Excavation Contractor – What Does the Business Involve?

Drilling foundation work Lassiter

What seems like a straightforward business, drilling and excavating, actually has a lot of parts to it that all have to work together. Here are some of the key aspects of running a business like ours.

The Work of an Excavating and Drilling Contractor

Moving Dirt Around

If a project needs dirt moved, we are the folks to do it for you. In addition to foundation work, we do grading, dig ponds and pools and excavate for underground utilities.

Subcontracting to General Contractors

As a rule, Lassiter Excavating usually comes into a large project as a sub-contractor. However, we are happy to work directly for homeowners provided they have approved plans for their project. When homeowners call us for pool demolition Lassiter Excavating acts as the general contractor and gets all the permits and approvals for those projects.

For larger construction projects, we most often work under the direction of general contractors, who coordinate multiple subcontractor timelines.

Site Preparation

In a typical construction project an excavation contractor starts to work after the surveying crew sets the structure and lot boundaries. For small private projects the excavation crew may do layout and set elevations provided there are a good set of plans. Regardless of the job size or type, layout and elevations must be approved by the owner prior to starting excavation.

Site work

Some types of work done on excavation site.

  • Soil excavation and off haul
  • Soil import and compaction
  • Footing excavation
  • pier drilling
  • soil stabilization
  • We ensure that the soil is firm enough to support the desired structure, testing compaction and employing compaction equipment as needed. If soil stabilization methods need to occur, we coordinate with that contractor to get these steps done in the right order.
  • After the foundation contractor pours the footers and stem wall, we backfill as needed around the new foundation.

The Heavy Equipment We Operate

An excavation contractor like Lassiter will operate a wide range of equipment. Large trucks. front-end loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, excavators, drill rigs and skid steers are in our equipment fleet.

The Business of Excavation Contracting

In California, contractors like us must be licensed and bonded. We employ safe jobsite practices with the goal of having safety in the forefront of our thinking.  All our employees have completed OSHA 10 training and completed first-aid and CPR training.

We have been in the excavating, demolition and drilling business for decades, we’ve had a long and rewarding relationships with the many general contractors in our area. We have also done work in the backyards of thousands of Bay Area residences either excavating or removing swimming pools.

We love the business were in, and love being in the Bay Area. We look forward to serving our customers old and new for years to come!