Excavation contractor in San Bernardino
Pool digs, pads, laterals and trenches priced off the published cost guide. Call (443) 364-3676 or send the form below.
Shandin Excavation is an excavation contractor serving San Bernardino, and the city is where most of the calls start. The housing here is older than the rest of the valley: block after block of 1950s and 1960s ranch houses in Del Rosa and the Westside that still run on the original clay sewer lateral, plus a wave of 1970s tract homes along Kendall Drive and up into Verdemont. When one of those laterals collapses, the job is a trench from the house to the city main, usually six to ten feet deep near the street, often through a driveway.
The other big driver in the city is the ADU. San Bernardino has leaned hard into backyard units since the state ADU rules loosened, and a detached unit needs a graded pad, a trenched sewer tie in and a water line before anyone frames a wall. Lots on the north side under Shandin Hills and in Verdemont sit on sloping ground with cobble a few feet down, which changes the machine and the price. Flat lots south of Baseline dig easy.
Pool digs round out the work. Summers over 100 degrees keep the pool builders busy, and the dig is the part most of them sub out. Access through a side yard gate decides whether a full size excavator fits or a mini has to make three times the passes.
Why the north side digs harder than the south side
North of Highland Avenue the ground is alluvial fan: sand, gravel and rounded cobble shed off the San Bernardino Mountains. South of the 10, near the Santa Ana River, it turns to finer sandy loam with clay lenses. A quote that does not ask which side of the city you are on is guessing.
Neighborhoods we dig in
Around San Bernardino the requests come from Shandin Hills, Verdemont, Arrowhead Springs, Del Rosa, the Westside, Hospitality Lane, covering ZIPs 92401, 92404, 92405, 92407, 92408, 92410, 92411. City of San Bernardino Public Works and Building and Safety issue grading permits; the city is on sewer almost everywhere, so septic is rare outside the Verdemont edge. The permits page has the details.
Get a San Bernardino quote
The address and a photo of the yard get the fastest answer. One licensed contractor who works San Bernardino calls within one business day.
San Bernardino questions, answered
Do I need a permit to grade my backyard for an ADU in San Bernardino?
Yes. The ADU building permit covers the pad, and the city asks for a grading plan or a site plan showing drainage when you move more than about 50 cubic yards or change how water leaves the lot. The contractor who grades the pad usually hands the compaction report to your ADU builder for the foundation inspection.
How deep is a sewer lateral in San Bernardino?
Four to six feet at the house and six to ten feet near the city main under the street is typical. The depth at the main is what sets the trench price, because a trench over five feet needs shoring or sloping under Cal/OSHA rules and the crew slows down.
Who owns the sewer lateral, me or the city?
You do, from the house to the connection at the main, including the part under the sidewalk and street in most cases. The city handles the main itself. An encroachment permit is needed to open the street, and the contractor pulls it.
Can a pool dig get into my backyard if the side yard is narrow?
A gate under eight feet means a mini excavator and a lot more hours. Many pool digs in the older tracts come in through a removed fence panel on the side, and the dirt goes out the same way one bucket at a time. Tell us the gap width and we price it right the first time.
How fast can someone come out for a collapsed sewer line?
Same day for a true backup, in most of the city. The emergency page lists the after hours callout range. Call the number on this page and say it is an active sewer problem.
Shandin Excavation covers the whole east valley. See the cost guide, the pool excavation page, or nearby areas: Highland, Redlands, Yucaipa.