For most homeowners, hiring an excavation contractor is a first. You know the yard needs to be dug, graded, trenched, or cleared, but what actually happens between the phone call and the finished site is a mystery.
It should not be. A well run excavation job follows a clear sequence, and knowing it ahead of time makes you a better client and protects you from the contractors who skip steps. Here is how it works.
Step One: The Site Visit
Photos help, but excavation gets priced and planned on the ground. A contractor needs to see access for the equipment, where the soil will go, what is buried or growing in the way, and how the land actually slopes. Expect a walk of the property and a lot of questions about what you want the finished site to do. If someone offers to quote a dig without ever seeing the property, that tells you something. The walkthrough looks the same whether it is a foundation dig in Hampton or a utility trench in Eliot.
Step Two: Dig Safe, Before Any Bucket Touches the Ground
In both New Hampshire and Maine, the law requires underground utilities to be located and marked before digging. The contractor calls Dig Safe at 811, the utility companies mark their lines with paint and flags, and only then does work start. This step is not optional and it is not the homeowner's job to arrange on a contracted dig. If a contractor shrugs it off, end the conversation. A cut gas or power line is the worst day anyone can have on a job site.
Step Three: Permits and Prep
Depending on the town and the work, there may be permits: driveways, septic, work near wetlands. A contractor working in these towns every week knows which is which. Prep also means protecting what stays: fencing off the work zone, planning the equipment path so the rest of the lawn survives, and agreeing where spoil, the excavated material, gets staged or hauled.
Step Four: The Dig Itself
This is the shortest part of the whole story. With the site marked and prepped, an experienced operator moves through the actual excavation quickly: digging the foundation hole, cutting the trench, stripping the topsoil, shaping the grade. What looks like the whole job from the sidewalk is usually a day or two inside a longer process.
Step Five: Grading, Compaction, and Cleanup
The difference between a dig and a finished site is what happens at the end. Backfill placed in lifts and compacted, so nothing settles later. Finish grading that moves water away from structures instead of toward them. Topsoil back where it belongs, the site raked out, and the equipment tracks repaired. When a crew leaves a site rough, every problem shows up a year later as settling, pooling, or a wavy lawn.
What to Ask Before You Hire Anyone
Four questions do most of the work.
Are you insured for this work? The honest answer comes with a certificate, not just a yes.
Who calls Dig Safe? The only right answer is “we do, always.”
Where does the excavated material go? There should be a plan, whether it is reused on site or hauled.
Who does the finish grading and cleanup? Some outfits dig and disappear. Get the end of the job in writing, not just the digging.
You can find more answers on our FAQ page, including how scheduling and estimates work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a residential excavation job take?
The digging is usually measured in days. The full timeline depends on utility marking, permits, and weather. Marking alone has a legally required waiting period after the 811 call, so build a small buffer into your plans.
Will the equipment wreck my lawn?
A planned equipment path and proper mats keep damage contained, and a crew that finish grades repairs its own tracks before it leaves. Ask how the contractor protects the parts of the property that are not being worked.
Do I need to be home while the work happens?
Not usually, once the walkthrough is done and the plan is agreed. Most clients are at work while we dig. Good crews send updates.
Have a project that starts with digging? Riverview Contracting handles excavation, utility trenching, grading, and site prep across the Seacoast, from Rochester and Hampton to Kittery, Eliot, and Lebanon. Call or text 207-651-7693, or request a free estimate below. We reply the same business day.