Welcome toCentexExcavation

How to Estimate an Excavation Job

A step-by-step look at how excavation contractors build a bid: earthwork takeoffs, swell, production rates, equipment and hauling costs, overhead, profit, and contingency.

Installing a Driveway Culvert

How a driveway culvert is installed, from sizing the pipe to the watershed and choosing the material to minimum cover under traffic, slope, bedding, backfill, and end treatments that stop washouts.

Excavating for a Retaining Wall

What retaining wall excavation really involves, from base trench depth and width to digging to stable subsoil, the compacted gravel base, the drainage layer, geogrid, and backfill that keeps the wall from tipping.

Calling 811 Before You Dig

How calling 811 before you dig works: the locate request, waiting periods, the tolerance zone, APWA color codes, the private utilities 811 leaves unmarked, and who pays when a line is hit.

Excavating for an In-Ground Pool

How an in-ground pool is excavated: digging to depth by zone, the over-dig allowance, spoil volume and hauling, equipment and access constraints, and the soil and groundwater issues that drive cost.

Building a Gravel Driveway

How to build a gravel driveway that lasts: preparing and proof-rolling the subgrade, when geotextile fabric is needed, laying and compacting base stone in lifts, crowning for drainage, and estimating how much stone to order.