Excavation — Austin TX & Hill Country

Austin's Limestone Doesn't Surprise Us. We've Already Mapped It.

RTK-verified excavation from pool shells to foundation pads. Hydraulic rock hammer purpose-built for Hill Country geology. Every cut measured to centimeter accuracy — documented in 3D before, during, and after.

Hammer Class
1,500 LB
RTK Accuracy
±0.5 CM
As-Built Turnaround
48 HR
Hammer Class
1,500 LB
RTK Grade Accuracy
±0.5 CM
As-Built Turnaround
48 HR
Billing Surprises
Zero

Precision cuts.
Verified results.

Excavation in Central Texas means working with some of the hardest geology in the country. Limestone as shallow as 18 inches below grade has blown timelines, broken rental equipment, and torpedoed project budgets for contractors who didn't see it coming.

ClearGround scans the subsurface before the first bucket moves. Rock shelves get located. Grade differentials get modeled. Every cubic yard removed is documented in 3D and verified by RTK — so the number we bill is the number we can prove.

Standard Excavation Contractor
Show up and guess what's below grade
Discover rock after mobilization
Verbal yardage estimates, no data
No documentation for next trade
Change orders when surprises appear
Tape measure grade checks
VS
ClearGround Excavation
RTK pre-scan maps rock depth in 3D
Site conditions known before quoting
Every cubic yard documented on-site
3D digital twin delivered to next trade
Fixed scope, no billing surprises
±0.5cm RTK grade verification
Transparent pricing is part of how we work. The ranges below reflect real project costs in the Austin and Hill Country market. Your site scan reveals the subsurface conditions before we quote — so the number is based on data, not a guess from the truck.
EX.01
Hill Country Specialty

Pool Shell Excavation

Precision pool digs in Hill Country limestone. The hydraulic rock hammer carves shell profiles to spec — including complex freeform designs — with low-vibration operation next to existing slabs, patios, and foundations.

Before your crew mobilizes, our RTK pre-scan locates the limestone shelf in 3D. No surprises. No broken equipment. No blown timelines next to a neighbor's foundation.

Duration: 1–5 days (2–2.5 weeks w/rock)
CAT 308E2 CR · NPK GH6 Rock Hammer
RTK Pre-Scan · Low-Vibration Technique
$2,500 – $15,000+
per pool
Varies by shell design complexity and rock conditions.
What drives the price up: Limestone below 18" adds rock hammer time at $250/hr. Freeform designs require more precision cuts than rectangular shells. Work adjacent to existing slabs requires low-vibration technique. Harder "blue rock" formations can double hammer time per cubic yard — we RTK-scan before quoting so the estimate reflects your actual geology.
Video · Job Site B-Roll
EX.02
Core Service

Limestone & Rock Excavation

Hard limestone as shallow as 18 inches below grade. Standard rental equipment breaks on it. ClearGround's hydraulic rock hammer handles the geology nobody warns you about — with real-time volumetric tracking so every cubic yard removed is measured and documented, not estimated after the fact.

We run the RTK pre-scan before quoting. You see the rock shelf in 3D. You approve the scope. The estimate doesn't change when we find what we already knew was there.

Duration: 2–10 days
CAT 308E2 CR · NPK GH6 1,500 LB Hammer
RTK Volumetric Tracking · On-Site Rock Milling Available
$8,000 – $25,000
per project
Priced per cubic yard ($35–$65/cu yd) based on volume and rock hardness.
What drives the price up: Rock hardness is the primary variable. Standard Hill Country limestone vs. denser "blue rock" can double hammer time per cubic yard. Rock milling in place (zero haul-off) is more cost-effective than hauling for most jobs — your site scan determines which approach pencils out.
Video · Hammer in Action
EX.03
Core Service

Site Prep & Pad Prep

Residential and light commercial pad creation. Cut and fill to engineered grade with RTK-verified elevation checks throughout the process — not just a final survey after the fact. The InSite Elevation Pro workflow confirms drainage performance before the inspector arrives.

