How many truckloads of dirt come out of a basement dig in Saint John?

How Much Dirt Comes Out of a Basement Dig?

We found no published New Brunswick figure for how many loads a basement dig produces. The count depends on the size of the basement, the depth of the dig, how much the soil loosens once it is dug, and the size of the truck, so ask the contractor for their load estimate and truck size in writing.

A few things move that number in either direction. If the contractor hits rock, hydraulic breaker time runs $200 to $300 per hour, and the broken rock has to go somewhere. If the lot is tight and trucks cannot stage easily, the contractor may need smaller equipment or more passes. If the excavated material can be stockpiled on the lot for later backfill, some loads never leave the property at all, which reduces haul cost.

On the permit side, the City of Saint John issues building permits, and a new foundation dig is part of a building project that needs one. Saint John also has a Street Excavation permit and a Driveway Culvert Permit for work affecting the road allowance, so if trucks are cutting the curb or crossing a culvert to access the site, ask the City whether those apply. Before any machine moves, the contractor, as the employer on site, is responsible under WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191 for locating underground utilities. That means two separate requests: one through Info-Excavation (Click Before You Dig, three working days' notice) and a separate one to NB Power at least five business days ahead. NB Power's locate is valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form and covers only NB Power-owned lines. Private lines, such as a service run to a garage or an old oil line, are yours to find and mark before the machine starts.

When you get a quote, ask the contractor to spell out how many loads they are estimating, what truck size they are pricing, where the spoil is going, and how rock is priced if they hit it. A quote that bundles everything into one number without separating machine time, trucking and disposal gives you no way to check the math if the job runs long. Ask for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate before work starts, and under the Construction Remedies Act you must retain 10 percent of the contract price as a holdback for 60 days after substantial performance.

The question to settle up front is how extra loads are priced if the volume comes in higher than estimated, and whether that is capped or open-ended. The request form on this site sends your job details to local Saint John area excavation contractors who can reply with their own numbers.