Guelph Excavation Pros self-performs commercial excavation, site servicing and paving-ready base work for general contractors, developers, institutions and property managers. Our own operators, machines and trucks carry the earthworks package, so you are not managing a chain of subtrades.
On a GC-led project we mobilize after survey layout and hand off to the foundation, servicing and paving trades on the dates in your schedule. We price from the tender set, build to the contract specifications and report progress to your site superintendent daily.
More than 500 completed jobs over 10+ years, full insurance and WSIB coverage stand behind every bid. Below you will find our scope, prequalification documents, pricing models and compliance approach.
10+ years digging
500+ jobs completed
Licensed and insured
WSIB coveredWe self-perform six scopes on commercial, industrial and institutional (ICI) sites across Guelph and the surrounding municipalities. Each one can be bid on its own or rolled into a single earthworks and servicing package.
Topsoil stripping and stockpiling, cut and fill to design grades, building pad construction and bulk excavation for foundations or underground parking. Pads are compacted in lifts and proof rolled before the footing contractor arrives.
Methods are explained on our site preparation and land clearing, bulk earthmoving and soil removal and site grading and levelling pages.
Sanitary, storm and watermain installation, service laterals and connections to municipal mains. Trenches deeper than 1.2 m (4 ft) are protected with trench boxes or shoring, as O. Reg. 213/91 requires.
Bedding, backfill and testing are covered on our sewer, water and storm line excavation page.
Earthworks, granular base, catch basins and fine grade, handed to the paver ready for asphalt. Lots can be phased so a business or plaza stays open during the work.
See commercial parking lot construction and private road and access road construction for base designs and process.
Building teardown, slab and footing removal, and saw-cut concrete break-out for new servicing trenches. Concrete, asphalt and steel are separated on site for recycling.
Details are on our commercial and residential demolition and concrete breaking and removal pages.
Trench boxes, hydraulic shoring and engineered systems for digs beside buildings, roads and property lines. Where O. Reg. 213/91 calls for an engineered support system, we install it to a professional engineer's design.
Our shoring and underpinning excavation page explains which system suits which depth and soil.
Underground fuel tank removal, impacted soil excavation to the limits your environmental consultant sets, and loading to licensed receiving facilities. We hold the dig open for confirmatory sampling before backfill.
See oil tank removal and contaminated soil removal for the full sequence.
We send a prequalification pack with every commercial bid, and to any GC who asks before inviting us to tender. It is one email with the documents most prequal forms ask for, so your estimator or safety coordinator can approve us without chasing paperwork.
We do not post the pack publicly because certificates renew during the year. Requesting it by email at info@guelphexcavation.ca means you always receive the current versions.
Every pack includes a current WSIB clearance certificate and a certificate of insurance listing our commercial general liability, automobile and equipment coverage. When the contract requires it, we name your company and the owner as additional insureds.
You can also confirm our standing yourself through the WSIB clearance certificate lookup.
The pack contains our written health and safety policy and program, a sample site-specific hazard assessment, and operator training records. Training covers topics such as trenching and excavation safety, WHMIS and first aid.
If your project requires IHSA's Certificate of Recognition (COR), ask about our current status before bid closing so there are no surprises at award.
The equipment list shows each machine we can mobilize with its class, operating weight, width and attachments, next to a summary of operator experience on each machine type. The classes we typically bring to commercial sites are:
We price commercial excavation three ways: unit rates, lump sum, or time and materials. The right model depends on how complete the drawings are and who should carry the quantity risk.
| Pricing model | When it suits | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Unit rate | Tendered work with a bill of quantities, and servicing or bulk digs where final volumes may change | A rate per cubic metre excavated, per tonne of granular placed, per metre of pipe laid and per structure set. Measured quantities are paid as installed. |
| Lump sum | A defined scope with issued-for-construction drawings and a geotechnical report | One fixed price for everything shown on the drawings. Changes are priced and approved as extras before the work proceeds. |
| Time and materials | Emergency repairs, investigation digs, undefined scope and owner-directed extras | Hourly rates per machine with operator, trucking per load or per hour, and materials at cost plus an agreed markup, all on daily tickets your supervisor signs. |
Every bid lists its exclusions, such as rock removal, dewatering beyond normal sump pumping, impacted soil disposal and winter heat. Clear exclusions keep change orders rare and quick to settle.
We build to the Ontario Provincial Standard Specifications (OPSS) unless your contract names another standard. Sections we work to often include OPSS 206 for grading, OPSS 401 for trenching and backfill, OPSS 410 for sewer pipe, OPSS 441 for watermain and OPSS 314 for granular base.
Aggregates meet the OPSS 1010 gradations in your spec, most often Granular A for base and Granular B Type I for subbase. Compaction testing is booked with the owner's geotechnical firm.
Excess soil leaving a site falls under O. Reg. 406/19, On-Site and Excess Soil Management. We follow the project leader's soil plan, carry a hauling record in every truck and deliver only to the receiving sites the plan names.
City of Guelph site plan approvals usually carry conditions for erosion and sediment control, grading and tree protection. We install and maintain silt fence, a mud mat at the construction entrance and catch basin inlet protection, and we sweep the municipal road, because a failed inspection can delay the release of the owner's securities.
Guelph draws nearly all of its drinking water from groundwater. On sites inside a wellhead protection area we refuel away from open excavations and keep a spill kit on every machine.
Spring thaw, locate backlogs and frozen ground are the three things that most often push commercial earthworks behind schedule. We plan for each one before we mobilize.
Counties and townships around Guelph post reduced load limits on many rural roads during spring thaw, usually from about March into May. We plan aggregate deliveries and haul-off routes around posted roads, or split loads, so base material keeps arriving.
Ontario One Call needs at least 5 business days for a standard locate, and spring demand stretches that further. We file early and renew locates before they expire, so crews never wait for paint.
Winter excavation is workable with frost ripping, thaw blankets and insulated tarps over exposed subgrade. We never place granular or backfill on frozen material, a common cause of spring settlement.
Our crews work Monday to Saturday 6:00am to 9:00pm and Sunday 9:00am to 9:00pm, within local noise by-law hours. Weekend shifts recover rain days without pushing back the next trade.
Yes, we bid on both. Email the tender or issued-for-construction drawings, the geotechnical report, the relevant spec sections and the closing date to info@guelphexcavation.ca.
Most invited bids are priced within 5 to 10 business days, depending on size. We confirm receipt and flag any missing documents within the first few days so there is time to get answers before closing.
Yes. Email us the project name and your company's legal name, and we send a current clearance certificate before our first machine arrives on site.
We resend a fresh certificate whenever the one on your file expires, and you can check it independently through WSIB's online clearance service at any time.
We handle the contractor's part, while the planning documents belong to the project leader and their qualified person. The project leader is usually the owner or developer; the qualified person is a licensed engineer (P.Eng.) or geoscientist (P.Geo.).
Where required, the qualified person prepares the assessment of past uses, sampling and analysis plan, soil characterization report and destination assessment report. The project leader files the registry notice.
As the contractor, we carry a hauling record for every load, follow the project's tracking system, send each load only to its approved destination and hand our records over at closeout. The RPRA Excess Soil Registry explains which projects must file.
Estimators: send us the drawings and the tender date, and we will confirm whether we can bid and when our price will reach you. Call 548-918-0387 or email info@guelphexcavation.ca.
Open Monday to Saturday 6:00am to 9:00pm and Sunday 9:00am to 9:00pm.