Duration: 2–5 days
CAT 308E2 CR · GPS Grade Control
InSite Elevation Pro · Drainage Verification
$5,000 – $15,000
per pad
Based on lot size (0.25–1 acre) and volume of cut/fill required.
What drives the price up: Significant elevation changes require more material movement. If rock is encountered during grading, scope shifts to rock excavation rates. Importing or exporting fill material adds trucking costs.
EX.04
Core Service

Foundation Excavation

Pier holes, strip footings, and full perimeter excavation for single-family footprints. Every footing documented with as-built measurements before concrete is poured — so the foundation record exists permanently, not just in someone's memory.

Duration: 1–3 days
CAT 308E2 CR · Auger Attachment
As-Built LiDAR Documentation
$5,000 – $12,000
per structure
Single-family residential footprint.
What drives the price up: Pier count and depth are the primary variables. Expansive clay soils in East Austin behave differently than Hill Country rock — the pre-scan identifies conditions before we quote.
EX.05
Core Service

Utility Trenching

Plumbing, electrical, and drainage line trenches dug to specification. LiDAR as-built scans before backfill document exact pipe locations, depths, and routing permanently — so the buried infrastructure is on record, not just assumed from the original drawings.

Duration: 0.5–2 days · 50–200 linear ft
CAT 308E2 CR · LiDAR Documentation
As-Built Scans Before Backfill
$2,000 – $5,000
per run
Priced per linear foot ($4–$16/ft) depending on depth and soil conditions.
What drives the price up: Trenching through rock costs significantly more per foot than soil. Multiple utility runs scheduled together are more efficient per foot.
EX.06
Core Service

Grading & Drainage Prep

Final grade to engineered drainage plan. Water flow modeling confirms drainage performance before the inspector arrives — not after. Austin's streamlined drainage review documentation is standard on every ClearGround grading job, not an add-on.

Duration: 1–3 days
CAT 308E2 CR · InSite Elevation Pro
Drainage Review Documentation Included
$1,500 – $4,000
per lot
Residential lot grading to engineered drainage plan.
What drives the price up: Complex drainage plans with multiple flow paths take longer to grade precisely. Often bundled with site prep or land clearing on the same mobilization for significant savings.
EX.07
Austin Infill Specialty

Tight Lot & Legacy Tree Excavation

50×100-foot lots. Five-foot setbacks. Protected heritage oaks. Full-size excavators can't fit. The compact-radius CAT 308E2 CR operates in spaces standard machines can't access — and the RTK pre-scan maps every CRZ boundary before iron rolls near a protected tree.

Austin's Heritage Tree Ordinance isn't optional. ClearGround documents CRZ compliance before, during, and after — giving you the paper trail that protects the project, not just the trees.

Duration: Varies by access constraints
CAT 308E2 CR (Compact Radius / Zero Tail Swing)
Heritage Tree CRZ Mapping · Arborist Coordination
Project-Based
Quoted after site scan. Access constraints make every tight-lot project unique.
What drives the price up: Narrow access means slower positioning and more careful staging. Heritage tree CRZ flagging adds arborist coordination ($150–$400 per tree, passed through at cost). Your site scan maps every constraint before we quote.
Included in Every Price

Every excavation project includes pre-dig RTK drone survey, real-time volumetric tracking, and as-built digital twin delivery within 48 hours of completion. You're not buying excavation hours. You're buying a documented, dispute-proof excavation with 3D verification.

Don't just trust that work is going according to plan

At Any Phase of Your Project —
Get an Unbiased View of Your Site

Pre-Mobilization
Phase 01 — Before the First Cut

We Scan Before We Dig.

Most contractors show up with a machine and a gut feeling. We show up with a Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK drone that maps your site to ±0.5cm accuracy before a single bucket moves. Rock shelves get located. Grade differentials get modeled. Subsurface limestone depth gets mapped in 3D. You see the site conditions before we quote.

