At the risk of seeming self-serving, since we are the driveway excavation experts of Fort Worth, we are going to tell you our reasons why we believe any major excavation job, from driveway excavation to pond excavation to building pads, is better left to professional excavation services.
We are J & A Excavation, serving the Fort Worth area with distinction, and we can handle all of your excavation needs. Call us today for a job quote.
Now, though, let’s talk about why you really shouldn’t tackle a driveway excavation yourself.
Qualification: you want a quality driveway excavation done.
I have a friend who lives in Alaska, about ten miles from the nearest town. He wanted a driveway for his cabin, and being a DIY hardy kind of guy, he felled trees, pulled out stumps, had gravel delivered, and spread that gravel using nothing but a shovel and wheelbarrow. That driveway was serviceable for about one Alaska winter, and come spring, with the thaw, and the spring rains, his hard-earned driveway disappeared as erosion did what erosion always does.
Today he has a quality driveway because he spent the money to have a pro do the job correctly, and it has held up through five tough winters so far.
Moral of the story: Yes, you can do it yourself, but you have to ask yourself whether you have the skills, and the knowledge, to do the job correctly.
Most people do not!
Driveway excavation steps most people are not qualified to do properly.
Clearing an area for a driveway is just one step in the excavating process, and quite frankly it is the least-technical of all the steps. What my friend did not realize, nor did he do, was plan for drainage. He needed to test the soil and determine whether additional, good drainage material, needed to be added to the existing soil. He needed to lay down a drainage system so underground water did not pool and cause erosion.
After he did all that, he needed to lay down a strong foundation and, if he really wanted to be fastidious, he needed to plant along the driveway so root systems would also help strengthen the area and help with erosion control.
After all of that, he could then lay down asphalt and press it down for the final stage. Having done all that, he could shout to the weather gods “I’m ready for anything you can throw at me,” and feel confident in that statement.
Yes, it will cost to hire the pros, but . . .
Will it cost money to have the pros do the job? You bet it will, but long-term, it won’t cost as much as if he did it himself, turned around a year later and did it himself again, followed by actually hiring the pros by the third year of abject failure.
A final word about J & A Excavation.
We are presenting this information in a lighthearted way, but the central point is true: hire a company like J & A Excavation, have the job done correctly the first time, and never worry about it again.
Locally owned and operated, J & A Excavation is able to handle any excavation job you can imagine.