Excavation & Grading in Cherry Hill, NJ
Cherry Hill Township, Camden County. Family-owned, licensed and insured, and self-performing every stage of the work since 1979.
We handle excavation and grading across Cherry Hill Township: footings for additions, site prep for garages and patios, utility trenching, regrading for drainage, and backfill done in compacted lifts. Cherry Hill's sandy loam over clay pockets and its high water table in low-lying sections mean we plan shoring and dewatering before the first bucket goes in.
Free written estimates. Licensed and insured. Every site is quoted individually.
Free estimate in Cherry Hill, NJ
What we dig for
Excavation in Cherry Hill is mostly about improving homes built between the mid-1950s and early 1970s. Typical projects include:
- Footings and foundations for additions and garages
- Site prep and base excavation for driveways, patios and slabs
- Utility trenching for sewer, water and drainage lines
- Regrading lots so water moves away from the house
- Removing old fill, buried debris and failed concrete
- Backfill and compaction around foundations
Sandy loam with clay pockets
The township sits on the coastal plain: sandy loam over pockets of dense clay. Sand digs easily but won't hold a vertical wall once a trench gets deep. Clay holds a wall better but turns to mud when wet and drains poorly. A single Cherry Hill dig can pass through both, so we watch the soil as we go and adjust the excavation to what we find.
Water close to the surface in low areas
In the lower western and southern sections of the township, especially near Cooper River and the Pennsauken Creek tributaries, the water table is close enough that a deep excavation can start weeping before reaching grade. We plan for that with pumps and scheduling. On sewer work below about eight feet, dewatering is part of the plan from the start, not an afterthought.
Trench safety
Deeper excavations are benched, sloped or shored to suit the soil and depth. Sandy walls are the main risk here; they can let go without warning. We don't rely on a sand wall to stand on its own, and we keep spoil piles back from the trench edge.
Additions and finished basements
Many Cherry Hill additions and finished basements from past decades sit on fill that was never properly compacted, which shows up as settlement cracking years later. When we excavate for a new addition, we dig to undisturbed bearing soil, remove loose fill rather than building on it, and backfill in compacted lifts so the new work doesn't repeat the old problem.
Grading for a flat town
Cherry Hill is flat, and water leaves a lot only if someone built a path for it. Regrading — cutting and filling so the ground falls away from the house and toward a legal outlet — is often the most effective drainage fix. We grade with instruments, compact fill in lifts, and finish with topsoil ready for seed or sod.
Utility trenching
Sewer laterals here commonly run thirty to eighty feet from the house to the street main, and many are original clay or early cast iron. We excavate for lateral repair and replacement, set new pipe to grade, and backfill properly so the trench line doesn't settle.
Site prep for concrete
Driveways from the township's early decades were often poured thin on native soil with little base. A new slab is only as good as the excavation under it: we dig below soft soil, remove clay pockets that won't support a slab, and install compacted stone.
Pool removal and backfill
Removing an inground pool is largely an excavation and backfill job. The shell is broken out or removed, the hole is filled with suitable material in compacted lifts, and the yard is graded to drain. Proper compaction is what lets you build or plant on the area later.
Utilities located first
Water in Cherry Hill comes from New Jersey American Water or the Merchantville-Pennsauken Water Commission depending on address. Before any dig, public utilities are marked, and we locate private lines — sprinkler systems, low-voltage lighting, gas to grills and pool heaters — so the bucket finds dirt, not pipe.
Equipment sized to the lot
Most Cherry Hill lots are a quarter to half an acre with established landscaping. We choose equipment that fits the access, protect lawns and driveways with mats where needed, and keep the street clean.
Spoil and haul-away
Excavated soil is either reused on site — for grading, if it's suitable — or hauled away. Clay that won't compact well and debris from old fill go off site. We'll tell you which is which.
Permits and inspection
Footing excavations for additions are inspected before concrete is placed, and work in the street needs township approval. We coordinate the inspections that apply to our part of the job.
Backfill in lifts
The difference between a trench that stays level and one that sinks is how it's backfilled. We place fill in layers and compact each one, rather than pushing the dirt back in and hoping it settles.
When the yard is put back
On a typical Cherry Hill quarter-acre lot, the excavation footprint is small but the equipment path can cross the whole front yard. We lay mats over lawn on the way in, keep spoil on tarps where it would otherwise smother grass, and when the trench is closed we regrade the path, spread topsoil and leave it ready for seed. Driveway aprons we crossed get checked for damage before we go.
If you hit a sewer problem
Sometimes an excavation reveals a broken sewer line, or a homeowner calls us mid-backup. Our crews handle emergency sewer excavation around the clock.
Sewage backing up right now? Call (856) 488-2227 — 24/7 emergency service.
Emergency sewer repair in Cherry Hill ↗Recent projects near Cherry Hill.
- Cherry Hill, NJ
Chapel Ave Concrete Driveway
Full driveway replacement — old surface removed and hauled off, subgrade excavated and compacted, then formed, poured, and finished with a new apron and sidewalk section tied into the street.
- Cherry Hill, NJ
Maple Commons Drainage Repair
Complete drainage system repair and installation for the Maple Commons residential complex. Extensive stormwater work integrated with existing utilities.
Cherry Hill questions, answered.
Yes. We excavate to undisturbed bearing soil, remove loose fill, and have the footing inspected before concrete.
In low-lying parts of the township the water table is close to the surface. We plan pumps and dewatering on deeper digs.
Often. On Cherry Hill's flat lots, shaping the ground to fall away from the house and toward a legal outlet solves many drainage problems.
Suitable soil can be reused for grading; clay and debris are hauled away.
Other services in Cherry Hill.
Excavation & Grading — Cherry Hill, NJ