Excavation Contractors in Chattanooga, TN

Excavation contractors in Chattanooga work in a city of 181,099 people (2020) spread over 150 square miles, about 5 percent of it water. Downtown sits at about 676 feet, among the lowest elevations in East Tennessee, while Missionary Ridge cuts through the city several miles east of downtown and the Tennessee River, impounded by Chickamauga Dam, winds below Lookout Mountain and around Moccasin Bend.

Flood history

The 1867 flood crested at 58 feet and completely inundated the city, the largest in its history. The TVA reservoir system, created in 1933, made Chattanooga a major priority. In 1973, the highest stage since the system was finished reached nearly 37 feet; without regulation it would have crested at 52.4 feet. Floodplain maps still govern grading and fill on many low-lying lots.

Historic districts

Ferger Place, Fort Wood and St. Elmo are on the National Register, and Battery Place, Glenwood, Missionary Ridge, M.L. King and Stringer's Ridge are local historic districts. Exterior work in some of them, including demolition, can need review. We check before scheduling.

Old industry

Railroads turned Chattanooga into one of the Southeast's largest heavy-industry hubs after the Civil War. Lots near old industrial corridors can hold fill, cinders or foundations from former buildings. If a dig turns up something unexpected, we stop and talk it through.

Rain and schedule

The airport's 1991 to 2020 normals list 55 inches of yearly precipitation and only 3.6 inches of snow, with a January mean low around 32 degrees. Winter digging is usually fine; long rainy stretches are what slow grading.

Clay, chert and limestone

The valley floor across much of the city is clay weathered from limestone. Dewey soils, common in the region, are deep red clay that can have sinks and depressions; Fullerton soils add chert gravel and cobbles. Both affect how trenches are bedded and how backfill is compacted.

Infill lots

Vacant city lots often hide old foundations and debris from houses that came down decades ago. We dig test holes before building and haul what should not be under a new home.

Mountain lots inside the city

Parts of Chattanooga climb Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Stringer's Ridge. Those lots get our hillside approach: small cuts, benched fill and drainage to a planned outlet.

City jobs we do most

• Sewer lateral digs in older neighborhoods
• Curtain drains on ridge lots
• Concrete and garage removal
• Infill lot site prep
• Retaining wall excavation

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