Excavation in Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland
Most concrete jobs start with dirt that has to move. We dig for driveways, slabs, footings and utility lines on residential lots, then hand the ground straight to our own concrete crew, so the excavation and the pour are one responsibility.
What excavation involves
Excavation on a residential lot means cutting the ground down to the depth and outline the finished work needs. For a driveway that is the base course below the slab. For a garage or addition it is the footing trenches and the pad. For a new house it can also mean trenches for water, power and sewer lines. Joe walks the lot first, marks what is coming out and where the spoil goes, and writes the scope into the estimate.
Before any digging starts, underground utilities have to be located and marked. Tennessee 811 handles that request at no cost to the homeowner. Once the marks are down the crew opens the ground, hauls off or stockpiles the spoil as agreed, and leaves the cut at the grade the next step needs.
How Morgan's handles excavation
The operators on your property are our own W2 employees. We do not hire day labor or hand the digging to a subcontractor, and the supervisor on site is the person who bid the job, so the depth and the outline match what you were quoted.
Licensed and insured Because the same company digs the hole and pours the concrete, there is no gap between the excavation crew and the concrete crew over whether the base is right. Josh, our foreman, checks the cut before the concrete work begins.
Questions homeowners ask
Do I need to call 811 before you dig?
Underground utilities must be located before excavation begins, and the locate request through Tennessee 811 is free. Joe goes over who places the request when he scopes the job, and the crew does not open ground until the marks are on it.
What happens to the dirt you dig out?
It depends on what you want. Clean spoil can be spread on site to fill low spots or stockpiled for later grading. Anything you do not want stays on the truck and is hauled off. Joe settles this on the site walk and it goes into the estimate so there is no surprise about where the pile ends up.
How long does excavation take?
Timing depends on the size of the cut, how hard the ground is and the weather. Excavation stops when the ground is too wet to work. Joe gives you the schedule for your job with the written estimate.