Building on a rural lot in Georgina, Brock, Uxbridge or Kawartha Lakes starts long before the foundation. Site preparation is where budgets go wrong, usually because things happen in the wrong order. This is the sequence we see work.
Before any machine arrives
Have the building permit, or at least the approved site plan, in hand, because it shows exactly where the house, driveway, well and septic go, and you clear only what you need. Get the septic permit started, since the bed location often decides where the driveway and clearing go. Request Ontario One Call locates; they are free and required by law. Check conservation authority requirements if you are near water or wetland.
1. The construction entrance and driveway
The first thing on site is a driveway that a concrete truck and a delivery truck can use in wet weather. Strip the topsoil with the track loader, lay geotextile on soft ground, then place and compact a granular base. Our gravel driveway guide covers the layers. A culvert at the road usually needs an entrance permit from the township or the Region.
2. Clearing the building envelope
Brush and trees with the SVL75-3, stumps with the U35 excavator. Clear enough room for the house, a working area around it, the septic bed and the material laydown, and no more. Trees you keep need protection fencing at the drip line or the compaction from equipment will kill them over the following years.
3. Stripping and stockpiling topsoil
Strip the topsoil off the whole envelope and pile it out of the way. You will want it back for final grading, and buying it later is expensive.
4. Foundation excavation
A full basement is typically an eight to nine foot dig, plus working room outside the wall line. The U35 handles a basement for a modest house or an addition; larger custom homes are usually dug by an excavation contractor with a bigger machine, and we can quote that through our contracting side. Footings must sit below frost depth, which in this region means a minimum of 1.2 metres, or four feet, below finished grade per the Ontario Building Code, deeper if your engineer or the soil requires it. Our foundation digging guide goes deeper.
5. Services and septic
Water line from the well, hydro and telecom trenches, and the septic tank and bed usually happen while the foundation is being formed, using the same excavator. See our septic installation guide.
6. Backfill and rough grade
Once the foundation is waterproofed and the drainage layer is in, backfill in lifts and rough grade the lot so water runs away from the house on every side.
7. Final grade, topsoil and driveway top course
After the trades are done and the heavy trucks stop coming, spread the stockpiled topsoil, finish grade with the loader, and put the final course on the driveway.
Machines and timing
Most owner-builders keep a U35 and an SVL75-3 on site for the first month, $3,500 each monthly, then bring the loader back for a week at the end for final grading. Everything is delivered and picked up on your schedule. Call or text 905-251-2521 to plan the equipment around your build.