When someone calls about running a new water line — or a power conduit, drain tile, an irrigation main — the first question is almost always the same:
“How much of my yard are you going to tear up?”
Fair question. Here’s the honest answer, from someone who runs these jobs every week on Central Vancouver Island.
The Short Answer
A clean trenching job comes down to three things:
- We locate first — off a BC One Call ticket every time, and a private GPR scan on older or rural lots
- One clean trench — our mini excavator gets through gates and tight side yards a full-size machine can’t touch
- We put it back — backfill, compact, and grade, so the yard is ready for the next step
That’s the whole job in a sentence. Here’s what each part actually means for your property.
We locate before we dig — every time
Before a single bucket of dirt moves, we work off a BC One Call ticket. It’s free, and it’s legally required before most digging in BC — it marks the utility-owned lines (gas, hydro, telecom) so nobody hits one.
On older or rural properties, we go a step further and run a private GPR locate. BC One Call only marks utility-owned lines — it won’t find your irrigation, your septic field, or that line a previous owner buried and forgot about. A private scan does. It’s cheap insurance against a very expensive afternoon.
One clean trench — tight access is the whole point
This is where a mini excavator earns its keep. Our machine fits through a standard backyard gate, tucks in beside the house, and works around garden beds — the spots a full-size excavator simply can’t reach without taking a fence down first.
On one Parksville job we ran a 60-foot line past two garden beds and a patio. A week later, you couldn’t tell we’d been there. That’s the goal on every dig: the line goes in, the yard stays yours.
A narrower, cleaner trench also means an easier connection, easier backfill, and less soil disturbed on either side — which matters a lot when the trench runs past things you care about.
We put the ground back
Here’s the part a lot of people forget to ask about: the job isn’t done when the line’s in the ground.
We backfill, compact, and grade the trench so the surface is level and ready — whether that’s lawn going back over it, gravel, or a new patio on top. Site left clean and ready for the next phase, every time. That’s our clean-site guarantee, and it’s the part customers remember.
What it costs
Most small residential trenching jobs land under $2,000 — but access, length, soil, and depth change everything. A straight 30-foot run across an open lot is a different animal than a 60-foot line threaded past a septic field on a sloped rural property.
So for anything real, we come look first. A quick site visit lets us give you a straight number instead of a guess — and spot the access or locate issues before they become surprises.
Rent the machine, or have us run it?
Some folks want to do the digging themselves, and that’s fine for the simple stuff — our Bobcat E10 is $250/day and fits most backyard gates, and the rest of our excavator and skid steer rental fleet is there when the job needs more reach.
But for running a line where a mistake is costly — a strike, a bad grade, a trench that caves — we’d recommend having us run it. An operator who does this every week gets it in clean, to depth, the first time. Ask us and we’ll tell you honestly which way makes sense for your job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need BC One Call before you trench?
Yes — it’s free and legally required before most digging in BC. We handle the ticket. On older or rural properties we also add a private GPR locate to catch irrigation, septic, and other private-side lines One Call doesn’t mark.
Will your mini excavator fit my backyard?
Usually. Our machine fits a standard gate and works in tight side yards. Send us a photo of your access — gate width and any slope — and we’ll confirm before we book so there are no surprises on the day.
Do you put the ground back after trenching?
Always. We backfill, compact, and grade the trench so the surface is level and ready for lawn, gravel, or hardscape. The site is left clean — that’s part of every job, not an extra.
Can I just rent the machine and dig it myself?
For simple digs, yes — the Bobcat E10 is $250/day and doesn’t need a special licence for private-property use. For running a utility line where a strike or a bad grade is costly, we recommend having an operator run it.
Planning a water line, drain, or conduit run on Central Vancouver Island? Tell us the job and we’ll come take a look. Request a quote or call 778-909-9874 — Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, and Nanaimo.