What the job includes
Footing trenches, basement holes and foundation backfill — dug to grade, with clean walls the concrete crew can work in. Foundation digging is measured work, not just moving dirt. Footings that wander off elevation cost the concrete crew a day and cost you the money to fix it.
Most of this work happens in the Mini-Cassia towns around the yard - Burley, Rupert, Heyburn, Paul and Declo - and across the Magic Valley in Twin Falls, Kimberly, Filer, Buhl and Jerome. We also run scheduled route days east to American Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls for foundation & basement excavation on acreage and new construction, so a job there gets a real date rather than a maybe.
How we do it
Foundation & Basement Excavation, step by step
Digging to a laser, not by eye
Footing depth and elevation get set from a laser and held across the whole footprint. That's the difference between a foundation crew forming straight off your dig and a crew hand-digging corners to make it work.
Over-dig for working room
A hole cut exactly to the wall line leaves nowhere to set forms, strip them or apply waterproofing. We over-dig enough for the crew to work and plan the backfill around it.
Frost depth and footings
Footings go below frost depth as local code requires. In this climate that's not a detail to shave — a footing set shallow heaves, and a heaved footing cracks everything above it.
Backfilling without damaging the wall
Backfill waits for the concrete to cure and goes in evenly around the foundation so the wall isn't pushed from one side. Rushing backfill is a common way to crack a green wall.
Access and ramps
On a basement dig we leave a ramp for equipment and pull it as the last move. Planning where the ramp goes early keeps it out of the way of the crew and the concrete truck.
Spoils and stockpiling
A basement dig produces a lot of dirt. Some of it comes back as backfill, and the rest either gets stockpiled where you want it or hauled off. We sort that out before the first bucket.
Our work
Foundation & Basement Excavation photos
Real jobs, our own machines. Captions describe what is in the frame.
Before you call
What we need before we dig a foundation
The foundation plan. Footing widths, wall heights and the finished floor elevation come off the plans. We dig to those numbers, not to eyeball.
Benchmark. A known elevation on site - a survey stake, a curb, a manhole rim - to set the laser off. If there is not one, we establish one with you and the builder.
Utility locates. Called before the bucket goes in. Every time.
The concrete crew's schedule. The hole should be open for as short a time as possible. Rain and frost work on open walls, so we dig when the forms are ready to follow.
Backfill timing. Walls get backfilled after they have cured and been waterproofed, and never before the builder says go. We come back for it.
Around the valley
Foundations and basements across southern Idaho
Basements are standard in most of this region because of the frost depth, so foundation work here is real depth, not a shallow footing. Around Burley, Rupert and Heyburn the sandy soils dig fast and stand up well. Twin Falls, Kimberly and Jerome bring basalt close to the surface - sometimes a basement means breaking rock, and we say so as soon as the bucket finds it. Toward the river the water table can be high enough to matter. Pocatello and Idaho Falls have the deepest frost line in the service area and their own mix of bench rock and river silt. We have dug in all of it.
Estimates
Free on-site estimates, in writing
Four things set the price on excavation work. We walk the property, look at all four, and hand you one written number before anything gets dug.
- AccessCan the excavator and dump trailer get to the work without wrecking the yard? Tight lots and soft ground add time.
- Soil and rockMagic Valley ground goes from sandy loam to basalt a foot down. Rock changes the machine, the pace and the price.
- Haul-off and materialsDirt hauled away, gravel and road base hauled in, concrete to the recycler. Distance to the pit or the dump sets the cost.
- Permits and locatesSeptic permits, inspections and utility locates are part of the job and part of the estimate, not an add-on at the end.
How it works
Four steps, no surprises
- 01Call or text
Tell us what you need done and where. Photos of the site help, and a rough sketch of what you have in mind helps more.
- 02We walk the site
Free on-site estimate. We look at access, slope, soil, what is buried and where the water goes, then give you a written number.
- 03Locates and permits
Utility locates are called before any digging. Septic permits and inspections are scheduled with the health district.
- 04Dug, graded, cleaned up
The work gets done to grade, compacted where it needs to be, and the site is raked back so it is ready for whoever comes next.
Foundation & Basement Excavation by town
Pick your town for local detail, or just call and tell us where the property is.
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Twin Falls
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Burley
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Rupert
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Heyburn
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Paul
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Declo
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Oakley
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Jerome
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Kimberly
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Filer
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Buhl
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in American Falls
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Pocatello
- Foundation & Basement Excavation in Idaho Falls
Questions
Foundation & Basement Excavation questions
How deep do footings need to be?
Below the local frost depth, per code — that's what the inspection checks. We dig to the depth your plans and the local requirement call for and hold elevation across the footprint.
How long does a basement excavation take?
Most residential basement digs are one to three days depending on size, soil and how far the spoils have to move. Rock changes that.
Do you do the backfill too?
Yes, after the walls have cured and any waterproofing or drain tile is in. We backfill evenly around the foundation and leave a rough grade that sheds water away from the house.
Do you work with my concrete contractor?
Yes, and it goes better when we talk before the dig. Getting elevation and working room agreed on up front avoids the most common and most expensive redo on a foundation.
Foundation & Basement Excavation across the Magic Valley from Burley
Get a free estimate
Call or text for a free on-site estimate. Licensed and insured. Based in Burley, serving Twin Falls and all of the Magic Valley and Southern Idaho.