Licensed excavation, St Leonards

Excavation & Earthworks St Leonards

St Leonards is a high-rise health-and-office precinct on sandstone straddling three councils, where towers and basements hit rock. The regular jobs here are basement digs, site cuts and pool digs. Services located first, sites left level and clean.

Get a free quote
★★★★★
4.9 from happy Sydney customers
Request your free quote

No obligation, free site quote.

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 North Shore jobs need

Rock at the surface, neighbours at the boundary, and a council watching the trees

Digging in St Leonards the question isn't whether you'll hit rock, it's how far down. Hawkesbury sandstone sits at or near the surface, so a pool, a basement or a garage cut is rock work: sawn at the boundaries so the neighbour's ground stays put, broken out in the middle, carted as rock. The blocks are steep and tight, the trees are protected and the neighbours are close, so vibration, dilapidation reports and crane or through-house access are part of the job, not extras.

Rock sawn at the boundaries, broken in the middle, carted as rock
Dilapidation and vibration handled before the breaker starts
Steep harbour and gully blocks benched with retaining planned in
Crane and through-house access planned for blocks with no side gate
Excavation in St Leonards

What's different about digging in St Leonards

St Leonards, in short

St Leonards sits about 8 kilometres north of the city. Locals place it by St Leonards station and metro, Royal North Shore Hospital and Newlands Park. It's ringed by Crows Nest, Wollstonecraft, Artarmon, Naremburn and Greenwich. What's changing: knock-down rebuilds, pools and basement garages on the steep blocks, and apartments near the centres.

The houses, and what they need

In St Leonards, near St Leonards station and metro, it's mostly federation and interwar homes with harbourside apartments, with heritage pockets. Near St Leonards station and metro, knock-down rebuilds are the running theme. On a St Leonards block that usually means basement digs, site cuts and pool digs.

The ground under St Leonards

St Leonards, near St Leonards station and metro, is on Hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on steep harbour slopes. Sandstone sits close to the surface around Royal North Shore Hospital, so a St Leonards cut is sawn at the boundaries and broken out for anything deep. Around Wollstonecraft, the clay is reactive, so fill goes in in compacted layers.

The council, access, and getting to you

In Willoughby City Council (some streets Lane Cove Council), St Leonards around St Leonards station and metro sits under tree protection controls, so the dig follows the approved plans. Access to St Leonards is off the Pacific Highway or Christie Street; the slope is worked in benches with retaining, near Crows Nest.

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.

Services located 01

Assess & quote

Site visit, plan review and Dial Before You Dig. One clear quote covering dig, cartage and cleanup.

Access protected 02

Set out & protect

Levels marked, driveway and surfaces protected, machine sized to the site.

Spoil carted 03

Dig & cart

Dug to plan and level, spoil carted as we go so the site keeps moving.

To level 04

Trim & hand over

Site trimmed, tidy and to level, ready for the next trade.

A trench can be a day, a basement can be weeks. Dates come with the quote, not after.

Where we work

Where around St Leonards we dig

St Leonards and the streets around it, from the older estates to the new blocks.

Crows NestWollstonecraftArtarmonNaremburnGreenwich
North Shore

Excavation across St Leonards

From the older streets to the newer blocks, St Leonards and the suburbs around it. If you're anywhere in the St Leonards area, we can get to you.

See the whole North Shore →
Recent work

Sites we've dug

Backyards to building sites, right across Sydney.
Penrith Site cut
Castle Hill Pool dig
Ryde Basement
Liverpool Civil
“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
“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 St Leonards, answered

How much does excavation cost in St Leonards?

It depends on the volume of material, the ground (hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on steep harbour slopes), 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 St Leonards?

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 St Leonards?

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 St Leonards?

Almost certainly. Hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on steep harbour slopes. 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 St Leonards?

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 St Leonards 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 St Leonards 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.

Why do slabs and driveways crack around St Leonards?

Reactive clay. It swells in wet winters and shrinks in dry summers, and anything poured on loose or uncompacted fill moves with it. A pad cut and filled in compacted layers to the engineer’s spec is what stops the new slab doing the same thing.

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
Get a free quote
Excavator arm breaking rock on a Sydney site
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
Request your quote
No obligation, free site quote