Excavation in Houston: local operators and what it costs

Clay that moves with the weather

The clay soils common around Houston, such as the Lake Charles series, are rated by the USDA as very slowly permeable and crack open when they dry. That shrink and swell is why slab and footing digs here are usually sized by the engineer or builder rather than by eye. A dig left open through wet weather fills with water that drains away only slowly, so it is best to excavate and pour or backfill without long gaps.

The city's permit lines

A Houston Public Works form lists the triggers for a grading permit on a lot: excavation more than five feet deep, fill three feet or deeper or more than fifty cubic yards, fill that blocks a drainage course, and work that affects the support of the property next door. Any dig in a special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit, and fill in a floodway is generally not allowed. Digging in the street, sidewalk or drainage area out front is limited to permit holders.

Where the dirt goes

Hauling the spoil off, or finding a legal place for it on the lot, is often a bigger part of the effort than the digging. Houston allows no fill in the public right-of-way, and spreading spoil over a low part of the yard can count as fill under the same rules.

Texas 811

State law sets the locate request window at no less than forty-eight hours and no more than fourteen days before digging, and the Railroad Commission of Texas says that applies to homeowners in their own backyards. Restart the notice if the work slips past fourteen days.

For your project post

Describe what is being dug, its size and depth, whether the soil stays or leaves, the access for a machine, whether the lot is in a flood zone, and any permit or plan already in hand.