Excavation In Windsor, Ontario
Book A Free Excavation Visit
Precision Windsor Excavation provides foundation excavation, waterproofing dig-outs, sewer and water line replacement and yard drainage to homeowners and builders across Windsor and Essex County. Every dig we take on is fully insured. You get a written excavation price before any machine comes off the trailer.
Call (548) 481-5154 to book a free site visit.
Excavation Services In Windsor
Each excavation service below starts with a free site visit and a written excavation quote.
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Foundation Excavation
Foundation excavation is the first job on any new home, addition or garage. We dig the hole to the depth on your plans, keep the floor of the excavation level and flat, and set aside topsoil for the finish grade. The excavation work is fully insured.
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Waterproofing Excavation
Waterproofing excavation means digging down the outside of your basement wall so a leak can be fixed from the outside, where the water gets in. We dig to the footing, expose the wall and replace the weeping tile, then backfill with clear stone. Every excavation is fully insured.
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Sewer Line Replacement
Sewer line replacement means digging out the old pipe that carries wastewater from your house to the City sewer and laying a new one. In Windsor that pipe belongs to the homeowner all the way to the main. We dig, lay new pipe on a stone bed at the right slope and restore the ground. The excavation is fully insured.
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Water Line Replacement
Water line replacement means digging out the pipe that brings drinking water from the City's water stop at your property line into your house, and laying a new one. We dig the trench, lay new pipe below the frost line and make the connection ready for the plumber. We carry full insurance on every excavation.
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Weeping Tile Replacement
Weeping tile replacement means digging down beside your foundation to the footing, taking out the old drain pipe and laying new perforated pipe in clear stone. The new weeping tile carries water away before it can build up against the basement wall. All of this excavation work is fully insured.
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French Drain Installation
A French drain is a trench filled with clear stone and perforated pipe that carries water away from a wet area of the yard. We dig the trench at a steady slope, line it with filter fabric, lay the pipe in stone and finish the top with stone or sod. Our drain excavation work is fully insured.
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Lot Grading And Site Prep
Lot grading means shaping the ground so rain and snowmelt run away from your foundation. We cut down high spots, fill low spots and slope the soil away from the walls with a laser level, then finish it ready for sod or seed. Our lot grading and excavation work is fully insured.
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Trenching
Trenching is digging a long, narrow trench to bury a line, such as hydro to a garage, a gas line to a barbecue or heater, a water line to a barn or irrigation across a lawn. We do the trenching to the depth the line needs, keep it straight and backfill it neatly. Every trenching and excavation job is fully insured.
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Driveway Excavation
Driveway excavation means digging out an old driveway, or a new one, down past the soft soil, and building a packed gravel base for asphalt, concrete or pavers. A good base keeps a driveway from cracking, sinking or heaving. All driveway excavation is fully insured.
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Lot Clearing
Lot clearing means removing brush, small trees, stumps, old fences and debris so a piece of land is ready to build on or use. We clear the area with a machine, haul away what you do not want and leave the ground rough-graded. Our lot clearing and excavation work is fully insured.
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Demolition And Concrete Removal
Demolition means taking down an old structure and hauling it away, and a careful demolition protects the yard around it. Our demolition work covers detached garages, sheds, decks, pools and old concrete slabs, driveways and walkways, and we clean up the site and leave the ground ready for what comes next. Every demolition job is fully insured, and so is the excavation that follows it.
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Excavation Cost
Excavation cost depends on the job, but Canadian price guides put most residential digs between $1,500 and $30,000. This page lists typical excavation cost ranges for each job we do, so you can plan before you call. Every job we quote is fully insured.
How it works and what it costs
Why Choose Precision Windsor Excavation
The precision in our name comes from planning every excavation before it starts. Every excavation job begins with a free site visit, where we walk the yard, look at access for the machine, mark where the soil will go and talk through what you want fixed. The written quote then lists the depth, the length, the trucking and the backfill, so you know what the excavation includes.
On excavation day the locates are already marked, the lawn is protected where the machine tracks in, and the trench is dug the way Ontario's safety rules require. When the work in the excavation is done, we backfill in layers and leave the yard graded so water runs away from the house. Read about how we run an excavation job, or send us a few details and expect a call back.
