Question 1

Do I need to call before I dig on Vancouver Island?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We file a BC 1 Call locate before digging — it's free, and members respond within three working days. We have to start digging within 14 days of the request date, and once we do, the ticket stays valid for 30 days from that same date.

Question 2

How deep can a trench go before it needs shoring?

Accepted Answer

Any excavation over 1.2 metres that a worker enters has to be sloped, benched, engineered or shored under WorkSafeBC's regulation — we plan the method before the machine arrives.

Question 3

What does excavation cost in Nanaimo?

Accepted Answer

The Island Equipment Owners Association's Suggested Rate Guide, effective 1 January 2026, prices a Class 4–8 excavator at $180 to $248 an hour with an operator. Site prep and foundation digs are priced from a walk of the property.

Question 4

How much notice do you need before a job?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the job — we can often schedule a straightforward site-prep dig within a couple of weeks, but foundation work tied to a build schedule or a locate-heavy site can take longer to line up. We'll give you a real window once we've walked the site.

Question 5

Do you handle the permits, or do we?

Accepted Answer

We file for the permit on your behalf, and it's part of the quote. We tell you what your project needs before we start, so we won't begin excavation ahead of it.

Question 6

What happens if you hit something unexpected underground?

Accepted Answer

We stop and reassess. A locate tells us what utilities are down there, not what the soil itself will do — if we hit rock, an old foundation or anything else that changes the job, we talk it through with you before we keep digging.

Question 7

Do you work on smaller residential lots?

Accepted Answer

Yes — we run equipment sized to the job, from a compact mini excavator on a tight lot to a larger machine on an open site. Access is one of the first things we check on a site walk.

Question 8

What's included in a quote?

Accepted Answer

Machine class and estimated hours, any disposal or haul-away costs, and anything the site itself adds — slope, soil, access. We walk the site before we give you a price.

Frequently Asked Questions

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