Excavating, Demolition and Utility Contractor in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis holds a century and a half of building in one city, so the excavation work there ranges from a century old service line to a slab poured last year.
Wharff Excavating has worked Central Indiana since 1964 and Indianapolis is at the center of the area we cover. We are a licensed Wrecking General Contractor. Across Marion County the work includes demolition and site clearing, water and sewer line replacement, directional boring under pavement, drainage, retaining walls and foundation support.
The age spread is what makes this city different from the towns around it. Two properties a block apart can have utilities installed decades apart, in different materials, at different depths, following routes that were recorded to different standards. Assuming any of that from the address is how a trench finds something expensive, which is why the route gets established before the machine starts.
Demolition is its own discipline and it does not end when the structure is down. Slabs, footings, old foundations, abandoned lines and whatever was buried on the site over the years all determine whether the ground is worth anything afterward. Taking the building off and leaving that in place moves the problem rather than removing it.
Congested utilities and mixed ground in Marion County
Every dig in Indiana starts with a call to 811 and two working days notice, and in a dense part of Marion County that process is doing real work. Several utilities can occupy one narrow corridor between a building and the street, and the paint on the ground is the difference between a routine trench and an outage. We make the call and work to the marks.
The native soil is the same slow draining glacial till found throughout the region, but on an urban site it is frequently not what you actually hit. Old fill, rubble, previous excavations, buried construction debris and long forgotten foundations all show up, and fill behaves differently from undisturbed ground when it comes to compaction and to what a trench wall will do.
Excavation and demolition services in Indianapolis
This set covers the two ends of the city work: taking things out, and putting lines back in without tearing up more than the job requires. Homeowners, contractors, builders, businesses and municipalities all hire us for it.
Indianapolis Excavating Questions
Are you licensed to do demolition work?
Yes. Wharff Excavating holds a Wrecking General Contractor license, and demolition is one of the fifteen services we offer. The scope of a demolition job is worth pinning down in writing, because what comes out below grade, and what happens to the material, are where the cost sits rather than in the structure itself.
Why replace a water service line instead of repairing the leak?
Sometimes a repair is right, and sometimes the leak is simply the first place an old line gave way. Corrosion is rarely limited to one spot, so a repair on a badly deteriorated service can be followed by another one at a different point. That is a judgment we make from what the line is, how old it is and what we find when we open it.
Do you take on commercial and municipal work as well as houses?
We do. Businesses and municipalities are part of our customer mix along with homeowners, builders and general contractors. The equipment and the process are the same, but the paperwork, the coordination and the inspection requirements are different, and that is accounted for in the estimate rather than discovered afterward.
Contacting us about an Indianapolis job
Call (317) 892-0074 or write to [email protected] with the property and what needs doing. Whether it is a residential line, a commercial site or a structure coming down, the path is the same: details to the office, a scope, a site visit, then a detailed written estimate.
Tell Us About the Job
A Customer in Marion County
From our Google profile, in their words.
“Even getting excavation folks to come out to consider your project can be a hassle when people are busy. It requires a resetting of expectations particularly in good weather. Matt got out to look over our project after about a month and a half of waiting and gave me a good thorough review and solid quote on the work. While our entire project wound up lasting over six months, it was not the fault of Wharff. A simple basement drainage issue with trenches, pipes, new concrete and a new sump pump turned into a second project that included them digging out an area of our basement for a new bathroom. They were willing to dig out the area that we weren't 100% certain would work for the bath with my assurance that I'd hold myself to blame if it simply didn't work. They were patient and flexible when I simply could not get a plumber out to do the work and again when the digging out of that area impacted their prior work on the drainage which required some adjustment to the sump pump. And despite all of the debris, dirt, concrete and lots of feet walking up/down our stairs and out the door with loads and loads of everything involved, Noble and his team kept the space reasonably clean and well kept. There will always be room for improvement with any team and ups and downs that they deal with. Scheduling can be difficult, but Lisa kept us reasonably informed of if/when their team would be at/in our home for the work. The occasional hiccup when I had to leave or they had to run to another site is easily overlooked when they really continually did great work all around. Overall, the two projects cost us a good used car worth of money, but the work they did and the professionalism they displayed throughout made it the easiest checks we've written. These folks do hard work and do it well. You can count on them to deliver.”
Other Towns We Serve Near Indianapolis
Beyond Indianapolis, our service area takes in these towns.