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Licensed excavation, the North Shore
Excavation & Earthworks Across the North Shore
Basements, pools and site cuts in sandstone across the North Shore, from the steep harbour blocks of Mosman, Cremorne and Neutral Bay to the leafy ridges of Lindfield, Killara, Wahroonga and Turramurra, and the apartment sites of Chatswood, St Leonards and Lane Cove. Rock sawn clean at the boundaries, heritage and tree rules followed, neighbours looked after.
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✓ Licensed operators
✓ Dial Before You Dig
✓ Fully insured work
✓ Local Sydney crew
Rock
Digs handled
Mini to 35t
Machine range
4.9★
Average rating
Free
Site quotes
What we do across the North Shore
Excavation for every North Shore job
Eight services across the North Shore; each has its own page with the detail.
Excavation on the North Shore
What's different about digging on the North Shore
The North Shore, in short
The North Shore runs from the harbour at Kirribilli and Mosman up the ridge to Wahroonga and Hornsby, along the rail line that named it. The lower North Shore is North Sydney, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Mosman, Crows Nest, St Leonards and the harbour bays; Willoughby, Chatswood, Artarmon and Lane Cove are the middle; the upper North Shore is Ku-ring-gai, from Roseville and Lindfield through Killara, Gordon, Pymble and Turramurra to Wahroonga and St Ives. Five councils cover it: North Sydney, Mosman, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Ku-ring-gai. Chatswood, St Leonards and North Sydney are the commercial centres with the apartment sites; the rest is houses on ridges and slopes with the bush and the harbour behind them. The Pacific Highway, Military Road, the Warringah Freeway and the M2 carry everything in.
The houses, and what they need
The North Shore is Sydney’s biggest concentration of federation and interwar houses, and much of it is in heritage conservation areas: Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra and Wahroonga all have them. The blocks are large on the upper North Shore and steep on the lower, and the jobs come from that: garage and basement cuts under existing houses on the harbour slopes, pools cut into rock in backyards you can only reach by crane, knock-down rebuilds on the leafy ridge streets where the trees are protected and the neighbours are close, and apartment basements at Chatswood, St Leonards and Lane Cove three levels down in sandstone. The lanes are narrow, the driveways are steep, and almost every job needs a plan for getting the machine in and the rock out.
The ground under the North Shore
It’s sandstone. Hawkesbury sandstone is at the surface or within half a metre across most of the North Shore, showing in the cliffs at Mosman and Cremorne, the outcrops in every gully and the sandstone retaining walls on half the streets. On the ridge tops from Roseville up to Wahroonga a cap of Wianamatta shale gives a layer of clay over the rock, which is why the upper North Shore has its big gardens, but the rock is still there underneath and any deep cut finds it. The sandstone is bedded, so a ripper can sometimes lift it in slabs where it’s weathered, but the massive beds need a breaker, and every boundary edge needs a saw so the cut stays on the line. Groundwater runs along the bedding planes and shows up in basements on the slopes. Fill is rare except on the old harbourside reclamation and the odd filled gully.
The councils, the neighbours, and getting to you
North Sydney, Mosman, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Ku-ring-gai are five councils with one attitude: they protect the streetscape. Heritage conservation areas cover most of the older suburbs, tree protection is strict everywhere and Ku-ring-gai’s is among the strictest in Sydney, bushfire ratings apply along the bushland edges of St Ives, Wahroonga and the gullies, and the harbour foreshore has its own controls. Rock excavation near neighbours comes with vibration limits and usually a dilapidation report, and councils set working hours for breakers. Cut and fill on steep blocks is regulated because of the retaining. Everything beyond set limits goes through the DA or CDC, and we dig to the approved plans. Access is the Pacific Highway up the spine, Military Road to Mosman, and the M2 and Lane Cove Road from the west.
How it runs
First call to clean handover
Every job follows the same sequence, whether it's a single trench or a full site cut.
A trench can be a day, a basement can be weeks. Dates come with the quote, not after.
Where we work
Every North Shore suburb we dig
The harbour slopes, the leafy ridges and the apartment centres up to Wahroonga.
