We’ve never excavated anything before! This has been our experience planning for an excavation so far. While we won’t be building anything on our mountain land any time soon, we still want to start clearing space so we and our friends can go camping more often. (Note: I have gone camping exactly 2 times in my life, didn’t hate it and hope it stays that way).
Our excavation plans include clearing a driveway, clearing a lower build site (to use as a main parking area), a taller build site (to use for camping), and opening up views. We opted to wait on bringing in any utilities to save money.
Choosing an excavation company
Hiring the right excavator is important. Hopefully we found the right one.
We went with a home builder that also does excavation instead of just purely an excavation company. The reason for this is because we wanted our excavator to excavate with a potential future build in mind. The builder we went with offers free construction consulting, and would be able to call out anything important for the excavation as context within the bigger picture of future build site, even if a build site wouldn’t happen any time soon.
We looked at a handful of local home builders who we had heard build around the neighborhood, as well as recommendations from message boards. We wanted a home builder who had done recent work in the area and whose work we could go see as well.
Honestly, many of them were either not responsive or only had a way to communicate by phone (as opposed to email), and that really narrowed down the list.
Assessing our quote
Once we found a builder we were happy with and shared what we were looking to do, we scheduled a time to walk the property with the operator who runs the excavator. After that, the owner sent over a quote with multiple options (lower site only, taller site only, both, and adding underground utilities).
The work to add utilities would include digging a well, digging a septic system, and adding electric and telephone or internet. It would have cost us 14K more to add, so we opted not to do it at this point in time.
The disadvantage of not doing it now is that in the future, they will have to tear up the driveway to add utilities later. But, our thinking is that if we build a home, we would have to tear up the land anyway. The owner also shared that the price of steel pipe is expected to go up over time hence why now might be better.
The quote for the two build sites and a driveway was $49,000. We didn’t know what to expect as far as a quote, so we asked people we knew for feedback. Mr. Nacho has friends who had excavated recently. He asked for feedback on if our quote seemed reasonable given the type of work we were looking to do. His friends said the estimate was within the ballpark of what they experienced, so we decided to go with this company.
With that, Mr. Nacho signed the contract and sent a deposit. The payment schedule is as follows: 20% deposit at contract signing, 40% after the driveway is cleared, and 40% at the end of the project.
What excavation pricing takes into account
The process of getting a quote was pretty simple, but I was shocked to see how much it costs to excavate land. Below is some of the research I found online as to what is taken into account for excavation pricing. I also read that the cheapest quote might not be the best choice. Mainly because if the excavator does a bad job, you’d need to hire someone else to essentially re-do the work.
- Project Scope and Size
Area to be Cleared: The larger the area, the more work is required
Complexity of the Job: Removing trees, rocks, and stumps takes more time and effort than clearing brush or leveling a grassy field - Type of Terrain
Flat vs. Sloped Land: Excavating flat land is usually simpler and less expensive than working on sloped or uneven terrain
Soil Type: Different soils (e.g., clay, sand, rock) can affect the difficulty of the excavation and the type of equipment needed - Equipment and Machinery
Types of Machines: The type of machinery required (bulldozers, backhoes, excavators) will influence the cost. Heavy-duty equipment for tougher jobs costs more to operate
Equipment Availability: If specialized equipment is needed and has to be rented or brought in from another location - Distance and Accessibility
Location: The proximity of the site to the contractor’s base of operations affects transportation costs
Accessibility: Hard-to-reach areas may require additional effort to transport equipment and materials
And of course there’s always things like unexpected findings underground, or permit fees (which do not apply to us). Another thing to keep in mind is that if you’re going for a construction loan in the near term, excavating early could impact those terms. I didn’t look too much more into it, but those were the types of threads I was finding online.
Next steps for the work to start
We signed the contract in April, and the work is expected to start in late July. This I believe has been due to existing projects schedules and some weather delays.
Right before the excavation is to start, Mr. Nacho will do another walkthrough with the excavator to point out trees we want to keep on the property (like some Dogwoods and hardwood oak trees). He’ll also request to make sure that they not block any of the logging roads with trees. Tree disposal will likely be dumped into an area in the ravine.
Below is a video of Mr. Nacho giving a tour of the property and explaining some of our mountain land plans.
