Excavating Contractor in Indianapolis and Central Indiana

Water and sewer lines, drainage, directional boring, erosion control, storm shelters and site work. Family owned in Lebanon, Indiana since 1964.

Request an estimate Call (317) 892-0074

Underground

Everything that goes in a trench and gets covered up. The work you only see once, so it has to be right the first time.

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Water and ground

Central Indiana clay holds water and gives it up slowly. Most of what we fix here is water sitting somewhere it was never meant to sit.

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Below grade

Shelters, foundation work and taking things down. Heavier work, and the part of the job where the license matters.

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Excavating Central Indiana Since 1964

Wharff Excavating has worked Central Indiana since 1964, for homeowners, contractors, builders, businesses and municipalities. That is long enough to have learned which ground holds a trench wall and which ground does not, and long enough to have been called back to somebody else's work more than once.

Every job runs the same way. We look at it on site, we send a detailed written estimate, and then we handle the permits, the utility locates and the inspections ourselves. You are told where it stands until it is finished.

Working since1964

Based inLebanon, Indiana

LicenseWrecking General Contractor

Underground storm shelter set in an excavated trench in Central Indiana

Our work. Storm shelter set below grade

Our Excavating Services

Fifteen service lines, run by one shop out of Lebanon. If your problem is not on this list, call and ask. We would rather tell you it is not our lane than take the job and learn that halfway through.

Water linesThe line from the main to your building, replaced or repaired.→Sewer and sump linesLaterals and discharge lines that run on fall, not pressure.→Sump pits and pumpsThe pit, the pump and the line that carries the water away.→DrainageFor ground that will not take water away on its own.→Directional boringA new line under a drive or a road, without cutting it.→Erosion controlBanks and slopes that lose ground every time it rains.→DemolitionStructures down, hauled off, and the ground put back.→Retaining wallsHolding a change in grade, with the drainage behind it.→DrivewaysBuilt from the base up, because that is where they fail.→Finish gradeThe last pass that decides where the water goes.→CulvertsKeeping the ditch running under your drive.→PondsDug, shaped and sealed so the water stays in it.→Land clearingGround opened up and made ready to build on.→Carbon fiber strappingHolding a bowing foundation wall where it is.→Storm sheltersSet below grade, backfilled, and ready before the siren.→

Directional Boring, Under a Driveway or a Road

Trenching across a finished driveway, a road or a lawn you have spent years on is the part of a utility job people dread, and it is usually the most expensive part to put back. Directional boring goes underneath instead. A drill head is steered from a pit on one side to a pit on the other, and the new line is pulled back through the hole it makes.

The surface between the two pits is never opened. That matters most on a driveway you do not want seamed, a county road you would need to close, and a mature yard where the roots are as much of a problem as the concrete.

Fig. 01, trench sectionNot to scale

The Towns We Serve

We run out of one shop in Lebanon and work Indianapolis and the towns around it. If you are near the edge of this list, call and ask rather than assuming.

Every town plotted at its real distance and direction from the shop in Lebanon. Martinsville, the furthest, is about 43 miles out.

What Our Customers Say

Verbatim from our Google profile, with the reviewer's own name and the date they left it.

Call (317) 892-0074

Fiberglass storm shelter unit on the delivery trailer, Central Indiana

Our work. On the trailer, headed out

“Great job by Wharff Excavating . Had 4 underground downspout drains & a sump line replaced due to terminally clogged/collapsed pipes. From initial meeting with Matt through completion, everyone was professional & friendly. The crew was quick, did an outstanding job, and went beyond what I expected. Highly recommend !”

Dash RiprockGoogle review, 2025-05-02

“Wharff Excavating did a great job removing a mess another company left of our front yard! I called and it was done within a week. Although ours was just a small job compared to others, we were not treated as it was insignificant. Everyone was wonderful! We highly recommend them!”

Lisa HuntGoogle review, 2025-04-02

“Casey and his crew did a magnificent job. Even took time to explain things to me. Truly a class act all of them. From the owner down. Easiest process I’ve ever done. Thank you so much”

Tom ClevengerGoogle review, 2025-07-15

“This company did a great job. Very very nice people that work there. I would recommend them to anyone.”

John SnyderGoogle review, 2025-03-24

Request an Estimate

The more you can tell us up front, the more useful the first visit is. Where the water stands, how long it has been doing it, what changed, and whether anything has been dug there before.

Photographs help more than most people expect. If you can send a picture of the problem, attach it below and we will know what we are looking at before we arrive.