ArtarmonCammerayCastle CoveCastlecragChatswoodChatswood WestCremorneCremorne PointCrows NestEast KillaraEast LindfieldGordonGreenwichKillaraKirribilliLane CoveLane Cove NorthLane Cove WestLavender BayLindfieldLinley PointLonguevilleMcMahons PointMiddle CoveMilsons PointMosmanNaremburnNeutral BayNorth SydneyNorth TurramurraNorthbridgeNorthwoodPymbleRiverviewRosevilleRoseville ChaseSouth TurramurraSt IvesSt Ives ChaseSt LeonardsTurramurraWahroongaWarraweeWavertonWest PymbleWilloughbyWollstonecraft
Nearby areas we also cover
North Shore
Excavation across the North Shore
From the steep harbour blocks of Mosman and Cremorne to the leafy ridges of Lindfield, Killara and Wahroonga, and the apartment sites at Chatswood and Lane Cove.
See all Sydney areas →Recent work
Sites we've dug
Penrith Site cut
Castle Hill Pool dig
Ryde Basement
Liverpool Civil
“Very easy to deal with.
Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith
Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith
“Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill
“Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde
“Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool
“Very easy to deal with. Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith “Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill “Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde “Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool
“Very easy to deal with. Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith “Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill “Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde “Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool
Excavation in North Shore, answered
How much does excavation cost in North Shore?
It depends on the volume of material, the ground (the north shore is hawkesbury sandstone at or near the surface), access for the machine and how far spoil has to be carted. Every job gets a written quote after a site look, with the dig, cartage and cleanup spelled out, so you know what’s included before anything starts.
Do I need council approval before you dig in North Shore?
Usually, if the excavation is part of a build. Cut and fill beyond set limits, work near boundaries and anything on a lot with a flood, bushfire or heritage overlay needs approval as part of the DA or CDC. We work to the approved plans; check with your certifier before the dig is booked.
How long does an excavation job take in North Shore?
A trench, pool dig or single pad is a day or two; a knock-down site cut or a basement runs longer and depends on volume, ground and weather. Dates come with the quote, not after.
Is there rock in North Shore?
Almost certainly. the North Shore is Hawkesbury sandstone at or near the surface, with a shale cap of clay on the upper ridges. Sandstone is at or near the surface across the North Shore, so pools, basements and garage cuts are rock jobs from the start: sawn at the boundaries, broken in the middle, carted as rock. It’s in the quote from the first site look.
Will breaking rock damage my neighbour’s house in North Shore?
Vibration through sandstone is real and the North Shore blocks are close, which is why boundary edges are sawn rather than broken, hours are kept to council limits, and a dilapidation report on the neighbours is standard before work starts. Monitoring is set up where the engineer requires it.
There’s no way to get a machine into my North Shore backyard. Can you still dig a pool?
Yes. Mini machines are craned over the house or walked through it, and rock comes out the same way in bins or by conveyor. Slower than a side-gate job and priced for it, but it’s how most lower North Shore pools get dug.
Can you cut a garage or basement under my existing North Shore house?
Yes, and it’s a common harbour-slope job. The rock is sawn at the house footing line and the boundaries and broken out in stages to the engineer’s underpinning and shoring sequence, so the house above stays where it is.
My North Shore street is a heritage conservation area. Can you still excavate?
Yes, to the conditions. Most older North Shore streets are conservation areas where work near a listed house or a protected tree comes with conditions on the approval, and vibration near old masonry is watched closely. We dig to what’s approved.
What happens next
Tell us the job. We'll size it up.
✓ Tell us the suburb, the access and what needs digging
✓ We'll come out and look before quoting anything
✓ You'll get a written quote with what's included spelled out
✓ The machine's matched to your access, not whatever's free
✓ Clear on spoil, cartage and cleanup before we start
✓ No obligation, no pressure
Free quote
Ready to get your dig underway?
Tell us about the job. We'll look at the site before quoting, so you know what's included before anything starts.
✓ Written quote after a proper site look
✓ Free quote after a proper site assessment
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