DigRight
Dig, bed, backfill.
The trench, the spoil, the ticket, the restoration of the surface.
Utilities · DC · Maryland · Virginia
Trenching done once. Inspected. Backfilled right.
Water, sewer, and electrical conduit trenches dug to depth, bedded, inspected, and backfilled — coordinated with your plumber, electrician, and utility.
On the job
T66 trencher cutting a utility run
Sound familiar?
The problem, in plain sight.
Power to a garage. Water to a barn. A sewer lateral toward the street. A well line to the house. We dig it to depth, bed it, wait for the inspection, and backfill it so it doesn’t settle into a ditch next spring.
We dig and backfill. Your electrician, plumber, or the utility makes the connection. That line stays until a license says otherwise. In Virginia, water and sewer connections fall under a utility contractor license. Frederick County licenses on-site utility contractors. This page does not claim either one.
- A detached garage, barn, or ADU that needs power or water
- A generator, EV charger, or solar run that needs conduit
- A sewer lateral or a well line
- A trench that has to be open for an inspector, then closed properly
Why it happens
The trench is a sequence, not a ditch.
Every dig starts with a Miss Utility or 811 ticket and marked lines. Private lines are not on that ticket. Tell us about old wells, irrigation, and power to outbuildings.
Depth follows the code and the utility’s spec. Bedding, warning tape, and tracer wire go in where they’re required. We don’t backfill until the inspection that has to happen has happened. Then we compact, so the trench doesn’t become a new drainage problem.
Licensed trades
Connect.
Electrician, plumber, septic installer, or the utility. We coordinate the open trench with them.
A trench five feet or deeper is a safety job: protective systems, and a competent person on site.
How we fix it
Assess. Plan. Execute.
Assess
What’s being installed, the length, the crossings, and who is allowed to connect it.
Plan
Depth, bedding, inspection, and a price. The connection stays with the licensed trade.
Execute
Ticket, dig, bed, hold for inspection, backfill, compact, restore.
What moves the price
We’ll price the property, not a guess.
The price is in writing after we’ve seen the property.
- Length and depth
- Rock
- Crossings under a drive, walk, or patio
- How the surface has to be restored
- How long the trench has to stay open for inspection
Where
Home market first.
Small excavation and property work is concentrated around our home market. Larger site-development and build-ready projects are considered throughout DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Everyday work
The home market, and nearby.
Washington County, Maryland, including Hagerstown. Frederick County, Maryland. Loudoun County, Virginia. The West Virginia Eastern Panhandle: Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties, plus nearby markets.
Larger projects
DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Site development and build-ready lots, considered throughout Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Not sure which this is? Call (202) 345-5795.
Questions
Before you send photos.
Can you pull the wire or connect the water?
Not as this page is written. We open the ground and close it. A licensed electrician or plumber makes the connection. If that ever changes, the license number will be on this page first.
Will you trench for the gas company?
We can open a trench for a utility that installs its own line. We don’t install gas piping.
What if there’s no mark on a line I know is there?
Tell us. One-call marking does not cover private lines. We’ll locate carefully, and we’ll stop if the ground doesn’t match the story.
What happens next