and pond work
- Backfill and compaction around new walls
- Spoils management and haul-off on tight lots
- Step 01
Layout review
We confirm building corners, elevations and over-dig with your surveyor or builder before digging.
- Step 02
Locates
PA One Call is placed and all marked utilities are hand-exposed where they're close to the work.
- Step 03
Dig
The hole is cut to plan depth with safe side slopes or benching per OSHA, and spoils placed where the next trade can work.
- Step 04
Hand off for footings
Bottom cleaned, elevation shot, site ready for the footing crew or inspector.
- Step 05
Backfill
After walls are poured, waterproofed and braced, we backfill in lifts and compact so the ground doesn't drop in year two.
A typical residential foundation dig is 1–3 days. Basements with deep over-dig or bad soils run longer. Backfill is a separate mobilization after the concrete has cured and is braced — usually 1 day. Winter digging is possible but frost and mud add time.
Building permits are held by the owner or general contractor. We handle excavation-side compliance — One Call locates, OSHA-compliant sloping or shoring, and township road-opening permits when access requires one.
- A path wide enough for a 20–30 ton excavator and trucks
- Somewhere to place spoil piles, or budget for haul-off
- Corners staked and elevations provided before we mobilize
- Clear communication on what stays: trees, walls, wells, septic
- We don't pour concrete or waterproof foundation walls
- Rock breaking beyond hammer work is subcontracted
- We won't backfill against an unbraced or uncured wall — that's how walls crack
- Confined-space and deep shoring designs requiring a PE are engineered by others
We don't publish flat prices for this work because no two sites are the same, and a number pulled out of the air helps nobody. These are the factors that move a excavation & earthwork quote up or down:
- Depth and volume of the excavation
- Whether spoils stay on site or get trucked away
- Soil type, rock and groundwater
- Site access and how far material has to be moved
- Shoring or trench protection requirements
- Season and ground conditions
How deep can you dig?
Routine work runs to about 16 feet with our equipment. Deeper than that we bring in engineered shoring and price it accordingly.
What do you do with the dirt?
If it's good material and you have space, we stockpile it for backfill and final grade. Excess or unsuitable material is trucked off and disposed of properly.
Do you dig in winter?
Yes. Frost depth and mud add time and cost, but we work year-round in the Lehigh Valley.
Excavation & Earthwork across the Lehigh Valley and surrounding townships: