Excavation & Skid-Steer Services in Calgary & Chestermere

Excavation and skid-steer work is machine dirt work — grading, hauling, trenching and post holes — priced by the day or half-day with an operator; ours is a Bobcat MT100 compact track loader that fits through a standard 3 ft (36 in) gate. A lot of our own projects are excavation anyway, so the equipment doesn't sit idle. If you're a homeowner or another trade who needs a machine and an operator for a day or two, this is straightforward, priced work.

Updated October 11, 2026

What we take on across Calgary and Chestermere

• Grading and levelling — building pads, prepping for concrete, shaping lots
• Material handling — moving soil, gravel, rock around a site
• Hauling — dump-trailer loads to the landfill or to your site
• Auger work — fence and deck post holes below frost
• Trenching for drainage and services (private-side)
• Small site clearing — brush, old concrete, debris

Access

Local Lawns runs a compact track loader — the MT100 fits through a standard 3 ft (36 in) gate and its tracks are gentle on driveways and existing lawn.

If access is tight, tell us the width and we'll tell you whether it'll fit. If it doesn't, the work moves by hand instead — slower, but not a no, and we price the extra time when we measure.

How is skid-steer and excavation work priced?

Skid-steer and excavation work in Calgary and Chestermere is priced by the day or half-day with an operator, plus disposal if we're hauling. Ask for a number — it's usually less than you'd expect, and always fixed once we've seen the site.

Working with other trades

A good share of this work is prep for someone else's trade — grading and compacting a pad before a concrete pour, cutting a level base before a shed goes up, opening a trench a plumber or electrician needs by a certain date.

We show up on the schedule you give us, do the dirt work to spec, and get out of the way for the next trade. No standing around waiting on us.

What's on the machine

Bobcat MT100 — what it means for your site

Attachment	Used for
Bucket	Grading, spreading, stripping topsoil, loading the dump trailer
Auger	Fence and deck post holes, drilled straight and to depth
Trencher/trenching bucket	Drainage lines, private-side utility trenches
Grapple	Brush, debris and old concrete removal

It's a track machine narrow enough for a standard gate and light enough not to rut a finished lawn — that combination is why we can do driveway-to-backyard work most mini-excavators can't reach.

Excavation and skid-steer work: common questions

Who calls for utility locates before you dig?

We call Utility Safety Partners (formerly Alberta One-Call) for public utilities before any digging. You're responsible for marking private lines — irrigation, lighting, invisible fence. See contract terms.

Can you work with my concrete/deck contractor's schedule?

Yes — we do a lot of prep work timed to another trade's start date. For 2026 we’re booked out for fall — new work is booked for spring 2027: measured and quoted this fall, with the quoted price held for a spring install and no deposit until spring (fence excepted).

Do you do skid steer work outside your own landscaping jobs?

Yes — plenty of our excavation work across Calgary and Chestermere is stand-alone, for homeowners and other trades who just need the machine and an operator, not a full landscaping project.

Can I hire you just to dig out and haul away soil or old concrete?

Yes — across Calgary and Chestermere, if the job meets our minimum; smaller digs and hauls are usually bundled into a bigger job. The MT100 loads soil, old concrete and debris, and the dump trailer hauls it away. Disposal is priced in when we're hauling, and the price is fixed once we've seen the site. Just the old lawn? That's covered on the sod replacement page.

Can you just auger fence or deck post holes?

Yes — across Calgary and Chestermere, if the job meets our minimum; a handful of holes is usually bundled into a bigger job. The MT100's auger drills fence and deck post holes straight and below frost — on the fences we build, that means at least 1.2 m deep. The price is fixed once we've seen the site, and the posts and the build are then yours or your builder's.

What's the minimum skid steer booking?

Usually a half-day minimum — by the time the machine is trailered out of Chestermere, delivered and set up, that's the practical floor for it to make sense for both of us.