About
An owner-operated approach to earthwork.
Princeton Excavation started with a simple idea: earthwork on someone's home should be done carefully, by someone who's accountable for it. We bring a right-sized fleet and a steady hand to residential site work around the Princeton area, from tight backyard access to foundations, grading, tree planting, and bulk material.
How we work
A lot of excavation outfits are built around one big machine and one kind of job. That leaves homeowners picking between a contractor who can't fit the backyard and one who tears it up getting in. Neither works well on the older homes and finished yards you see around Princeton.
So we run a fleet that scales. A tracked skid steer and a compact excavator get into the tight side yards and fenced backyards that full-size equipment can't reach. A larger excavator, telehandler, and dump truck handle the foundations, clearing, grading, and hauling when a job needs more muscle. We bring the machine the site actually needs instead of forcing one to do everything.
The result is work that looks like it was planned: the footing, the cleared corner, or the graded patio base you wanted, done with care for the lawns, trees, and hardscape around it.
- Licensed & Insured
- Owner-Operated
- By Appointment
- Princeton-Area Specialist
The right machine for the job
We keep a range of machines so the equipment fits the access and the job. The tracked skid steer gets through a backyard gate. The telehandler and dump truck handle the heavier work.
2.5–3T mini excavator
Tight, precise digging in confined spaces
5–6T excavator
Foundations, demolition, and heavier earthwork
Tracked mini skid steer (Dingo)
Fits standard garden gates and narrow side yards
Large skid steer
Grading, loading, and moving material
5T telehandler / loader
Lifting and setting heavy loads, including large trees
7-yard dump truck
Hauling spoils and delivering bulk material
Principles, not slogans
Quality over volume
We're not trying to be the busiest excavation outfit in the county. We take on a sensible number of jobs and do each one properly, which is hard to pull off when you're racing from site to site.
Respect for the property
What's around the work matters as much as the dig itself. We plan around mature trees, lawns, stone walls, and hardscape from the start, not as an afterthought once something gets damaged.
One person on the hook
The person who walks your property to give you a price is the same person running the machine on the day. No middlemen, no handoffs, no finger-pointing if something comes up.
The right-sized fleet
Good earthwork comes down to bringing the right machine, not the biggest one. Ours ranges from a tracked skid steer that fits a backyard gate up to a telehandler and dump truck. So we can get into tight residential spots and still handle foundations, clearing, grading, and material on the same property.
The right machine for the job
Our fleet runs from a tracked skid steer that fits a backyard gate up to a 5-ton excavator, telehandler, and dump truck. We match the equipment to your access and scope instead of forcing one machine to do everything.
Reaches tight spots
For fenced backyards and narrow side yards, our compact machines get into spaces full-size equipment can't. That means we can work close to the house and plantings without taking the garden apart to get in.
Careful around the work
We lay ground protection, plan the access route, and keep the work zone tidy. The lawns, trees, and hardscape around the dig are part of the job, and we leave the site clean.
Ready for the next trade
Spoils contained, work zone tidy, grades set with a laser. The next crew or your inspector finds the site ready to go.
How a job goes
From the first call to a clean handover
1. Site Walk
We come look at the property by appointment, check the access and any constraints, and go over your plans or what you have in mind.
2. Marking & Layout
We set the layout on the ground with laser accuracy. Depths, lines, and elevations are marked before anything gets dug.
3. The Work
We bring the right machine for the access, lay ground protection where it's needed, and keep the mess around lawns, trees, and hardscape to a minimum.
4. Clean Handover
You're left with a site that's ready to go and a yard that's still in one piece, set up for whatever's next.
Work with the person doing the work.
Get in touch and we'll set up a time to come look at your project.
Request a Site Visit