Featured Contractor
Wild West Excavation
Wild West Excavation is a Wasatch Back excavation and small land development contractor operated by Weston and Shayla. They specialize in foundation work, gravity walls, rock walls, road building, site grading, and small-scale land development — the range of work that raw land buyers need between purchasing a parcel and breaking ground on a structure.
For buyers who have found a lot and are preparing to build, excavation is one of the first trades to engage — access roads, site clearing, and rough grading often need to happen before a builder can even assess the site properly.
Specialty
Small land development
Wall systems
Gravity & rock walls
Site Prep & Grading
Foundation Work
Road Building
Gravity Walls
Rock Walls
Land Clearing
Small Land Development
Bridger Land & Ranch is not affiliated with Wild West Excavation. Contact them directly for estimates and availability.
Engage excavation early
On raw parcels, an excavation contractor can assess access, slope, rock conditions, and drainage before you finalize your purchase. What looks like a buildable lot on paper can have subsurface conditions that significantly affect your development cost. A site visit with an excavator before closing is worth the time.
What Excavation Covers
The work between closing and building
Most raw land buyers underestimate how much work happens between closing on a parcel and starting construction. Excavation is the first trade on site and sets up everything that follows.
1
Access road construction
If the parcel doesn't have a paved or improved road to the building site, you need one. Gravel access roads are typically the first thing built — before any other equipment can get to the site.
2
Site clearing and grading
Removing trees, brush, boulders, and debris. Rough grading to establish the building pad and drainage. This happens before a surveyor can set foundation stakes and before a builder can assess the site.
3
Foundation excavation
Digging to the required depth for the foundation type — full basement, crawl space, or slab. Rock conditions under the surface can significantly affect cost and timeline.
4
Retaining walls
On sloped lots, retaining walls (gravity or rock) manage grade changes, prevent erosion, and create usable flat areas. Often required by community design standards in club communities.
Coordinate with your surveyor
Excavation and surveying need to happen in the right order. Your surveyor sets the stakes that tell the excavator where to dig. Get the survey done first — or at minimum have the boundary corners staked — before any ground is disturbed.
Need help evaluating a parcel first?
A local land agent can walk you through slope, access, and site conditions before you engage a contractor — so you know what you're buying before you commit.
Talk to a Land Agent