Site Prep
We prepare lots for new homes and commercial builds around Indian Trail and Charlotte. The work covers clearing, cut and fill, building pads, compaction and the first grade.
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Foundation excavation is the first dig on a build, and the footings set everything above them. Cornerstone Excavation Group digs foundations and footings for new homes, additions, garages and outbuildings east of Charlotte. We work for home builders, general contractors and homeowners. The estimate is free and starts with a look at the job.
Every dig follows the plan the builder or engineer hands us. Spoils either stay on the lot for backfill or leave on dump trucks, see dirt and spoils hauling. When the footings are one piece of a bigger build, we can handle the site prep and building pads first. Cornerstone is 5.0-rated on Google and works the Charlotte metro from a base in Indian Trail.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
A footing dig looks simple until the plan gets specific. The trench has to hold the width and depth on the drawings, with clean walls. We set the dig out from the builder's stakes and size the machine to the lot. Tight Charlotte lots get a mini excavator and open acreage gets a bigger one.
The plan and the building code set the depth. Footings go below the frost line and onto undisturbed soil, and the county sets that depth. The open trench usually gets inspected before concrete is poured, and the builder or owner books it. We keep water out of the trench until it happens.
Additions, garages and outbuildings run the same way at a smaller size. Access is the hard part on a built property. We bring machines in through side yards and gates and put the spoils where they will not block the trades. If the plan calls for a basement or a deeper crawl space, the dig moves a lot more dirt.
The ground here is Piedmont red clay, mostly Cecil, Pacolet and Enon soils. Dry clay holds a trench wall well. Wet clay is a different job, because water sits in the bottom of the footing trench and softens it. We cut the water off the dig and take the trench down to firm ground.
Union County sits on the Carolina Slate Belt, so shallow rock shows up in some digs east of Charlotte. No one knows for certain until a machine is in the ground. Rock changes the dig, both the method and the time it takes. We tell you what we hit before we push on.
Clay also decides what happens once the foundation is in. Water that sits against a new wall has to go somewhere. Backfill and the first grade around the house handle most of it. A lot that already holds water may need yard and lot drainage on top of the grade.
Utility trenching is the other half of most foundation jobs. We dig and backfill the trenches for water, sewer, power and gas lines. The plumber or utility contractor sets the pipe and makes the connections. We open the line to the depth that trade asks for and close it after inspection. Full water, sewer and storm line installation is its own service, from the main to the building.
Nothing gets dug until the locates are done. North Carolina 811 asks for three working days of notice before you dig, so that request goes in early. Public locates do not cover private lines. Tell us about anything buried you know of, like a line to a detached garage.
Backfill is where a foundation job settles or holds. We bring the material back in lifts and compact as we go, to whatever the builder or engineer specifies. Then we rough grade so the lot drains away from the house. Final grading and seeding can follow on the same job.
Free estimates across the Charlotte metro, Union County and the York County side of South Carolina.
(980) 315-5707From the first call to the last load hauled off, here is how it goes.
Call or text (980) 315-5707 and tell us what the job is. We ask what the access looks like and when you need it done.
We come out to see the ground, the access and where the water goes. The visit and the estimate are free.
We set how the equipment gets in, where the material goes and what order the work runs in. Utility locates go in through NC811 before we dig, and any permit stays in the owner or builder's name.
The machines come in and the job gets done in the order we planned. Weather moves earthwork, so we tell you when the schedule shifts.
Spoils, brush and demolition material leave on our dump trucks. We grade the ground back before the equipment comes off the site.
Common questions about foundation excavation across the Charlotte metro, Union County and the York County side of South Carolina. If yours is not here, call and ask.
We prepare lots for new homes and commercial builds around Indian Trail and Charlotte. The work covers clearing, cut and fill, building pads, compaction and the first grade.
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We install underground utilities on the east side of Charlotte: water mains and service lines, sanitary sewer, storm drainage pipe and structures, and trenching for power, gas and telecom conduit.
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We haul spoils, brush, concrete and demolition debris off your site. We also bring in fill dirt, gravel and stone for the work we run.
Learn MoreHomeowners, builders and property owners have rated the work five stars on Google. Those jobs cover grading, land clearing, demolition cleanup, drainage and a retaining wall.
We come to the property, look at the ground and price the work from what is there. The visit and the estimate are free.
Clearing, grading, digging, utility lines, walls, ponds, drainage, demolition and hauling all come from us. One company handles each stage, so the site stays on one schedule.
We work out of Indian Trail in Union County, on the Mecklenburg County line. Charlotte, Matthews, Monroe, Waxhaw, Mint Hill, Concord, Fort Mill and Rock Hill are all in range.
Tell us about the job on the form, or call (980) 315-5707. We will get back to you and set up a free look at the site.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