What Are The Benefits Of Hiring An Excavation Contractor?
A dry basement starts outside, with drainage and waterproofing that only an excavation can reach.
A new sewer or water line, laid in one excavation, fixes the problem at its source instead of clearing the same blockage every year.
The right excavation equipment digs faster and cleaner than shovels, with less damage to the yard.
Locates, sloped trench walls and careful backfill keep people, pipes and foundations safe during an excavation.
Grading done with a laser level sends rain away from the house instead of toward it.
One excavation contractor can dig, haul away the soil, bring in stone and restore the yard.
What Every Excavation Job Includes
These commitments come with every excavation we book in Windsor and Essex County.
- Ontario One Call locates are requested and marked before the first bucket of soil comes out.
- The written quote names the depth, the length of the excavation, the trucking and the fill going back in.
- Plywood or mats go down where the machine crosses the lawn or the driveway.
- Trench walls are sloped or supported once the dig goes past four feet deep.
- Backfill goes back into every excavation in layers and gets packed, so the ground does not sink in the spring.
Excavation details for Windsor properties
Clay Soil Makes Excavation In Windsor Slower And Wetter
Excavation in Windsor means digging in clay. The city sits on the Essex Clay Plain, where deep, dense clay holds water instead of letting it drain away. That clay is heavy to lift and heavy to truck out of an excavation, and it gets slick and soft after a rain.
It also explains why so many Windsor properties end up needing excavation work. Water that cannot soak down through clay sits against foundation walls and pools in low spots in the yard. A good excavation plan for Windsor allows for wet soil, uses clear stone around any pipe or drain, and never puts the wet clay straight back against a wall. See waterproofing excavation and French drain installation for the two jobs this affects most.
Flooded Basements Often Need An Excavation Down The Foundation Wall
A leaking basement wall is usually fixed from the outside. We dig an excavation down the outside of the wall to the footing so the wall can be cleaned, repaired and sealed, and so new weeping tile can go in at the bottom.
Windsor knows basement flooding well. In September 2016 more than 3,100 Windsor homes reported flooding, and the August 2017 storm brought in more than 3,800 flooded basement calls. An exterior excavation lets the wall be fixed from the side the water comes from. Our waterproofing excavation page explains each step of the excavation, and weeping tile replacement covers the drain at the footing.
Windsor Homeowners Own The Sewer Line Out To The Street
In Windsor, the homeowner owns the sewer pipe from the house all the way to the City's sewer main, and that usually means under the boulevard and part of the road. When that pipe cracks, sags or fills with tree roots, the repair and the excavation are yours to arrange and pay for.
Older clay pipe may still run under houses in Walkerville, Ford City, Sandwich and the other pre-war neighbourhoods. Our excavation removes the old line, and new pipe goes on a proper stone bed at the right slope. There is a City rebate for replacing this pipe, with rules about which contractors qualify, and our sewer line replacement page explains how it works.
Old Water Lines Wear Out Under The Front Yard
A water service that keeps leaking, freezes or brings in rusty water is a sign the pipe is near the end of its life. We dig an excavation trench from the house to the water stop at the property line and lay a new line deep enough to stay clear of frost.
Some older Windsor homes still have lead or galvanized steel service pipe on the private side. A new line, laid in one short excavation, removes that pipe for good. The water line replacement page covers the steps and the usual price range.
Water Sitting In The Yard Needs Drainage, Not More Topsoil
Standing water in a Windsor yard is a drainage problem, and it is fixed with drainage. A French drain is a trench lined with filter fabric, filled with clear stone and laid with perforated pipe, so water has a fast path out of the wet spot.
Adding topsoil over clay only moves the puddle, while a drain excavation removes it. We find where the water comes from and where it can legally go, then plan the drain excavation to carry it there. Read about French drain installation, or about lot grading and site prep when the whole yard slopes the wrong way.
Grading Decides Where Rain Goes Around The House
Good grading sends rain away from your foundation. The ground beside the house should drop away from the wall, and the yard should send water to the street, a swale or a drain, never back toward the basement.
