Excavation and demolition in Puyallup
Pierce County
Puyallup splits cleanly between the valley floor and South Hill above it, and the two need such different planning that we quote them as different kinds of job.
The ground in Puyallup
The valley floor is volcanic debris carried down from Rainier and then reworked by the river — deep, fine and soft. It digs fast, which is the trap: it will not hold a face, and the water table is close enough to matter on anything below a few feet.
South Hill stands several hundred feet above the valley on firm till. Most new building in Puyallup happens up there, and it is ordinary, predictable digging.
Much of the valley was farmland within living memory and still drains like it. Standing water in winter is normal rather than a surprise, and erosion control has to go in before the first cut, not after the first complaint.
Areas we work in Puyallup
Access and terrain change a job more than anything else does. These are the parts of Puyallup we get called to and what each one usually means for the work.
- The valley floor and River Road
- Flat former farm ground. Soft, wet in winter, and one of the few places around with room to stockpile properly.
- South Hill
- Plateau above the valley on firm till. The bulk of new pad prep and utility work in the city.
- Downtown Puyallup
- Narrow old lots with alley access and neighbours close on both sides. Protection costs real money here.
- Clarks Creek and Fruitland
- Low ground near the creek where drainage drives the sequence more than the excavation does.
- The Edgewood and Sumner edges
- Larger, often wooded parcels. Clearing and stump removal before a machine can work open ground.
What Puyallup usually needs
- Site preparationRaw ground turned into a pad the next trade can work on.
- Excavation and earthworkDigging to grade, and ground that holds what goes on it.
- Underground utilitiesTrenching, pipe in the ground, and safe walls while it goes in.
Working in Puyallup?
Tell us what the site is and what has to come out. We would rather look at it than price it off a drawing.