Excavation and grading
Dig it right and everything after it is easy
Excavation is the quiet half of every job we do. Strip the topsoil, take out anything soft or wet, cut the ground to the shape it needs, and set the falls while the dirt is still open. Do all that and the surface on top almost takes care of itself. Skip it and nothing above it will last.
Around here that matters more than most places. The Eastern Shore is flat, the water table sits close to the surface, and the ground can change from firm sand to soft wet soil inside twenty feet. You do not find that out by looking at the grass.
So we dig, we look, and we price what is actually there. We work residential and commercial ground across the Shore, including properties out toward Hurlock.
What does excavation work involve?
First the topsoil comes off, because it holds water and moves under load. Then we cut down to the level the job needs and take out any material that will not carry weight. Wet spots that pump under a loaded wheel get dug out rather than covered up, and that decision is made on site, once we can see it.
Then it is shaping. The ground gets cut to the profile it needs, with the falls set so water runs off and away from buildings, and the spoil is hauled off. What is left is a clean, compacted surface ready for whatever comes next, and it is the first stage of every paving job we run out of Federalsburg.
What has to happen before anybody digs?
The utilities have to be marked. Water, gas, electric, phone and cable all run shallower than people expect, and on a lot of Eastern Shore properties the septic field and the well line are in the middle of exactly where you want to work. Hitting one of those turns a small job into a very expensive week.
So the locate gets called in and the marks get walked before anything opens ground, every time, no exceptions. It is free and it takes a few days, which is why we talk about it at the estimate rather than the morning we start. The national 811 call before you dig service is how it gets requested in Maryland and Delaware alike.
Get a free estimate on your excavation
A third generation Eastern Shore family. Two year warranty on all the work we do.
Call (410) 924-4174Can you fix ground that holds water?
Often, yes, and it is one of the most common reasons we get called. Water sits because it has nowhere to go, and the answer is almost always to give it somewhere. That might mean cutting a shallow swale, opening a ditch line back up, or simply re-cutting the whole area so it falls one way instead of sitting flat.
Sometimes the ground is low rather than badly shaped, and then the answer is material instead of digging. Building up with a proper base before we lay asphalt is the paving version of the same idea: get the level and the fall right first, then surface it. We will tell you which one your ground needs after we have opened it up and looked.
Why choose Robert and Son Paving for excavation?
Because we are the ones who have to live with what we dug. When the same outfit does the excavation and the surface, nobody gets to blame anybody else for a soft spot, and there is no argument in the middle of the job about who was supposed to take that material out.
We are a third generation family business, born and raised on the Eastern Shore and run from Federalsburg. We hold MHIC #74385, we have been BBB accredited A+ since 2018, and every job carries a two year warranty. Estimates are free. Where the ground needs building up rather than cutting down, we handle the fill and topsoil side as well.
Ask a paving contractor
Straight answers about asphalt paving on the Eastern Shore
Do I need to call 811 before you start?
We take care of the locate request as part of the job. It is free and it takes a few working days, so we talk about it at the estimate stage rather than on the morning we are due to start digging.
Do you haul away the dirt you dig out?
Yes. Material we take off the site goes with us unless you want it kept, and plenty of customers do want it for filling a low area somewhere else on the property. We agree that before we start.
Can you dig on wet Eastern Shore ground?
Often, but not always, and we will say so honestly. Very wet ground can be worked once it drains, and sometimes the right call is to open a drainage route first and come back rather than churn the site up.
How do I know if the ground under my driveway is soft?
You can usually see it in the surface. Areas that flex under a vehicle, sink over time or crack in a web pattern are telling you the ground below has given up. We dig a test hole and look before quoting.
Is excavation included in the price of a new driveway?
Yes. Digging out, cutting to grade and hauling the spoil away are part of every paving estimate we write, so there is no separate surprise line for it once the job is under way.
Do you do excavation outside Federalsburg?
We do. Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Queen Anne's, Wicomico and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland, plus Sussex County in Delaware. Hurlock, Sudlersville, Denton, Preston and Easton are all regular ground for us.