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D & H Excavators

About us

11 Employees. Sewer and water line installation and repair, septic system repair, septic tank elimination program & sewer installations.

Business highlights

Emergency services offered

Services we offer

Sewer and water line installation and repair, septic system repair, septic tank elimination program & sewer installations.

Amenities

Emergency Services

Yes

Accepted Payment Methods

  • CreditCard
Reviews
2.713 Reviews
Number of StarsImage of DistributionNumber of Ratings
5
31%
4
0%
3
8%
2
31%
1
31%
Showing 1-13 of 13 reviews
Arnold G.
Oct 2015
2.0
$2,500
They (Him & his Daughter's) basally lilied all through the process, from the time I paid him 1/2 up front to the time he said he would be back to cleanup the job site; in which I'm still waiting.

RICK W.
May 2015
1.0
$6,000
We contracted D&H Excavators on 8/6/14 to connect my mother's well and septic to city utilities.  Horace Medcalf, the owner, came to my home to discuss with myself and my husband about what work and how it would be done.  I had another sit down with Horace with my mother and sister and my mother's house where he explained again what work and how it would be done.  Mr. Medcalf told all of us after hooking up to city utilities, the dirt would be mounded up where they've dug out the yard but after the winter they would return to smooth out the dirt, plant grass seed and put straw down.  Work began 11/4/14 and right away a large hole formed where the septic line connected and I voice my concern to the owner, Horace Medcalf.  He assured me it was okay and he wants the dirt to settle before they come back to smooth out the yard.  They were concerned enough about the hole that they put up 4 cones and caution tape around it.  In December 19th I contacted Horace again about the size of the hole and my concern that the sewer pipe is exposed and wanted dirt brought over to fill the hole.  I also complained about the unsightliness of the cones and caution tape and didn't want it up all winter.  He assured me all was fine and he understood we wouldn't want the cones up all winter but they need the dirt to settle over the winter.
Over the winter the hole has become 6 foot long, 4 foot wide and nearly 3 foot deep.  I spoke with Horace in March about getting dirt up to fill in the hole, but he said it's been too wet and rainy and he doesn't want to tear up my mother's yard driving across it.  I contacted Horace on April 30, 2015 to find out when he was going to come up to get the hole filled and finish the job of smoothing the yard, and he tells me he doesn't know, it's been raining, his tractor's in the shop, could be 2 weeks, could be 2 months, he had no idea.  Then he told me the hole isn't that big and if I had a rototiller, I could finish the yard myself......meaning the job's not finished.  He also said my mother hadn't paid for him to return to grade the yard!  I sent Mr. Medcalf an email requesting dirt be brought up for the hole and a refund of $350.00 since my mother will now have to get someone to fill the hole, smooth the yard from where it was dug up to lay the pipes, seed and spread straw.  D&H did bring some dirt and dropped it BESIDE the hole, not IN the hole, and that's the last we've heard.
D&H has left this job incomplete and they can not expect an 82 year old woman to pay $6,000 and then have to fill in a large hole and grade the yard herself.  We would like a refund of $350.00


Brian R.
Aug 2014
2.0
$5,000

Took the deposit.  We had to stay on them to come out and actually do the hook up.  As soon as they were done they wanted to be paid and they were paid.


They were to come back after the dirt settled and level out the pile and lower the risers tot he new ground height.


It is a year later and many of the neighbors have not had their follow up work done, D & H makes excuses and does nothing.  They do not return calls of respond to faxes.


I would suggest you not use these people they will not hold of their end of the agreement.


Pay someone else a little extra and get what you pay for from them.  No one needs the aggravation of dealing with D & H.



Richard V.
Feb 2014
1.0
$4,500
If you are thinking of hiring D & H Excavators, LLC go to: mycase.in.gov, enter the Decision and Case Records section, then enter 49K07-1304-SC-001396. This is public information for your review and protection.

FARRELL F.
Aug 2013
1.0
$2,500
These guys stink. Promised many times to come back and clean up and grade the yard after their work. All my neighbors who used other companies have nice green grass already. My yard: a pile of dirt that i am slowly shoveling. And, here's the best part ... Their work at my neighbor's house completely filled their ditch and blocked the drainage under the driveway. What a mess. It will cost big $ to fix what they promised to do. If D&H solicits your business, read them this review. Totally worthless!

Brandi C.
Jun 2013
2.0
$2,750
D&H had zero customer service and had zero communication with us to schedule a time to do the work. They took half the payment up front and never called us for a month. The owner, Horace, quoted a decent price so we decided to go with D&H. We paid half ($1375) up front and were told we would be in the books for the next week (4/2/13). We heard nothing from the company for three weeks. My husband and I called multiple times to find out when the work would be done and they just said, "when it stops raining." On 4/22, without notice, they dropped off a mini-excavator in our lawn, by our front door. We heard nothing until 7 days later (4/29) when a crew showed up to do work. They were beginning work in the wrong place, but luckily my husband was home and showed them the correct place to dig which was over 20 feet away. After completing the work, our yard/grass was destroyed. The spot that the excavator sat for a week was all dirt, and they left a huge mound of dirt and rocks that took up more than 1/3 of our yard. Horace called promptly the next day to collect the second half of the payment. When I told him about my concerns, he proceeded to belittle me and tell me the "good Lord, will fix the yard." He also said, "I have seen your neighborhood, and compared to other people your yard doesn't really seem that bad." He refused any sort of compensation or even apology. We did our part and paid in full, but D&H did not do their part and give quality service. I reported D&H to the BBB and his response to me was unapologetic and disrespectful.

