is it excavation i need?

wadencapital30@aol.com

Hello,

I am new here. I am going to build my home using the owner/builder process. I have found a piece of land with trees and stuff on it. Can the foundation crew I contract with excavate that for me? Will it cost extra, does anyone know an estimate of the charges for that? I live in NY

jproffer

You will have to call around and ask foundation subs if they will do that for you, we will have no idea.


That one I can answer....for a price :D ...just kidding, nothing is free though, it will definately cost extra, even if it's just for hauling away something other than dirt.


Can't answer that one either, call around and ask. We could guess. I suppose even I could guess, even about NY when I live in IL, but that's all it would be, a guess.

pipeguy

Expand on this a little. What exactly does 'owner/builder' mean?

1. You will need to "clear and grub" the lot of 'trees and stuff' to the limits you desire. Buy some plastic 'flagging tape' and establish a perimeter around the area you want cleared by tying pieces of tape around the trunks, or draping pieces from the branches, of those trees adjacent to the house site that you want to remain unharmed. This flagging is used to denote the "limits of disturbance". Another more effective, albeit more expensive, means of doing the same thing is to erect a fencline (with steel 'T-posts' and blaze orange 'safety' fencing) to establish a boundary between what stays and what goes.
2. After you clear and grub you'll want to excavate the basement or foundations. In my neck of the woods, residential foundation contractors do not typically perform excavation. Look for an excavation contractor or backhoe service that specifically digs basements and foundations. Get some references.

Your apparent lack of familiarity with what goes on in the building process leads me to think that you'd be well served by hiring a construction manager to help you through the project. Please consider that the additional expense might come back to you, time and again, in various cost savings.