Excavation & Home Site Preparation in Jefferson County

Before a house, shop or barn goes up in Jefferson County, someone has to make the ground ready for it. Eaglemount Excavation, LLC does that work from Chimacum: clearing and stripping the lot, cutting the pad, digging the foundation, building the driveway and shaping the ground so water leaves instead of pooling. Most lots here sit on glacial till or hardpan a foot or two down, which digs slow and drains badly, so the grading plan and the drainage plan are really the same plan.

What we do

Foundation excavation

We dig to the elevation on your plan sheet and to your surveyor’s stakes: strip the topsoil, cut the pad, over-dig for forms and for the footing drain, and keep the bottom draining rather than holding water. In till and hardpan that often means dealing with a layer that perches water right where your footing wants to sit. Spoils get stockpiled for backfill or hauled off, depending on the lot. We coordinate around your builder, the survey and county inspections [VERIFY: whether Eaglemount does compaction testing or a testing firm is used].

Driveway grading & gravel driveways

Washboards and potholes are a water problem, not a gravel problem. A driveway that sheds water keeps its rock; one that holds water pumps mud up through it every winter. We cut a crown or a cross-slope, cut ditches where the ground needs them, set culverts at low spots and at the county road approach, lay fabric over soft ground, then place base rock and a top course [VERIFY: rock specs and typical depths Eaglemount places]. We also do straight regrading tune-ups on long gravel driveways and forest roads in places like Quilcene and Brinnon. Ongoing runoff problems usually need drainage work as well.

Dirt work & rough grading

This is the catch-all half of the job: cut and fill to flatten a building area, filling low spots that stay wet, spreading or hauling spoils, stripping and stockpiling topsoil, and shaping pads for a shop, a shed, a greenhouse or an RV. Rough grading sets the shape; finish grading sets the fall. On sloped lots the cut usually needs holding back, which is where a retaining wall or rock wall goes in.

Arena leveling & horse properties

The Chimacum valley is full of small farms and horse properties, and we work on them regularly. That means leveling riding arenas so the footing sits flat and the base drains, grading pasture and paddock ground, cutting the mud out of gate and feeder areas, shaping approaches so the tractor and the trailer both get through, and digging fence post holes. Wet ground and hoof traffic undo bad grading fast here, so base and drainage matter more than the surface does.

Post holes & auger work

We dig post holes for fencing, deck and shop footings and pole buildings, which saves a weekend of digging by hand in hardpan [VERIFY: auger sizes, hole depths and whether Eaglemount sets posts or digs only]. Hitting rock or a buried line is the usual complication, so post holes still get an 811 locate first, same as any other dig.

What excavation costs

Site work is quoted by the job once we have seen the lot. Driveway regrading and small pads start from [YOUR PRICE]. A cleared, flat house pad with foundation excavation starts from [YOUR PRICE], and a treed or sloped lot needing clearing, haul-off and a new driveway runs well beyond that. Hauling spoils off site, importing rock or structural fill and moving the machines are priced separately [VERIFY: day rate, hourly rate and mobilization charge].

How a site prep job goes

1. Lot walk. We look at access, slope, trees, wet spots, where the water leaves and where the spoils can go.
2. Plan review and quote. We work from your plans, stakes, septic design or builder’s layout, then quote the scope in writing.
3. Permits and locates. County or city review where it applies, then the 811 call before anything digs [VERIFY: who files the permit].
4. Clear and strip. Brush, stumps and topsoil come off and get stockpiled or hauled.
5. Cut, fill and compact. Pad, foundation and driveway subgrade get cut to grade and compacted.
6. Driveway, drainage and finish grade. Rock goes down, drains go in, and the ground gets shaped to shed water before we leave.

Equipment we bring

We bring the smallest machine that will still do the job, which keeps lawns, septic lines and driveways intact. [VERIFY: excavators, track loaders, dump trailers and attachments Eaglemount owns, with sizes]. [VERIFY: whether Eaglemount hauls its own rock and spoils or subcontracts trucking]. For anything needing a line put in the ground while the site is open, see utility trenching.

What it costs in Jefferson County

Five things move a site prep quote:

• How much dirt moves. Cubic yards, not square feet, drive the price.
• What the ground is. Till, hardpan, cobble and buried rock all dig slower than loam.
• Access. A tight lot, a steep drive or soft winter ground limits which machine can work.
• Where the spoils go. Spreading on site is cheap; trucking off site is not.
• Imported material. Base rock, drain rock and structural fill are bought, hauled and placed.

Everything here is a starting point until Dusty has walked the property and seen the plan [VERIFY: whether quotes are fixed price, hourly, or both].

Site prep in Olympic Peninsula soil and rain

Peninsula ground is mostly glacial till, hardpan and clay under a thin layer of topsoil. It compacts well and holds a cut, but it will not take water, so anything you flatten has to be shaped to shed. From October through March the rain is steady enough that fill will not dry down to compact properly, which is why earthwork here is easier scheduled for late spring through early fall, and why winter jobs need more care with ruts, mud and erosion control.

Permits come from the Jefferson County Department of Community Development outside Port Townsend and from City of Port Townsend Development Services inside city limits. The Critical Areas Ordinance (JCC 18.22) applies near wetlands, streams and steep slopes, and septic sits with Jefferson County Environmental Health. We run most jobs off SR 19, Center Road and Chimacum Road, so hauling stays short around the Tri-Area. See where we work and our Chimacum and Port Hadlock page.

Recent jobs

• [VERIFY: recent house pad or foundation excavation — town, lot type, timeline]
• [VERIFY: recent driveway build or regrade — town, length, materials placed]
• [VERIFY: recent arena leveling or horse property grading job — town and scope]