±0.5CM HORIZONTAL ACCURACY · 48-HR MOBILIZATION · LAS POINT CLOUD + GEOTIFF ORTHOPHOTO
1/5
2/5
3/5
4/5
5/5

Excavation is often phase two or three of a multi-service project. One mobilization handles multiple phases — clearing, rock milling, excavation, and grading in sequence — with a verified handoff at each transition.

01
RTK Site Scan
Rock depth, grade, CRZ mapped before quote
02
Land Clearing
Vegetation removed, lot construction-ready
03
Excavation
Pool shell, pad, foundation, or trench
04
Grade & Drainage
Cut/fill verified to plan with InSite
05
As-Built Twin
3D model delivered to next trade

Built for the people
who build what's next.

Pool & Estate Builders
Hill Country · Lakeway · Westlake · Spicewood

"Hit limestone at 18 inches, blew the timeline, broke the equipment, and the homeowner is furious."

We eat limestone for breakfast. ClearGround maps the rock shelf in 3D before your crew mobilizes — so you quote accurately, mobilize once, and deliver on time. The hydraulic rock hammer handles what standard rental equipment can't. Low-vibration technique protects adjacent foundations. Every cubic yard documented in 3D.

See how we solve that
Infill Developers
HOME Initiative · Carr · Ash Creek · East Austin

"Drainage review failure. Killed a heritage tree. Permitting delay destroyed the pro forma."

One mobilization covers the full sequence: selective demo, clearing, excavation, grading, drainage verification. Heritage trees CRZ-flagged before clearing begins. Grade verified to engineered drainage plan via InSite before your drainage review submittal. The documentation trail that survives city review is standard — not an add-on.

See how we solve that
Civil Engineers
Miller Gray · Pape-Dawson · LAN · Austin Survey Firms

"Survey crew takes 4 weeks to mobilize. As-built data won't integrate into CAD/BIM."

Survey-grade as-built data that integrates into your CAD/BIM workflow. RTK drone capture delivered as .dwg, .rvt, or point cloud. Georeferenced. 48-hour turnaround. We mobilize faster than traditional survey crews and deliver file formats your workflow already uses. Construction monitoring on demand.

See the data specs

The iron behind
the precision.

Primary — Excavation
CAT 308E2 CR

Compact-radius mini excavator built for tight residential and urban sites. Zero tail swing operates where full-size machines can't fit — 50-foot infill lots, backyard pool digs, narrow urban sites adjacent to existing structures.

Operating Weight
~18,000 lbs
Max Dig Depth
15'5"
Tail Swing
Compact Radius
Attachments
Hammer · Auger · Thumb
Rock Breaking
NPK GH6 Hydraulic Hammer

1,500 lb class hydraulic hammer purpose-built for Hill Country limestone. Matched to the CAT 308's hydraulic flow for maximum impact energy. Low-vibration technique critical for work adjacent to existing foundations, pool shells, and slabs.

Hammer Class
1,500 LB
Application
Limestone · Rock Shelves
Technique
Low-Vibration
Pairs With
On-Site Rock Milling
Survey — RTK Mapping
DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK

Survey-grade drone platform delivering centimeter-accurate terrain models. Captures pre-dig conditions, monitors progress, and produces as-built documentation — all georeferenced and integrated with DroneDeploy and InSite Elevation Pro.

Accuracy
±0.5cm RTK
Sensor
4/3 CMOS 20MP
Output
Ortho · Point Cloud · 3D
Export
.dwg / .rvt / LAS
We let the data speak first.

Book a
Site Scan

Free RTK drone survey of your site. See the terrain and subsurface conditions in 3D before committing to a scope of work. No obligation. No guesswork.

Book a Site Scan

48-hour mobilization · Austin & Hill Country · Verified before we quote