Excavation
Excavation Contractor in St. Joseph, MO
Site prep, grading and dirt work for new builds, driveways and yards that won't drain, run from St. Joseph out through the Northland and the Kansas City metro.
Licensed and insured in Missouri and Kansas · Free estimates
Where the business started
Ferry Construction & Excavation started out as an excavation contractor, and dirt work is still the core of the business.
We run a compact excavator and compact track loader on lots around St. Joseph, MO and out through the Northland and the Kansas City metro. Homeowners with a low spot that never dries out need it regraded. Builders need a pad cut and graded before framing starts. Rural property owners need ground cleared for a shop or a hole dug out for a culvert. If dirt needs to move, or a lot needs to be shaped so water goes where it should, that's the job.
Because the same crew also builds, excavation on a new home can roll straight into framing once the pad and footings are ready. On its own, it's grading, pads and drainage. As part of a bigger job, it's the first step.
Site work we handle
Excavation and grading covers more than one kind of job. Here's what that work includes.
- New building pads. Cutting and grading a pad to the right elevation before a foundation or slab goes in.
- Footing and foundation digging. Opening up ground for footings and foundation walls on a new home or an addition.
- Grading and drainage. Reshaping a yard so water moves away from the house instead of sitting against it after a storm.
- Driveway prep. Cutting and grading the base a gravel or paved driveway needs before it goes down.
- Culverts and drainage pipe. Digging out for a culvert under a driveway or field entrance and setting the pipe. More on that below.
- Utility trenches. Digging trenches for conduit, water lines and drain lines, either on their own or as one piece of a larger project. See our trenching work for the details on that side of it.
- Pad and lot cleanup. Once the digging is done, spreading or hauling the leftover dirt and leaving the site graded, not a pile of loose ground.
Culvert and drainage pipe installation
Driveways and field entrances that cross a ditch need a culvert underneath so water keeps moving instead of backing up at the crossing. The track loader digs out the hole, we set the corrugated pipe in the trench, and grade the crossing back in around it once the pipe is set. The same equipment cuts a drainage trench down a slope to carry water away from a house or a low spot in the yard.
Excavation and grading work
A look at some of the dirt work in photos. See more of our excavation and grading work.
How an excavation job goes
- You call or text. Tell us what you're dealing with and roughly how big the area is. A photo or two of the site helps.
- We look at the ground. Most excavation and grading jobs get an actual walk of the property, so we can see the slope, the access for equipment, and where water goes when it rains.
- Utilities get located. Before anything gets dug, we get buried lines marked. It's a normal part of the job, not an extra step tacked on.
- You get a quote. A clear price for the work discussed, before the excavator ever shows up on site.
- We move the dirt. Cutting, grading or trenching, with equipment access worked out ahead of time so the machine can actually get to the spot.
- We handle the spoil. Extra dirt gets hauled off or spread and graded right on site, whichever the job calls for, and the area gets left usable, not torn up and abandoned.
What changes the price
Every excavation and grading job gets priced on its own, but the same handful of things move the number each time. How much dirt actually has to come out of the ground. How far it has to travel once it's out, whether it stays on site or gets hauled off. How the equipment gets onto the lot in the first place: a wide open yard is a different job than a fenced-in backyard behind a narrow gate. And what's already down there: rock close to the surface, old fill dirt, or roots from a tree that used to stand where the pad needs to go. We'll walk the site with you and explain what's driving the price before anything is scheduled.
Excavation contractor serving St. Joseph and the Kansas City metro
We're based in St. Joseph and cover Buchanan County along with the Northland towns south of us, plus a good stretch of the Kansas City metro. Rural lots tend to need pad and outbuilding work, older in-town yards tend to need drainage fixed, and newer subdivisions can need driveway and utility trench work.
- Platte City, MOacreage and new building sites
- Parkville, MOsloped, wooded lots
- Smithville, MOlake-area properties
- Liberty, MOolder lots and new subdivisions
- Kansas City, MONorthland and south of the river
- Lee's Summit, MOnewer subdivisions
Not on that list? See the full service area, or just call and ask.
Questions about excavation and grading
Do you dig footings and foundations?
Yes. We open ground for footings and foundation walls on new homes and additions, and grade the pad before the foundation work or framing starts.
Can you fix a yard that won't drain?
Many drainage problems come down to grade: the ground is shaped wrong and water has nowhere to go. Regrading the area so it sheds water is the usual fix.
Do you install culverts under driveways or field entrances?
Yes. We dig out the crossing, set the corrugated culvert pipe, and grade the driveway or field entrance back in over it so water keeps moving through the ditch.
Do I need to be home when the locate happens?
No. Once a locate is called in, the utility company marks buried lines on their own schedule, and we plan the digging around those marks.
What happens to the dirt you dig out?
Depends on the job. Sometimes it gets spread and graded right there on site, sometimes it has to be hauled off. We'll tell you which before work starts.
Can you do excavation without doing the building too?
Sure. Some calls are dirt work only, a drainage fix, a driveway pad, a trench. The building side is there if you need it, not a requirement.
How big of a lot can you work?
The compact excavator and compact track loader we run are suited to residential lots and smaller rural acreage, tight access included. Tell us the size and layout when you call and we'll tell you if it's a fit.
Related work
Trenching
Utility trenches for conduit, water lines and drain runs, cut with the machine that fits the space.
New Construction & Framing
Site work and framing from the same crew, so the ground work and the build stay coordinated start to finish.
Have a project in mind?
Call or text us with what you need and where it is. Estimates are free. Licensed and insured in Missouri and Kansas.