Service · Kelowna and the Okanagan

Sub-Excavation

Sub-excavation and structural fill replacement in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, and Lake Country.

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Mini excavator digging beside a house foundation

What’s involved

Sub-excavation is digging past the problem: removing soft, wet, or organic soil below grade and replacing it with compacted structural fill. It’s what happens when the ground under a future slab, footing, or road won’t carry the load as it sits.

We excavate to competent ground or to the geotechnical engineer’s depth, then rebuild in compacted lifts. It isn’t glamorous, and it’s the difference between a slab that sits still and one that cracks the first winter.

Common sub-excavation projects

Soft-ground removal under slabs and footings
Organic soil and old fill removal
Over-excavation to geotechnical spec
Structural fill placed and compacted in lifts
Road and parking sub-base repair

FAQ

Common questions

Don’t see yours? Call (250) 575-6015 and we’ll talk it through.

How do I know if I need sub-excavation?

Your builder or geotechnical engineer usually finds it: soil that pumps underfoot, old fill of unknown origin, or organics where a footing wants to be. We dig test holes when someone needs to see what’s down there.

Who decides how deep to go?

On engineered jobs, the geotech. Without one, the honest answer is that you dig until you reach ground that performs, and we tell you what we’re seeing as we go.

What fill goes back in?

Clean, well-graded granular material, placed in lifts and compacted. Never the spoil that came out, if the spoil was the problem.