What a new-home dig includes
A new-home site is more than a hole for the foundation. The trees come off, the topsoil is stripped and stockpiled, the pad is graded, the foundation is dug, the utilities are trenched, the driveway is prepped, and the grade is finished last. That work is priced after a site visit, because steep ground and rock change the number more than square footage does.
Trees
Trees in the building pad, the driveway, and the trench lines come out first. Stumps come out with them when the foundation or the septic field needs that ground. We mark the trees you want to keep before the machines show up.
Topsoil
Topsoil is the dark layer on top. We strip it off the pad and stockpile it. It goes back at the end for lawn and planting. It does not stay under the foundation.
Grading
Grading sets the pad and the way water leaves the house. The ground should fall away from the foundation. We look at the slope on your lot before we set a pad elevation.
The foundation dig
The hole matches the foundation plan. A slab, a crawl space, and a full basement are different digs. We dig to the plan. If we hit rock or water we did not expect, we stop and price that from the hole, not from a photo.
Utility trenches
Water, sewer or septic, and power need a trench from the source to the house. A long run is more digging. We price the trench after we see where the lines have to go.
The driveway
The driveway needs a cut, a base, and a grade a truck can use. We prep it with the rest of the site work. Gravel or pavement is part of the same look at the lot.
Final grade
After the foundation and the trenches are backfilled, we shape the finish grade and spread the topsoil back. That is the last machine pass before lawn and planting.
What cannot be priced from a map
There is no single excavation price that fits every lot, so there is not one published here. Rock, slope, and a long utility run are the usual reasons the number moves, and all three want somebody standing on the ground before a figure goes on paper.
The 2-minute calculator is on instant pricing. Published packages are on the ADU models.