Excavation contractor in San Bernardino, CA
Pool digs, ADU pads, sewer laterals, septic systems and trenching for homeowners across the east valley, with the price ranges published before you call.
- Licensed CSLB contractor on every job
- Cobble and boulder ground priced up front
- Same day emergency trenching
- Callback within one business day
Shandin Excavation is an excavation contractor referral service serving San Bernardino, California and the east valley cities around it.
Excavation in San Bernardino costs $2,500 to $12,000 for most residential jobs, with a machine and operator at $165 to $285 an hour. A standard pool dig runs $2,500 to $9,000 and finishes in one working day when the side gate is eight feet or wider. An ADU pad with rough grading and a compaction report runs $3,500 to $10,000, and a sewer lateral replacement from the house to the city main runs $4,000 to $12,000, mostly driven by how deep the main sits under the street. The ground decides the rest: north of Highland Avenue and up through Highland and Alta Loma the lots sit on alluvial fan material full of cobble and granite boulders, which adds $1,500 to $6,000 of breaker time and extra hauling. South of the 10 the ground is sandy loam and digs fast. Every trench deeper than five feet needs shoring or sloped walls under Cal/OSHA, and every dig needs an 811 ticket two working days ahead.
Residential excavation across the San Bernardino valley
Six kinds of work make up almost every call, and each one has its own page with the method, the permit, the price range and what moves it.
Pool excavation
New pool and spa digs through a side yard gate, and pool removals with a compaction report. Cobble and boulder ground priced up front.
Read the page and the price rangeADU and garage pads
Rough grade, cut and fill, compaction testing and the drainage swale the city wants, for detached units, casitas and garages.
Read the page and the price rangeSewer lateral and septic
Open trench lateral replacement to the city main, septic tank and leach field excavation, perc test holes and abandonments.
Read the page and the price rangeEmergency trenching
Collapsed laterals, broken water services and utility strikes. Same day callout across the valley, after hours range published.
Read the page and the price rangeCommercial sitework
Pads, footings, fire water trenches and yard base for shops, additions and small warehouses along the logistics corridor.
Read the page and the price rangeDriveways, footings and grading
Driveway cuts and base rock, foundation excavation, hillside benching, drainage grading and demolition, all on the published table.
Read the page and the price rangeWhat the common jobs cost here
These are the ranges licensed excavation contractors in the valley quote inside for the five jobs homeowners ask about first. The full table on the cost guide has sixteen rows, including hourly rates, hauling and the boulder line.
| Job | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| New pool excavation | $2,500 to $9,000 | Pool size and depth, gate width, cobble, where the dirt goes |
| ADU or garage pad, rough grade and compaction | $3,500 to $10,000 | Pad size, cut and fill, compaction testing, drainage swale |
| Sewer lateral replacement, dig to backfill | $4,000 to $12,000 | Depth at the main, run length, concrete or asphalt to open and patch |
| Utility trench, per linear foot | $20 to $65 | Depth, cobble, number of conduits, surface restoration |
| Conventional septic system, installed | $12,000 to $25,000 | Perc rate, tank size, leach line count, county versus city review |
See your likely range right now
Three questions, computed straight from the published cost guide. No email wall, and the range updates as you answer.
The ground decides more than the drawing does. North of the 210 and in Highland the fan material carries boulders that can add a third to a dig. South of the 10 the ground is finer and digs fast. A probe during the site walk settles it before anyone prices the job.
How the ground changes across the valley
San Bernardino sits at the foot of the mountains, and everything north of the 210 is built on the fans of sand, gravel and granite boulders that the canyons pushed out over thousands of years. The Lytle Creek fan under Rialto and the west side is clean sand and digs easy. The Santa Ana River fan under Highland and East Highlands Ranch and the Cucamonga fan under Alta Loma are the opposite: rounded cobble from the first few feet down and boulders that have to be broken or craned out.
