Digging in Lake Erie Clay

Excavation Contractors Cleveland handles the dirt side of home projects across Cleveland and its suburbs: grading lots, digging basements and footings, opening up sewer laterals, installing French drains, tearing down garages and houses, and cutting pads for driveways, patios and additions.

The ground here shapes how we work. Much of Northeast Ohio sits on glacial till that weathered into dense, clay-rich subsoil. The USDA describes the Mahoning series, common across this part of the state, as somewhat poorly drained, with a perched water table that can sit just 6 to 12 inches below the surface from October through June. Trenches fill with water, spoil piles turn to paste, and backfill placed wet settles for years. Planning for that is most of the job.

How we run a job

• A site visit before any price, so we can see access, slope and where water goes.
• A written estimate that breaks out digging, hauling, stone, backfill and restoration.
• An Ohio 811 request at least two working days ahead, as state law requires, and no digging until the marks are in.
• Spoil kept on tarps or hauled, not dumped on a neighbor's lawn.
• Backfill placed in lifts and compacted, with stone where water needs to move.
• Ruts, lawn and walks put back before we leave.

Call (216) 480-2103 to set up a visit.