Excavation contractor, Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin

Excavation contractor in Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin

Foundations, walkout entrances, driveway widenings and service trenches in the cities, and new builds on rural lots in Raglan, Columbus and Ashburn. Send the form and an owner calls you back today.

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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 Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin

Excavation in Oshawa and Whitby runs under two different site alteration by-laws, and in Oshawa even widening a driveway or digging a walkout basement entrance takes a site alteration permit. In the cities and Brooklin the work is often a walkout, an addition or a wider driveway; toward Raglan, Columbus and Ashburn, a new house on a rural lot with a long laneway. One crew and our own machines handle it, an owner is on site, and the Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call) locate goes in first.

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 Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin: what changes here

Permits and locates

Oshawa's Site Alteration By-law covers all land in the City; a permit through its Application Portal is needed to widen, move or reroute a driveway, to build a walkout basement entrance or a retaining wall, and for any new single-lot home outside a subdivision or site plan agreement. Curb cuts get a City site visit and at least 10 business days of review, between April 1 and November 30. Whitby's By-law 7425-18 starts with a pre-screening questionnaire and sorts permits by grade change over 0.15 metres and by volume, with 500 cubic metres separating small from large. We file both.

The ground you are on

Whitby's Official Plan places the significant natural areas of the Former Lake Iroquois Beach mostly in Concessions IV and V, with wetlands, watercourses and aggregate resources, and it recognizes the beach's role in groundwater recharge and discharge. Old beach sand and gravel dig easily, but where groundwater discharges the trench fills quickly. We check the water at the site visit and plan the dewatering and the granular before the dig.

The rule that shapes the job

Lands along Oshawa's and Whitby's creeks sit in CLOCA's watersheds. Whitby's site alteration guideline asks every applicant to say whether work falls inside CLOCA's regulated area, and Town staff then decide whether a CLOCA permit is needed alongside the Town permit. Oshawa's plan can require studies and stormwater design that keep the water budget in its high volume recharge areas. We check both before the schedule is set.

Communities we cover from here

OshawaWhitbyBrooklinPort WhitbyRaglanColumbusKedronAshburnMyrtleMyrtle StationMacedonian Village

How excavation in Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin 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 Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin: your questions answered

Do I need a permit to widen my driveway in Oshawa?

Yes. Oshawa's site alteration rules list widening, moving or rerouting a driveway, and a new curb cut takes a City site visit and at least 10 business days of review between April 1 and November 30. Curb cuts on a Regional road go to the Region instead. We handle both.

How does Whitby decide what permit my dig needs?

Through a pre-screening questionnaire. Whitby's guideline sorts the work by how much the grade changes, more or less than 0.15 metres, and by volume, with 500 cubic metres splitting small and large site alterations. We complete it with you.

Will I hit water digging near the old Lake Iroquois shoreline?

Possibly. Whitby's plan notes the former beach's recharge and discharge role, and sand there can carry water. We check at the site visit and price the dewatering up front.

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 Stouffville→Excavationin Gravenhurst and Bracebridge→Excavationin Pickering and Ajax→Excavationin Newmarket, Aurora and King→Excavationin Bradford West Gwillimbury→Excavationin Huntsville and Lake of Bays→Excavation, every areaThe service page→

Other work near Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin

Septic installationin Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland→Landscapingin Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland→Shoreline restorationon Lake Simcoe, east shore→Septic installationin Port Perry and Scugog→Landscapingin Port Perry and Scugog→Shoreline restorationon Lake Scugog→Septic installationin Bowmanville, Newcastle and Clarington→Landscapingin Bowmanville, Newcastle and Clarington→Septic installationin Uxbridge→Landscapingin Uxbridge→Landscapingin Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin→Septic installationin Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin→Septic installationin Pickering and Ajax→Landscapingin Pickering and Ajax→Demolitionin Port Perry and Scugog→Demolitionin Beaverton, Cannington and Sunderland→Demolitionin Uxbridge→Demolitionin Bowmanville, Newcastle and Clarington→Demolitionin Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin→Demolitionin Pickering and Ajax→Every area we coverMap and full list→

Ready to break ground, Oshawa, Whitby and Brooklin?

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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