Al B.
May 2013
2.0
$1,800
Came in with a low bid. No follow-up. Had to call them about scheduling work and got no reply. They just showed up. Glad someone was home or else they would have been out of luck since access to crawl is in the house. Promised grading of trench line in spring. When I called about grading Horace called and said he could not grade due to all the rain this spring. He said he could not be responsible for God's acts.
 All the other contractors on the block got their jobs graded by May 1st. Guess Horace and D&H aren't on God's good side
Sloppy business practices and nothing but excuses. Take your business some place else!

Aly S.
Feb 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$5,000
D&H quoted our job & within two weeks began work.
They started on a Monday and by Tuesday evening the job was complete.
They left our yard in good shape, ready for grass seed in the spring.
I could not be more pleased with the service we received from this
company. They were respectful, kind & helpful in explaining all that
the job entailed. They quoted us a fair price, less than that of our
neighbors who had gone with another company. The job was done promptly
& completed in a matter of only two days. We have recommended them
to all of our neighbors who have yet to connect to the new sewer line.
Thank you Horace & crew for a job well done!

Richard V.
Feb 2013
3.0
$4,000
I hired Horace Matcalf (D & H Excavators, LLC) to install my septic to new city sewers via the S.T.E.P. guidelines. The contract was to install a grinder pump and abandon the old septic tank. The old tank was not pumped out and the crew used the dirt from the new trench to "top off" the old septic tank leaving the new trench short of enough fill material. I was contacted by Horace early on Sat. morning and he stated he was finished with the project and it has been inspected. He wanted payment immediately. I obliged and had him stop by my home and paid him in full.A few day later I get a call from the occupant stating the trench was still not filled in completely. I stopped by the property and sure enough - there was the trench with not enough dirt to bring it level. I phone Horace and he attempted to explain the reason for the old septic settling a little bit and I informed him it was the new trench that was missing dirt. I then let him know that I know what he did with the dirt and that he needed to come back out to correct the problem. He said it was too muddy and he would be out some other time when it wasn't too muddy.
I have still not heard from Mr. Metcalf but have contacted the Marion County Department of Health in order to resolve this situation. If this does not work I will be contacting the State Attorney's office.

Mary H.
Oct 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,950
D&H Excavators excavated and installed my sewer line in August 2011.  The job ended up being a bit more complex than they had anticipated, but they honored their original cost estimate.  My only complaint was that it took almost a year for a return trip to completely backfill the excavation cavity.  So for this period of time, there were several holes in my back yard that could have proved hazardous to small children.  Horace explained that it required several months for the dirt to settle to avoid leaving a sink in the yard.  They returned to complete the leveling  job in July 2012.  Other than this inconvenience, they were courteous and accommodating.  Their price was much lower than other estimates.  I would use them again.

George E.
Sep 2012
1.0
$1,445
I was forced to close my septic system and go to city sewer. I chose D & H because they underbid other contractors. Work was done in a timely fashion as far as the sewer installation, but I had to keep pressing them for the land regrade. Never did regrade the rear of the house. Told me they couldn't get equipment behind my house and didn't have manpower to do it by hand. They got the equipment back there to dig it up. Have had difficulty since installation. Water backs up from washing machine. Can't flush two toilets at the same time. After having so much difficulty just trying to get land regraded I just learned to live with the system. It was much worse than my septic system. Recently water started backing up in the drains and commodes I called in Acme Plumbing. The plumber said the sewer line was installed improperly and had come apart and vegetation was growing in it. He cleaned it out and said it needed to be repaired. I made (documented) repeated attempts to contact D & H when the secretary realized I wasn't going away I was finally put in touch with Horace Medcalf. He immediately dispareged Acme plumbing and said they were on a cash grab. Actually  Dave Marks of Acme suggested I contact D & H as it would be cheaper to deal with them and suggested since they had blown it there should be no charge. Mr Medcalf agreed to redo it at cost, but put me off saying he was extremely busy. This was over a week ago and I have yet to hear from him. Meanwhile Acme gave me a temporary fix to a permanent problem.

Kathy W.
Jan 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,500
This is a very reputable company and all of their employees we dealt with were very honest. When more problems were discovered than originally bid, D and H honored their original bid. They also sent employees to our house on the Saturday following Thanksgiving to complete the work.

Barbara D.
Oct 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,800
Overall we could not have asked for better people to work with.

Licensing

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FAQ

D & H Excavators is currently rated 2.7 overall out of 5.

D & H Excavators accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard

No, D & H Excavators does not offer free project estimates.

No, D & H Excavators does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.

No, D & H Excavators does not offer a senior discount.

Yes, D & H Excavators offers emergency services.

No, D & H Excavators does not offer warranties.