Compact Earthwork
Tight-Access & Small-Job Excavation
Princeton Excavation takes the digs other outfits turn down: fenced backyards, narrow side yards, small jobs that don't pencil out for a big crew. Our tracked mini skid steer fits through a standard 36-inch gate, and our 2.5-ton mini excavator works spaces a full-size machine can't reach. Real equipment, sized for where your job actually is.
How we get in
Access is the whole problem on these jobs. We plan the route in before the first bucket of dirt moves.
Through the Gate, Not Over the Fence
Our Dingo-class tracked skid steer needs about 36 inches of clear width, so it rolls through most backyard gates without pulling a fence panel. The 2.5-ton mini excavator follows where the opening allows.
Ground Protection Mats
We lay mats along the travel path so tracks never touch turf directly. The route in and out gets as much planning as the dig itself, and the lawn is still a lawn when we leave.
Small Machine, Full Job
Stump pits, trench runs, small footings, spoil haul-out in compact loads. A mini excavator with laser grade control digs to the same line and depth as a big one. It just fits where the work is.
The jobs big companies pass on
Most excavation companies are set up around big iron, and a dig behind a fenced backyard in Hopewell or West Windsor isn't worth mobilizing it. So homeowners get no callbacks, or a quote priced to make the job go away. We built the fleet the other way: the small machines are the point, not the backup plan.
Where we work
That said, small access doesn't mean small capability. When the gate allows it we step up to the 5-ton excavator or bring the 7-yard dump truck to the curb and shuttle spoils out with the skid steer. Every dig still starts with an NJ One Call (811) utility markout before a track hits the ground.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Probably not. Small jobs are the business, not a favor. A single stump pit, a short trench, a pad for a shed: if it takes a machine and fits through your gate, it's worth a site walk.
Close to how it looked when we started. We run ground protection mats along the travel path, keep the machine footprint tight to the work area, and rake out the route on the way out. Some track marks in soft ground are possible, but not ruts.
We measure on the site walk. Sometimes a fence panel comes off and goes back on the same day, which we handle. Sometimes there's a better route through a neighbor's side or the front. We figure out access before we quote, not after we show up.
Service Areas
- Princeton· Mercer County
- Hopewell Township· Mercer County
- Montgomery & Skillman· Somerset County
- West Windsor· Mercer County
- Lawrence Township· Mercer County
- Pennington· Mercer County
- Robbinsville· Mercer County
- Hamilton Township· Mercer County
- Plainsboro· Middlesex County
- Cranbury· Middlesex County
- South Brunswick· Middlesex County
- Hillsborough· Somerset County
- Ewing· Mercer County
Princeton, Hopewell Township, Montgomery & Skillman, and surrounding Mercer and Somerset County, NJ.
Got a backyard job nobody will call you back about? We will.
Owner-operated and by appointment. Tell us about your project and we'll walk the site with you.