Serving the Regional District of Nanaimo
Excavation & Site Preparation, Nanaimo
Nanaimo Excavators provides excavation and site preparation across Nanaimo and the Regional District of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from lot clearing through foundation digs to finished driveways. We run Class 4 to Class 8 excavators and cover Lantzville, Cedar, South Wellington and Extension.
- Fully Insured
- BC 1 Call Locates On Every Dig
- WorkSafeBC-Compliant Trenching
- Class 4–8 Machines
Text or call (778) 744-3128
Get a quote
Tell us the job and we'll get back to you with a written quote.
How we quote
How It Works
Tell us about the job
Call or text us with the address and what needs digging — a foundation, a drainage line, a driveway, or clearing a lot.
We walk your property
We check access, slope, where the utilities run and where the spoil can go, then call in locates before any machine moves.
You get a written quote
We quote the machine class, the timeline and what's included.
Our services
What We Dig
One local crew, one clear quote — we run site prep, foundation digs, drainage and driveway work with our own Class 4–8 equipment, start to finish.
Site Prep & Grading
We clear the lot, strip the topsoil and grade the pad level so it's ready for forms, gravel or landscaping.
Foundation Digging & Footings
We dig to your drawings, cut the building area to grade and compact the base before the forms go up.
Drainage, Perimeter & French Drains
We install perimeter drains, French drains and daylight outlets that move water away from your foundation.
Driveways & Access Roads
We cut, grade and compact driveways and access roads to carry vehicle loads through an Island winter.
Pricing
What It Costs
We price site prep, foundation digs and drainage work once we know what the job actually is.
| Machine class | Rate / hour |
|---|---|
| Mini, Class 1–3 | $142–$169 |
| Standard, Class 4–8 | $180–$248 |
| Larger, Class 9–12 | $257–$398 |
Island Equipment Owners Association Suggested Rate Guide, effective 1 January 2026. Operator included, transport excluded.
We walk your property before we quote, because the access, the slope, the soil and the haul distance all change what your job costs.
What does a day on your property look like?
We turn up at the start of the day and walk the job with you before the machine comes off the trailer. You get to point out the things we should know about. Then we tell you where we are going to start, and we set out where the pile goes and where the truck will park. Once we are digging, the machine runs most of the day. You will find it loud, and you will feel the ground shake a bit near the cut. We warn you before we start anything heavy. We stop when the light goes. Before we leave, we make the cut safe and we tidy up the working area. We tell you what we got done and what is coming tomorrow. If something has changed the plan, you hear it from us that day, not at the end of the week.
Do you need to be home while we dig?
You do not have to be home once we are going. We would like you there for the first walk round, so we can go over the job together. That is your chance to point out anything we should keep off. After that you can head out and we will carry on. If we need you, we will call. Give us a number you actually answer. Tell us who else can make a decision when you are away. On a day when we find something we were not expecting, we would rather wait for a call back than guess. If you are away for the whole job, leave us a way in and a number that reaches you. Ask us and we will send you a photo at the end of the day, so you can see where the work got to. It is your property, and you should not have to guess what happened on it. And if you want to watch, you are welcome to. Stay behind the line we mark and keep clear of the swing, and we will show you what we are looking at.
Local, across the Regional District of Nanaimo
Where We Dig
Much of Nanaimo sits over glacial till and the Nanaimo Group's sandstone and shale, with pockets of well-draining Quadra Sand closer to the water. We adjust the dig, the shoring and where the spoil goes to whatever the machine actually finds on your property.
Frequently asked
Questions We Get
- Do I need to call before I dig on Vancouver Island?
- 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.
- How deep can a trench go before it needs shoring?
- 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.
- What does excavation cost in Nanaimo?
- 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.