We regrade yards with a laser level and a small machine, then rake and finish the soil so it is ready for sod or seed. Grading often follows other excavation work, because an excavation that settles can leave a low spot right against the wall.
New Driveways In Windsor Need A Permit And A Proper Base
A driveway lasts when the base under it is right. Driveway excavation means digging out the old driveway and the soft soil below it, then building a packed gravel base that will not heave or sink. It is a shallow excavation, but it decides how long the driveway lasts.
A new driveway or curb cut in Windsor also needs a Right-of-Way permit from the City, with its own fee and inspections. We plan the excavation around those inspections so the base is checked before anything is paved.
Every Excavation Starts With Locates And A Safe Trench
No excavation starts until gas, hydro, cable and water lines are located and marked. Ontario One Call arranges these locates for free, and we request them for every excavation job.
Ontario's construction rules also require trench walls deeper than four feet to be sloped, shored or protected by a trench box before anyone works in the trench. In wet Windsor clay, that rule matters on every excavation. Soil is kept back from the edge, and an open excavation is never left without a barrier.
What Excavation Costs In Windsor
Canadian price guides put most residential excavation between $1,500 and $30,000, depending on the job. A short dig to reach a pipe is at the low end. A full waterproofing excavation around a house or a new foundation is at the high end.
The main things that set an excavation price are depth, length, access for the machine, how much soil has to be trucked away and what goes back in. Our excavation cost page lists typical ranges for every job we do, and the estimator on this page gives a quick range for digs measured in feet.
Estimate Your Excavation By The Foot
Choose the kind of excavation and enter its length in feet to see a typical range for excavation in the Windsor area. Then send the numbers to us for a written excavation quote.
These ranges are Canadian market figures, not our price. Depth, access, wet clay and restoration move the number, and most excavation jobs start around $1,000 once the machine is on site.
Typical installed range
Not Sure What Excavation Your Property Needs?
Book a free site visit, and we will look at the problem with you and explain your excavation options in plain terms.
What Happens During An Excavation Job?
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We visit your property, measure the excavation and take photos, usually within a few days of your call.
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You get a written excavation quote by email that lists the depth, length, trucking and backfill.
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Ontario One Call locates are requested, and any City permit the excavation needs is arranged before dig day.
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The machine arrives, the lawn is protected, and the excavation is dug to the depth in the quote.
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The repair, the pipe or the drain goes in, and you can see the open excavation before it is backfilled.
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We backfill the excavation in layers, pack the soil, grade the area and clean up the street and driveway.
Recent Excavation Work
A look at excavation jobs around Windsor and Essex County.
Serving Windsor, LaSalle, Tecumseh And Lakeshore
We serve all of Windsor, including Riverside, East Riverside, Walkerville, Ford City, Sandwich, South Windsor, Remington Park, Roseland, Fontainebleau, Forest Glade, Devonshire Heights and Sandwich South. Outside the city we work in LaSalle, Tecumseh, Oldcastle and St. Clair Beach, Lakeshore and Belle River, Amherstburg and the Town of Essex.
If you are not sure whether we take excavation work on your street, call and ask. Our excavation service area reaches about 30 minutes from downtown Windsor.
Ready To Book Your Excavation?
Call Precision Windsor Excavation or send the form, and we will set up a free site visit at a time that suits you.
Request A Free Excavation Quote
Fill in the form, and we will call you to book a site visit and a written excavation quote. Calls go to +1 (548) 481-5154.
Frequently Asked Questions
Small excavation jobs to reach a pipe or a wall usually start around $1,500, and a full waterproofing excavation around a house can run $15,000 to $25,000 or more. Your written quote is the real number, and the site visit to measure the job is free.
Many excavation jobs on private property need no permit, but a new driveway or curb cut needs a City Right-of-Way permit, and sewer and water work at the street has its own rules. We tell you which permits apply during the site visit.
We do. Ontario One Call locates are free, and we request them for every excavation so that gas, hydro and other lines are marked before anything is dug.
We put down plywood or mats where the machine travels and dig only where the job needs it. Any soil disturbed by the work is graded and left ready for seed or sod.
A short excavation for a sewer or water line often takes one or two days. A waterproofing excavation along one wall takes two to four days, and a full house perimeter can take one to two weeks.