Olympic Peninsula Excavation Guides

Why the ground here needs its own guides

Most excavation advice online was written for somewhere flatter and drier. It does not survive a Jefferson County winter. Rain falls here from October through March, and it keeps coming in small doses that soak the ground and never let it dry out. Under the topsoil, much of the Peninsula is glacial till and hardpan sitting on clay. That ground sheds water instead of taking it in, so every roof, driveway and patio you add has to send its water somewhere on purpose or it ends up against a foundation.

Then there is the shape of the land. Bluff lots above the water in Port Townsend, hillsides along Hood Canal in Quilcene and Brinnon, and steep, rutted driveways off Center Road all behave differently than a flat lot in town. Most properties outside the towns are on septic, which means a drainfield and a reserve area you cannot grade, pave or drive over. And the rules change with the address: the Jefferson County Department of Community Development handles land use outside Port Townsend city limits, the City of Port Townsend Development Services handles it inside, and Jefferson County Environmental Health handles septic.

Each guide starts with the answer, then explains the exceptions. Where a fee, a threshold or a timeline changes from year to year, we describe the rule and tell you to confirm the number with the office that issues it, instead of printing a number that goes stale. If you would rather just ask a person, call or text Dusty at (360) 301-1711.

Guides

Coming next

These are the topics we hear the most questions about. They are being written now, so nothing links yet.

• Why your yard floods every winter, and what actually fixes it
• Digging in glacial till, hardpan and clay on the Peninsula
• Septic, drainfields and reserve areas: what you cannot build or grade on
• Building a gravel driveway on a slope that holds up in the rain
• Wells and water lines: how deep they go and who inspects them
• What goes under a horse arena so it drains in February

Have a question that is not covered here?

Send it over. If it comes up more than once, it becomes the next guide. A lot walk with Dusty is free anywhere in Jefferson County, and it usually answers more in twenty minutes than a week of reading. Request an estimate or ask a question.