Excavation · Williamsport, PA
Excavation and site work in Williamsport.
We do excavation and site work in Williamsport and across Lycoming County: grading, driveway cuts, footings and foundation digging, drainage trenches, lot clearing and stump removal with machines. Our own crew runs our Wacker Neuson EZ36 mini excavator, skid steers, trucks and dump trailers, and we rent larger machines when a job needs them.
- EZ36 excavator, zero tail swing
- Skid steers and dump trailers
- Hourly machine time available
- Utility lines marked before digging
Excavation work around Williamsport.
Our excavation work includes grading yards, cutting in driveways and parking areas, digging footings and foundations, trenching for French drains and other drainage, clearing lots and taking out trees and stumps with machines. We also do demolition and stormwater basins.
When you only need a machine and an operator for a few hours, machine time is billed by the hour. Our excavation and site work overview covers the full range, and the Lock Haven excavation page has more on how we run a dig.
Driveways, sidewalks and digging conditions.
Driveway and sidewalk work meets the street, so these towns regulate it. If a permit applies, you apply for it and pay the fee.
Williamsport driveways
Driveway permits come from the city’s Office of Zoning, and cutting a new curb carries its own separate fee.
Williamsport sidewalks
Any work on a city sidewalk needs a sidewalk permit from the Bureau of Codes.
Hughesville driveways
New driveways need a PennDOT highway occupancy permit or a borough driveway permit, can be no wider than 35 feet, and should have a leveling area at 5 percent grade or less for the first 25 feet from the curb or shoulder.
Frost depth in Montoursville
The design criteria from the Central Keystone COG, which serves Montoursville, list a 40-inch frost line depth and a 35 psf ground snow load.
Rock near Cogan Station
The Leck Kill soils around Cogan Station get rockier with depth, from 35 to 65 percent rock fragments in the lower subsoil to 60 to 90 percent below that.
Rules change. Check with the township or borough before you plan around them; we go over what we know at the site walk.
Driveway cuts on steep yards.
On a hillside lot, the first job is sometimes a cut: an access drive up to a garage, a parking area, or a path that lets machines reach the back yard. We cut the grade with our own mini excavator and haul the spoil with our trucks and dump trailers.
For a gravel drive, our guide to gravel driveway base depth explains the stone layers. For a paved parking spot, the Paver Parking Pad for Williamsport uses vehicle-rated pavers on a deeper stone base than our patios, with a concrete edge.
Asphalt paving is done by a subcontractor. We pour concrete driveways and flatwork with our own crews.
What happens on an excavation job.
- 1Site walkWe look at the grades, the access and where spoil can go, and measure the work. If you buried anything yourself, like a cable to a lamp post, show us where it runs.
- 2Written priceThe price comes to you in writing before any machine is unloaded. When the scope is hard to pin down, hourly machine time with our operator is the other way to go.
- 3811 callPA One Call (811) gets our call before any digging, as state law requires, so utility lines are marked first.
- 4Dig, grade and haulOur crew cuts, grades and hauls with our own machines. Grading past the work area, lawn repair and seeding are extras, written into the contract if you want them.
Machines at work.
See the lot clearing project
Questions.
Who issues driveway permits around Williamsport?
Inside the city it’s the Office of Zoning, and a new curb cut carries its own fee. In Montoursville, driveway permits go through the borough office, and other towns set their own rules. You apply for that permit and pay its fee yourself.
Can you dig footings for an addition, garage or porch?
Yes. Footings and foundation digging are part of our site work, done with our own mini excavator. The depth comes from your plans and your code official; in the towns CKCOG serves, including Montoursville, the design criteria list a 40-inch frost line.
What’s the ground like around Cogan Station?
Stony, and more so with depth. Around Cogan Station the soil survey maps mostly Leck Kill channery silt loam, which turns to red shale and sandstone fragments in the lower layers. If the rock calls for a bigger machine than ours, we rent one.
Do you pave asphalt driveways?
Asphalt paving is subcontracted. Our own crew does the excavation and grading, and we pour concrete driveways and build paver parking pads ourselves.
Can your excavator work on a tight city lot?
Often, yes. Our Wacker Neuson EZ36 has zero tail swing, meaning its rear end doesn’t swing out past the tracks when it turns, so it can dig close to a house, fence or lot line. We check the access route on the site walk.
What excavation customers say.
4.7 stars from 105 Google reviews · read them on Google
★★★★★ Kate W.
“Hired to do some excavation/land leveling for an investment property. The process was smooth and results exceeded expectations.”
Google review
★★★★★ Kathy A.
“The site was excavated, and then the new block was added along with drainage and backfill.”
Google review
Recent site work: lot clearing and site prep · access driveway for a steep backyard · retaining wall in Montoursville
Book a site walk in Williamsport.
We’ll walk the site, check how the machines get in and send a written price. Use the estimate form, or call or text (570) 397-9800.