Dig Work · Nanaimo
Driveways & Access Roads in Nanaimo
Nanaimo Excavators builds your driveway on a compacted base at least 150 millimetres deep, so it sheds water and carries daily traffic across the Regional District of Nanaimo. If your access comes off a provincial highway, you need a Ministry of Transportation and Transit permit, and we check that before we quote. Every driveway we dig starts with a BC 1 Call locate.
We excavate to grade, lay a compacted base of crushed rock, and shape the surface so water sheds to the sides instead of sitting on the driveway. Where a driveway ties into a provincial highway, we check whether the access needs a Ministry of Transportation and Transit permit before any machine moves.
What's under a driveway that holds up?
A driveway that lasts is built from the ground up: proper excavation to grade, a compacted base of crushed rock at least 150 millimetres deep, and a crown or cross-slope that sheds water instead of holding it.
Do you need a permit for a new driveway?
If your access ties into a provincial highway, you need a Ministry of Transportation and Transit permit before work starts — we check this for you as part of every quote. Access off a municipal or regional road inside the Regional District of Nanaimo generally doesn't need one, and we confirm it either way.
Why compact in layers instead of all at once?
Because a compactor only works to a certain depth. Drop 400 millimetres of crushed rock in one go and you compact the top of it and leave the middle soft.
So we build the base in lifts and compact each one before the next goes on. It takes longer on the day and it is what keeps the drive flat. How thick each lift runs comes off what the plate or the roller can actually get down to, and we work that out on the job.
How do we keep the mess off the rest of your property?
We bring trucks and a machine right up beside everything else you own. So we set the route in before we start, and we stick to it. We keep the tracks on the work area and off your lawn. Where we have to cross soft ground, we lay mats or a bed of gravel to spread the weight. We sweep the road at the end of the day if we have carried mud out onto it. If we mark something up, we tell you and we put it right. Tell us at the start if there is a surface you are worried about, like a paved apron, a set of pavers or a septic lid we should not be driving over, and we will plan the route around it.
How it works
Locate request — We file the BC 1 Call locate before any digging starts.
Excavation — We cut the driveway to the grade and width your site needs.
Base compaction — We lay and compact a crushed-rock base so the surface has something solid underneath.
Surface shaping — We crown or cross-slope the surface so water runs off instead of pooling.
Dig work in nearby communities
Ready for a quote on excavation in Nanaimo?
We walk your property and quote it free, anywhere in the Regional District of Nanaimo.
Text or call (778) 744-3128