Excavation and site work in French Creek
Parksville Excavating digs in French Creek. Under the ground here sits a small unconfined deltaic aquifer of Salish sand and gravel, about 2.2 square kilometres, with no confining layer between the surface and the water table. We cut and shore your job to suit that, and Electoral Area G carries a Farmland Protection development permit area on lots over 5,000 square metres.
French Creek is the smallest and the most distinctive piece of ground in the service area. It's a delta, not a till plain — and that changes how we cut, drain and backfill a deep excavation here. We plan around that difference on every job, big or small.
A delta, not a till plain
Aquifer 1248 is unconfined deltaic sand and gravel in the Salish Sediments, high productivity and high vulnerability, and at 2.2 square kilometres it is a fraction of the size of its neighbours. Unconfined means there is no till layer sitting between the surface and the water-bearing material, so water arrives from above with very little filtering it on the way down.
Wet loose sand is the hardest ground we work in. We have to cut the sides back further so nothing slumps, so your hole ends up wider than the same depth would be inland — and that extra width is what you're paying for, not the depth.
Water and farmland rules
French Creek is a designated sensitive stream under the Sensitive Streams Designation and Licensing Regulation, alongside the Englishman River and the Little Qualicum River. The Regional District of Nanaimo's Freshwater and Fish Habitat development permit area covers mapped and unmapped riparian assessment areas, so before we book you a date we check how close the work is to the creek.
Electoral Area G covers French Creek, San Pareil and Dashwood. Farmland Protection applies in this area on lots over 5,000 square metres, and it kicks in as soon as you're moving or disturbing soil, not only when you're building. We tell you which side of that line your job falls on before we quote it, so a permit doesn't turn up halfway through the dig.
People also ask
Does a high water table mean a basement is not possible?
We plan the excavation around it — a wider cut, stepping the sides back in stages where the depth needs it, and drainage designed before the dig rather than after the wall is up.
Why is the excavation wider here than elsewhere?
Loose sand won't stand at a steep face, so we cut the sides back further to stay safe. The extra width is material out and material back in, and that is what shows up in your price.
Related: Drainage and perimeter drains · Foundation digs and backfill · Ground conditions on Oceanside
Site work we do here
- Land clearing and site prepBrush, stump and topsoil removal, building envelope stripped to grade, and a compacted pad ready for forms. Permit position checked before the machine arrives.
- Foundation digs and backfillFootings dug to the depth on the drawings, benched where the walls are deep, then backfilled and compacted in lifts once the wall has cured.
- Drainage and perimeter drainsPerimeter drain, filter cloth and drain rock at the footing, tied into a sump or a daylight outlet that keeps running through the wet months.
- Driveways and parking padsSubgrade cut, geotextile where the ground is soft, then pit run and crush placed in compacted lifts to a crown that sheds water.