A major landscaping remodel often involves excavation, triggering worries about damage to the home, trees, and other structures, cut utility lines, and broken fences. The reality is that some properties are just not suitable for heavy equipment. Small equipment and/or manual labor may be required in these challenging situations. But for most projects, here are the essential issues to consider before starting an excavation project in Milford and Bedford, NH.
Related: BACKYARD REMODELS THAT REQUIRE EXCAVATION IN BEDFORD AND MILFORD NH AREAS
Whether you are building a new home, adding a detached or attached garage, excavating for a more usable outdoor living space, removing rocks and trees for an outdoor living space, installing a drainage system, or adding a pool, you will need excavation.
Any time heavy soil or rocks are moved, especially in confined areas in the vicinity of existing structures or landscaping, there’s the risk of damage. That’s why it’s important to work with an excavation company that always puts safety first.
Planning for Excavation
Planning is the key to success. Most landscape and property damage and most safety violations occur as a result of poor planning. In excavation, inches can count. If an excavator does not ensure that equipment can access the job site, such as for a future backyard pool area hemmed in by large rock outcrops is more than embarrassing: it’s a sign of poor planning. Bringing in machines not suited for the job (or that can’t access or maneuver at the job site without causing damage), lack of understanding of soil conditions, or lack of knowledge of drainage challenges can cause big problems.
The most obvious task is to locate underground and overhead utilities and ensure adequate access and room to maneuver machinery and equipment around structures, trees, and landscaping.
Even within the immediate excavation site, things can go wrong without planning: trenches can collapse due to heavy rains or improper supports, and the next thing you know there’s a large excavator stuck where it’s not easily retrieved.
Expecting the Unexpected
Even if all utilities are on the record and every precautionary step is taken, older homes may have surprises in store such as old cars used as septic tanks (yes, this is a real thing) or other “buried treasures.” An excavation company has to be ready for the unexpected, even if a project is well planned; but without planning, the chances of damage and costly problems increase exponentially.
Signs of Caring
A reputable excavation company cares about its employees, and that care shows in well-maintained excavation machinery and equipment, its fleet of vehicles, ongoing safety training, and of course comprehensive insurance.
Ongoing Inspection
As the project progresses, the continuous inspection can minimize the risks of potential accidents such as cave-ins resulting from rain-soaked soil or excavators getting too close to a trench; fallen branches that result in live electrical wires; and improper worker safety precautions such as head protection for every individual present on the job.
Soil has a tendency to not do what it’s expected to do: unexpected pockets of underground moisture in dry soil, or periods of heavy rains could mean cave-ins, so daily inspections ensure that all trenches or holes are well-supported using braces or protective wooden boxes.
A good company that takes safety seriously will do everything it can to protect your property and minimize damage during the dig. At Northern Lights, we take safety seriously. Call us today for site evaluation and let’s talk about how we can help bring your dream landscape to life.
