Excavation contractor, Newmarket, Aurora and King

Excavation contractor in King, Aurora and Newmarket

House and barn foundations, laneways and lot clearing on rural King properties, and additions, trenches and regrades in Aurora and Newmarket. Send the form and an owner calls you back today.

Get my free quote
Call (705) 208-7121
★★★★★5.0from 32 Google reviews
  • ✓Same-day callback from an owner
  • ✓Written price after the visit, locates and permits handled
  • ✓Owner on the machine, one crew, our own equipment
Get your free excavation quote
A few quick questions. An owner calls you back today.
Prefer to talk? Call (705) 208-7121
32 reviews, every one five stars
Same-day callback
An owner calls you back and books the site visit
Owner on the machine
One crew, our own excavators and skid steers, an owner on every job
Locates before every dig
Ontario Dig Authority locate filed before the machine arrives

Excavation in Newmarket, Aurora and King

Excavation in King, Aurora and Newmarket turns on two questions: whose road the driveway meets, and how much soil moves. In King, a new entrance or construction access off a Township road takes a permit under By-law 2005-121, while regional roads go to York Region. Fill and grading fall under King's site alteration by-law, Aurora's 6226-19 and Newmarket's 2016-58. We dig foundations, trenches and laneways with our own excavators, an owner on every job, and file the Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call) locate.

Site prep, foundations and services

Building a house, cottage, shop or addition? You get the lot cleared, the foundation dug to the engineer's drawings, the site services trenched in, and the grade set so water goes where it belongs.

  • ✓Lot clearing, stump and brush removal
  • ✓Foundation and basement excavation to the drawings
  • ✓Site services: water, hydro, gas and drainage trenches, backfilled and compacted
  • ✓Rough grading, imported granular and fill where the ground needs it
  • ✓Final grading and site restoration

Driveways, drainage and land work

New driveway or entrance, a wet yard, a slope that needs terracing, a burst water line to the well? You get the machine, the operator and the paperwork in one call.

  • ✓New driveways, entrances and culverts, entrance permit filed for you
  • ✓Trenching for water lines, well lines and yard hydrants
  • ✓Drainage: swales, French drains and regrading that stop the pooling
  • ✓Retaining wall and shoreline excavation, permits coordinated
  • ✓Demolition excavation and haul-away for full-structure tear-downs

We run our own excavators and skid steers, and we dig with the utilities located first, every time. Soil that leaves the site goes to a proper reuse or disposal site under Ontario's excess-soil rules.

We do not do hydrovac, well drilling, fence post holes, paving or concrete forming. If your job is one of those we will point you to someone who does it. If it needs a machine, an operator who owns it, and the permits handled, we are the right call.

Digging in Newmarket, Aurora and King: what changes here

Permits and locates

King's Engineering and Public Works issues entrance permits for new driveways and for temporary construction access off a Township road, and only Township crews build the entrance, curb cut and culvert inside the road allowance. Driveways onto York Region roads go to the Region, which generally allows one entrance per home and can refuse one where a local street already gives access. Near streams, wetlands and valleys, grading or placing fill also takes an LSRCA or TRCA permit under O. Reg. 41/24, in force since April 1, 2024. We stake the entrance, file the permits and dig from the property line in.

The ground you are on

LSRCA's West Holland plan describes the moraine in King as rolling sandy hills, with surficial sand and gravel as much as 90 metres thick and little surface drainage, because rain soaks in. North toward Schomberg and Kettleby the land drops to a rolling clay plain cut by valleys into rough ground, and drumlins of stony sandy till sit west of Aurora and Newmarket. The bedrock is limestone and shale buried under that glacial sediment, so digs here meet sand, till or clay rather than rock. We plan shoring and dewatering for what the first bucket shows.

The rule that shapes the job

King's Site Alteration By-law 2021-039 sorts earthworks by volume. A Minor Site Alteration is a one-time, lifetime allowance of 200 cubic metres per hectare of usable land, capped at one hectare, or about 20 triaxle loads; work under a building or pool permit does not count against it. A Small Site Alteration is under 1,000 cubic metres in any 12 months, about 100 loads. Anything larger is Large, and the Director can require a fill management plan, a public information centre or Council approval.

Communities we cover from here

NewmarketAuroraKing CityNobletonSchombergKettlebyPottagevilleAnsnorveldtLloydtownLaskaySnowball

How excavation in Newmarket, Aurora and King works, in four steps

1
Tell us what you need
Fill in the form or call. We call back the same business day and book the site visit.
2
An owner walks your property
We look at access, grades, the water table and what is under the surface, and hand you a written price. No dispatcher, no salesperson.
3
Locates and permits
We file the Ontario Dig Authority locate at least five business days before we dig, and any entrance, conservation or building permit the job needs.
4
Dig, grade, restore
The crew shows up when we said. We dig to the plan, backfill and compact, set the grade, and leave the site clean.

Our equipment, on site

Thor Construction excavator on a Kawartha Lakes site
Thor Construction excavator clearing a lot
Thor Construction crew and equipment on a rural site

What our customers say

★★★★★

“As a custom home builder, we love contracting Thor Construction Company for all of our demolition, excavation and septic work. They are easy to work with, have great equipment and know what they are doing. Our clients are always very happy with them.”

Ethan Bender
Custom home builder · Google review
★★★★★

“Hired Thor for complete site services including bringing utilities into my new build and digging for foundation. Once the build was complete they came back and finish landscaped the property and we couldn't be happier. Strongly recommend!”

