Frequently asked questions

Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll come look at the site. The visit costs nothing. Quoting from a walkthrough matters in this trade, because access, slopes, soil and whatever is buried all change the job. The number you get is the price you pay, and anything that could move it gets flagged before work starts. Call (604) 603-7266 or send the details through the contact page.

Depends on the work and the municipality. Rules differ noticeably across the Lower Mainland, and they tighten near watercourses and on steep slopes. We sort out which permits apply during the site visit, so there are no surprises once the machines show up.

Earlier than you'd think. Drainage work is best done in late summer or early fall, before the rain shows you the problem again. Snow and salting contracts get signed in the fall. Patios and retaining walls should be booked in late winter if you want them finished for summer. More on timing at seasonal services.

Yes. Insured and WorkSafeBC covered on every job, residential or commercial. Ask to see the paperwork any time. A legitimate contractor won't mind, and neither do we.

Usually, yes. Winter flooding here tends to come down to grading that sends water toward the house instead of away from it, or a perimeter drain that has silted up or failed. Clay soil makes either one worse. We diagnose which problem you've got before proposing anything. See drainage for how we approach it.

Yes. We size the machine to the site: compact equipment for tight infill lots and narrow driveways, larger iron where the job warrants it. Access is one of the first things we check on the walkthrough, so it's already in the price.

Suitable soil gets reused on site for grading and fill, which saves you trucking it away and buying material back. Concrete and stumps get loaded out to a proper disposal or recycling facility, and the same goes for demolition debris. Haul-away is priced into the quote up front.

No. Septic design and installation is regulated work in BC and needs a registered practitioner. What we do is the excavation and site-prep work alongside your septic contractor: the digging, trenching, backfill and grading around their system.

Yes. Excavation, grading, retaining walls, paver patios, decks and fencing can run as one job with one point of contact, which usually beats coordinating three contractors who each blame the other's schedule. See completed projects for what that looks like.

Sometimes. Most BC municipalities require engineering once a wall passes a certain height, and requirements tighten on slopes and near property lines. We'll tell you whether your wall needs it before quoting. A wall holding back wet soil through a Lower Mainland winter is not the place to guess.

Yes. We handle ongoing property maintenance for strata and commercial properties as well as houses, plus one-off cleanups and storm damage response.

Yes. Snow clearing and salting for driveways, parking lots, strata sites and commercial properties. Contracts get signed in the fall. Once the first real snowfall hits the Lower Mainland everyone calls at once, and the fall signings get priority.

The Lower Mainland, from Vancouver out through the Fraser Valley. If you're not sure whether your address is in range, ask. The answer is usually yes. Full list at service areas.