Footings & Foundation Work in Nanaimo

How deep do footings need to go?

Footing depth comes off your engineer's or building department's drawings, not off a standard number — frost depth, soil bearing and the structure above all factor in. We cut to the exact depth and dimensions specified and check it against the drawings before backfill.

What happens if the trench is over 1.2 metres deep?

WorkSafeBC requires any excavation over 1.2 metres that a worker enters to be sloped, benched, shored, or professionally engineered. We shore or bench every trench that crosses that line — no one works in an unprotected cut on our sites.

Where does foundation spoil actually go?

Less of it leaves than people expect. A foundation dig produces a lot of material, and where the lot has room the cleanest option is to keep it and put it back as backfill against the wall once the drainage is in. That avoids loading it, hauling it and paying to tip it.

What does have to leave needs somewhere to go, and clean soil and land-clearing debris are not accepted at the regional facilities at all. Those loads go to private soil-receiving sites instead, and the cost is driven by distance rather than by weight. We work that split out at the walk, because it moves the number more than the digging hours do.

How it works

1. 1

   Locate request — We file the locate request and confirm the site is clear before digging.

2. 2

   Excavation — We dig to the footing or foundation depth on your drawings, checking grade as we go.

3. 3

   Shoring & benching — Over 1.2 metres, we slope, bench or shore the trench before anyone enters it.

4. 4

   Sign-off ready — We square the excavation and leave it ready for your building inspector or engineer to sign off before forms go in.