Robert Bell
New build, site services · Google review
★★★★★

“Thor Construction Company came in and trenched all new water lines for us when our well line burst. They installed new yard hydrants for us as well. We are so grateful they came in and fixed our water line problem promptly and professionally.”

MDL
Rural property, water lines · Google review

Excavation in Newmarket, Aurora and King: your questions answered

Do I need a fill permit in Aurora?

Aurora's By-law 6226-19 exempts site alteration under 2 hectares when fill is no more than 300 millimetres deep and 50 cubic metres in total, grades within 600 millimetres of a property line stay the same, and drainage is untouched. Past that, the Town's permit applies. We measure volumes at the site visit and file it when needed.

When are half-load restrictions on King Township roads?

March 1 to May 31 on designated Township roads, when vehicles over 5 tonnes per axle are barred under By-law 2017-103; some roads carry limits all year. York Region's spring restriction runs March 1 to April 30 on some regional roads. We schedule hauling and equipment moves around those dates.

Do I need a permit to clear trees on a King lot?

Often. York Region requires a permit before removing trees from treed areas over 0.2 hectares, and King's site alteration by-law defers to that by-law. In Aurora and Newmarket the Region covers only areas over one hectare, and each town has its own tree by-law. We check and file before clearing.

What excavation work do you do?

Site preparation and foundation digs, lot clearing and grading, trenching and backfill for services and water lines, driveways and entrances, drainage, and the excavation side of demolition and septic jobs.

What do you not do?

Hydrovac, well drilling, fence post holes, paving and concrete forming. We will tell you straight and point you to someone who does.

Do you handle the utility locates?

Yes. Ontario law requires a locate request before any digging. We file it with Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call) at least five business days ahead, and we do not dig until the marks are down.

How do you price excavation?

One written price after the site visit for a defined job. If the job is open-ended, we agree the rate and the estimate up front and you see the hours.

How soon can you start?

Small jobs often inside two weeks in season. Anything with permits waits on the permit, which we manage and keep you posted on.

What happens to the soil you dig out?

Reused on site where the grade needs it, otherwise hauled to a proper reuse or disposal site. Ontario's excess-soil regulation applies once soil leaves a property, and we handle that paperwork.

Other areas and services

Every page has the local permit office, the ground and the rules for that area.

Excavation in other towns

Excavationin Lindsay and Kawartha Lakes→Excavationin Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls→Excavationin Peterborough and the Kawarthas→Excavationin Haliburton and Minden→Excavationin Buckhorn and Trent Lakes→Excavationin Coboconk, Norland and Kinmount→Excavationin Omemee, Bethany and Pontypool→Excavationin Lakefield, Bridgenorth and Ennismore→Excavationin Millbrook and Cavan Monaghan→Excavationin Apsley and North Kawartha→Excavationin Wilberforce and Highlands East→Excavationin Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland→Excavationin Port Perry and Scugog→Excavationin Orillia, Severn and Ramara→Excavationin Georgina, Sutton and Keswick→Excavationin Mount Albert and East Gwillimbury→Excavationin Oro-Medonte→Excavationin Markham→Excavationin Barrie and South Simcoe→Excavationin Warsaw and Douro-Dummer→Excavationin Keene and Otonabee-South Monaghan→Excavationin Cobourg and Port Hope→Excavationin Bewdley, Gores Landing and Rice Lake→Excavationin Bowmanville, Newcastle and Clarington→Excavationin Norwood and Havelock→Excavationin Uxbridge→Excavationin Campbellford and Trent Hills→Excavationin Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin→Excavationin Stouffville→Excavationin Gravenhurst and Bracebridge→Excavationin Pickering and Ajax→Excavationin Bradford West Gwillimbury→Excavationin Huntsville and Lake of Bays→Excavation, every areaThe service page→

Other work near Newmarket, Aurora and King

Septic installationin Georgina, Sutton and Keswick→Landscapingin Georgina, Sutton and Keswick→Septic installationin Mount Albert and East Gwillimbury→Landscapingin Mount Albert and East Gwillimbury→Landscapingin Markham→Septic installationin Stouffville→Landscapingin Stouffville→Septic installationin Markham→Demolitionin Georgina, Sutton and Keswick→Demolitionin Mount Albert and East Gwillimbury→Demolitionin Stouffville→Demolitionin Markham→Septic installationin Newmarket, Aurora and King→Landscapingin Newmarket, Aurora and King→Demolitionin Newmarket, Aurora and King→Shoreline restorationon Lake Simcoe south shore→Every area we coverMap and full list→

Ready to break ground, Newmarket, Aurora and King?

Send the form and an owner calls you back today. Or call now and talk to the person who will dig the job.

Call (705) 208-7121
Get your free excavation quote
A few quick questions. An owner calls you back today.
Prefer to talk? Call (705) 208-7121
Thor Construction Company
Bobcaygeon, Ontario · Serving Central Ontario, north of the GTA
  • (705) 208-7121
  • jp@thorconstruction.ca
  • Bobcaygeon, Ontario

Services

Septic installation

Excavation

Landscaping

Hardscaping

Shoreline restoration

Demolition

Service areas

Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls

Lindsay and south Kawartha Lakes

Buckhorn and Trent Lakes

Peterborough and the Kawarthas

Haliburton and Minden

Orillia, Severn and Ramara

Barrie and South Simcoe

Muskoka: Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville

Cobourg, Port Hope and Northumberland

Durham: Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Ajax, Clarington, Uxbridge and Port Perry

York: Markham, Stouffville, Newmarket, Aurora, King and Georgina

All service areas

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