Excavator gave a price over text in Oromocto, enough?

A price over text is a starting point, not a contract. Before you treat that number as a real quote, you need to know what it actually includes, because excavation pricing has several moving parts that a text message may not cover.

What a Proper Quote Should Spell Out

Published price guides from September 2026 show a mini excavator with operator running $65 to $150 per hour and a standard machine $150 to $250 per hour. A whole-house foundation dig runs $7,500 to $30,000 nationally; few New Brunswick-specific prices are published, so machine hours plus trucking and material is how a real quote is built. A text with one number tells you nothing about which of those components you are paying for.

Ask the contractor to put in writing:

• The machine size and estimated hours
• How rock is handled, because hydraulic breaking runs $200 to $300 per hour on top of dig time
• Where the spoil goes and who pays trucking, since haul distance moves the number considerably
• Whether backfill material is included or extra, and what grade of material
• Site cleanup and any gravel or base material if it is a driveway or pad job

New Brunswick context for Oromocto. The Town of Oromocto's Planning and Compliance office issues building permits and does site inspections. If your job involves a new building or addition, a permit is required before work starts, and Regulation 2021-2 under the Building Code Administration Act requires a footing and foundation inspection before any backfilling begins. Ask the Town of Oromocto how to book that inspection. If the dig is within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, a provincial Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit is required before the machine moves; the 30 metres is measured horizontally from the top of the bank on the ground, not from a map.

On locates: the contractor has a duty under WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191 to determine the location of underground utilities before digging. Ask to see both locate tickets, one from Info-Excavation through Click Before You Dig (requested at least three working days ahead) and a separate one from NB Power (requested at least five business days ahead, valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form, and covering only NB Power-owned lines). Any private lines, such as wiring to a garage or shed, are yours to find and mark before the machine arrives.

On payment: under the Construction Remedies Act, you must retain a holdback of 10% of the contract price for 60 days after substantial performance. A text price with no written contract makes that harder to manage. Ask for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate before work starts, because if the contractor is not registered and paying into their workers' compensation account, you can be held responsible for those premiums.

A text is fine for a first conversation, but ask the contractor to send a written scope before you commit to anything. The one question worth putting to them directly: if you hit rock, how will that be priced, and will I see it in writing before you break ground?