South of the 10, toward Colton and the river bottom, the fan material grades into sandy loam with clay lenses and, in a wet winter, a water table a few feet down. Redlands and Yucaipa sit on a decomposed granite loam that compacts well and percolates at a steady rate, which is why the old septic systems there have lasted as long as they have. The California Geological Survey maps all of it, and a good contractor knows which side of Highland Avenue your lot is on before the truck leaves the yard.
How a project goes from the first call to the last pass of the compactor
- 1
Address and the job
You send the property address and what needs to be dug. We route it to one licensed excavation contractor who works your city, and they call within one business day.
- 2
Site walk and probe
The contractor walks the yard, measures the gate, checks for cobble with a probe bar, and looks at where the dirt can go. Photos you text ahead of time speed this up.
- 3
Written quote off the published ranges
You get a written quote on the contractor’s paper. It should land inside the range on our cost guide, and if it does not, the quote explains what is different about your lot.
- 4
Permits and the 811 ticket
The contractor pulls the grading, encroachment or septic permit your city or the county requires and files the 811 locate ticket at least two working days before the dig.
- 5
Dig, inspect, backfill
The excavation happens, the inspector sees what has to be seen before it is covered, and the trench or pad is backfilled and compacted to the spec on the permit.
Sitework for shops, additions and small warehouses in Southern California
The Inland Empire logistics corridor runs right through the service area, and the small end of that work fits a residential excavation crew well: pad grading for a shop addition in Colton, a fire water line trench for a warehouse off Slover in Fontana, trailer yard base along Jurupa, footings for a tilt up annex. Those jobs are quoted by the hour or by the cubic yard after a site visit, with Class A or C-12 licensing and the insurance certificate your general contractor asks for. The commercial sitework page covers scope, scheduling and what the bid needs to include.
What a typical month of digging looks like
A pool shell in a north Fontana tract, dug in a day through a nine foot gate. A clay sewer lateral in Rialto, open trenched and replaced before the family got home from work. A casita pad cut into a Highland Hills slope with two boulders craned over the fence. A leach field in Yucaipa after a perc test in October. A trench from a Loma Linda alley main to a new backyard unit that rents to a resident the week it is finished. A foundation dig for a shop addition on La Cadena in Colton with the city inspector watching the shoring go in. The projects change, the process does not, and every one of them started with an address and a phone call.
Where we work across the SoCal east valley
Based in San Bernardino, covering the east valley from Rancho Cucamonga to Yucaipa and up Cajon Pass to Devore. Each area page covers the ground, the permit office and the jobs that come up most in that city.
Questions homeowners ask first
How much does excavation cost in San Bernardino?
Most residential excavation jobs in the San Bernardino valley land between $2,500 and $12,000. A pool dig runs $2,500 to $9,000, an ADU pad $3,500 to $10,000 and a sewer lateral replacement $4,000 to $12,000. Hourly work with a machine and operator is $165 to $285 an hour. The full table with what moves each price is on the cost guide.
Do you dig in the rocky ground north of the 210?
Yes, and we price it as rock from the start. The alluvial fan under Verdemont, Highland and Alta Loma carries cobble and granite boulders a few feet down. A hydraulic breaker rides on the truck and the cost guide carries a separate boulder line so the number does not move after the dig starts.
Who actually does the work?
One licensed California excavation contractor who covers your city. Shandin Excavation publishes the prices and the permit rules and hands your request to that contractor. They quote on their own paper, hold the contract, pull the permits and file the 811 ticket. You can check the license at cslb.ca.gov.
How fast can a crew get out for a sewer emergency?
Same day for an active backup in most of the valley, often within a few hours. After hours callouts run $600 to $1,500 on top of the hourly rate, and the emergency page explains what to shut off and what to photograph while you wait.
Do I need a permit to grade my yard or dig a pool?
A pool needs a building permit from your city, and the pool contractor usually pulls it. Grading needs its own permit when you move more than about 50 cubic yards or change where water leaves the lot, which covers most ADU pads and hillside work. Every trench needs an 811 ticket two working days before digging. The permits page walks through each city.