Dirt work done right,from the laketo the Thruway.
Site prep, driveways, drainage, foundations, septic, trenching, land clearing, ponds, and demolition — for homeowners, builders, and farms across the Finger Lakes and the Rochester area.
A local excavator that knows this ground
Ontario County is glacial till, lake-plain clay, and shale that shows up when you least want it. We've dug in all of it — hillside lots on Canandaigua Lake, wet subdivisions in Victor and Farmington, farm fields in Gorham and Phelps, and the tight side yards of old houses in Canandaigua, Geneva, and Rochester.
The work is the same wherever we go: size the machine to the site, get the 811 locate, put erosion control up before the first cut, check the grade with a laser, and leave a site you can walk. Affordable excavation services that hold up — not the cheapest bid, and not the one that comes back next spring.
Dense clay-silt-gravel mix under most of Ontario County. Bears well, drains slowly, heaves when wet and frozen.
Farmington, Victor, Phelps, the Rochester flats. Ponds hold; basements need drains to daylight.
Shallow in Bristol, South Bristol, and the lake's east shore. Slows every dig; we probe before we quote.
Footings and water lines go below it. The digging season runs roughly April to early December.
What we dig
One page per service, with what's included, what it costs around here, and the local details that change the job.
Excavation & Site Work
Site prep, cut and fill, rough and finish grading, hauling — the dirt work that has to be right before anything else on the job can be.
Driveway Installation & Regrading
New driveways built with a real base, and old ones brought back from potholes, washboard, and washouts.
Drainage & French Drains
Standing water in the yard, a wet basement wall every April, a driveway that turns into a creek — drainage is the fix, and it's a dirt job.
Land Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Overgrown lots, new building sites, lake views that disappeared behind twenty years of sumac and honeysuckle.
Foundation & Basement Excavation
New homes, additions, garages, and pole barns — dug to the engineer's depth, graded to the laser, backfilled so it never settles.
Septic System Excavation
New systems on rural lots, failed leach fields replaced, tanks set and connected — done to the engineer's design and the county's approval.
Trenching & Utility Lines
Water service to a new build, a sewer lateral that finally gave out, power to the barn or the dock — trenched to depth, bedded, and backfilled right.
Pond Digging & Excavation
Farm ponds, spring-fed swimming ponds, and cleaning out the one that's turned into a cattail marsh.
Lot Grading & Yard Leveling
Lumpy lawns, negative grade at the foundation, the low spot that won't dry — reshaped so water leaves and mowing is easy.
Retaining Walls & Slope Work
Boulder walls, block walls, and the excavation, base, and drainage that keep them standing on a lakefront slope.
Demolition & Removal
Collapsing barns, sheds past saving, old garages, in-ground pools, concrete slabs, and foundations that need to go before the new one goes in.
Gravel, Stone & Topsoil Delivery
By the load or by the yard, dumped or spread — the materials that go into every job we do, delivered to yours.
Size up your project
Pick the job and see what it usually costs in the Finger Lakes, how long it takes, and what we'll ask first.
Ranges reflect normal access and no rock. See the cost guides for the full breakdowns.
How a job goes
Six steps, no surprises. The written quote is the part most people are relieved by.
Call or send the form
Tell us what you're trying to do and where. If you have a plan, a survey, or an engineer's drawing, even better.
Site visit
We walk the lot, look at access, slope, and drainage, and probe for rock where it's likely. Usually within a few days of your call.
Written quote
A clear number with the scope spelled out — what's included, what's hauled, what's restored. It holds unless the ground surprises us both.
811 and permits
We place the Dig Safely locate and handle the permits that fall to us. You'll know which ones are yours.
The work
Machines sized to the site, erosion control up before the first cut, grades checked with a laser, and a site you can walk when we leave.
Walk-through
We go over what was done, what to expect as backfill settles or seed comes in, and what to call us about if it doesn't.
Lakefront and hillside work is our specialty
Canandaigua, Keuka, Honeoye, Seneca, Conesus — the lake lots are steep, the access is tight, and the towns and watershed councils have rules for good reason. That's where a lot of contractors bow out and where we do some of our best work.
Compact equipment that fits down a 12% driveway. Erosion control designed before the dig, not after the inspector shows up. Retaining walls with real drainage behind them. Terraced grading that turns a slope into a yard. Septic designs that clear the setbacks. We've done it on the east shore in Middlesex and the west shore in South Bristol, and we can do it on yours.
Where we work
Canandaigua first, then everywhere the Finger Lakes and the Rochester suburbs take us.
Ontario County
- Canandaigua
- Victor
- Farmington
- Bristol & South Bristol
- Naples
- Gorham
- Hopewell
- Manchester & Shortsville
- Clifton Springs
- Phelps
- Honeoye & Richmond
- East Bloomfield
- West Bloomfield
Finger Lakes
- Geneva
- Penn Yan & Keuka Lake
- Middlesex & Vine Valley
- Rushville & Potter
- Seneca Falls & Waterloo
- Lima & Livonia
Rochester Area
Syracuse Area
Questions we get
More on the questions page.
What areas do you serve?
Canandaigua and all of Ontario County first, then the Finger Lakes towns around Canandaigua, Keuka, Honeoye, Seneca, and Conesus lakes, and the Rochester suburbs. We take larger projects in the Syracuse area by arrangement. See the full service area list.
How do I get a quote?
Call (585) 575-0567 or send the form with a few details about the job and the address. For most work we come out, look at the site, and give a written number. There's no charge for the visit inside our regular area.
Are you insured?
Ask for a certificate of insurance before work starts — we'll send it. Any contractor who hesitates on that question is telling you something.
How far out are you booking?
It changes with the season. Spring is the busiest; late summer and fall usually have more room. Call and we'll tell you honestly. Emergency drainage and sewer work gets fit in as fast as we can.
Do you call 811 before digging?
Every job. Dig Safely New York is free, it's the law, and it takes about two working days, which we build into the schedule.
What size jobs do you take?
From a half-day drainage fix to full site prep for a new home. We're a good fit for residential and light-commercial work. If a job is too big for us — a subdivision, heavy highway work — we'll say so.
Get a quote
Call, or send the form and we'll get back to you — usually the same business day. Tell us the town and what you're trying to do; a photo or two never hurts.
(585) 575-0567Serving Canandaigua, Ontario County, the Finger Lakes, and the Rochester area. Larger Syracuse-area projects by arrangement.