Excavators Northwest

Fine. Flexible, on time, did the work as needed and followed up as necessary.

I highly recommend Excavators Northwest: courteous, hardworking, skilled staff, and a very experienced principal who designed and oversaw the project. They were consistently on-time and maintained a clean worksite. Our backyard faces an alley and is about 7 feet higher than the alley. There is a 4' high rockery which is good shape. The remainder of the retention system was railroad ties at least 20 years old - rotting and failing. We spoke with three contractors, seeking suggestions for how to proceed, materials, etc. We selected Excavators Northwest because of the scope and design of the project. There were a few very interesting things about this project. The project spanned 10 days and involved driving 20' pipe 15' deep at 6' intervals to which beefy treated timbers are attached, forming the new retaining wall. The contractor had to carefully drive two different earth movers into the backyard, first clearing dirt from where the existing wall, removing the existing wall, then grading the backyard which included filling a stairwell that was unwanted access to the alley and adding to the lower rockery where the access met the alley. We are completely satisfied with the results.

You can't ask for a nicer, harder-working, knowledgeable person with whom to work. He and his crews are respectful and he does what he says he will do and when he says he will do it. Easy to work with. Top-notch. 

We were thrilled with the results! 
The fellows in the crew were all business (as in they didn't stand around talking), but were courteous any time we went to see how things looked. They took a break to eat lunch, but otherwise they were on the job.
There was not a huge overage on materials. They bought only what they needed and asked us how we wanted things.
The trim on the revamped garage was made to mirror that on the house, so that the new roof fit right in with the house and yard.
The boys cleaned up after themselves both during and after the job. Any leftover wood scraps we didn't want to keep were hauled away. The digging for the drainage was smoothed and a layer of gravel was added to the top, per our request.
We would use Excavators Northwest again in a heartbeat. Good work, well done, by honest people.

I couldn't be more satisfied with Excavators NW. They were responsive and helped solve a number of unforeseen problems. Also my direction and plans were not entirely clear and they worked with me to get me exactly what I wanted.
My initial experience was with their representative, Adam. He came out within a week of contact and was able to clearly understand what my goals for the project were and also had some great suggestions. Frank (the owner) was always available and checked in on the progress often. Once underway, the project Super, Rick Cash was awesome and his direction, communication, and problem solving couldn't have been better. We ran into a number of unforeseen issues, including 2 oil tanks, unstable earth, constant water, and unclear plans on my part. The problem solving and solutions provided were spot on. Rick did everything he could to help manage expectations and cost over-runs, and his ability to communicate the issues well, and spend a good deal of time ironing out solutions was a great trust builder for me.
If I ever have another project like this, I would not hesitate to partner with Excavators Northwest again.

Excellent

We had a number of complications that came up, like not 1 but 2 oil tanks that contaminated the soil, and what appeared to be a stream running under the house. Also the soil was too sandy and wet to properly support the new foundation.
The experience with Excavators NW from start to finish was stellar and they went beyond normal support to help solve some complicated issues. The superintendant on the job inparticular was awesome, and his years of experience and support helped drive the complications to great solutions. 
Even with a large amount of other jobs, the owner came by on a regular basis to check up on the work and ensure that I was happy with how everything was progressing.
This was a very big job and I would not heistate to hire Excavators NW again. They do excellent work and went above and beyond what I would have expected.

My husband and I were planning on building 60ft concrete retaining wall on our back yard for the past 3 years. We have researched and talked to at least five different contractors. As an architect, I always tell my clients to get at least 3 estimates. First three estimates I received were priced all over the place and didn't get the impression they know what they're doing nor priced fairly. I decided to get two more and their price came out close. I decided to use Excavators Northwest at the end because the estimator, Adam, left me with good confidence this company knows how to build a quality wall. I like the fact everything except concrete supply is in house. The first day of work two workers, Jack and Matt, came on time and started working right away. They worked hard all day long to finish excavation on the first day. The following five days they worked right on schedule and kept the project moving. They had great work ethic whether or not their boss is watching. The final quality of the concrete wall was fantastic! We're so glad we waited long enough to find the right contractor. Thank you for your hard work.

GREAT EXPERIENCE! No job is too small or silly.

Quite pleased from initial e-mail inquiry, to completion of project, and a follow-up personal phone call regarding the same.

Digging in our small garden I hit a "rock." Curious enough the "rock" turned out to be a 4' x 2 1/2' concrete slab. Impossible to move and quite impossible for me to let it go, since I had a new home in mind for this vintage slab.

An e-mail inquiry was sent to Excavators Northwest and Adam responded. A free estimate was provided and removal was scheduled. The concrete slab was placed in its new location without a hitch, and the actual invoice was lower than the estimate. Bonus.

Thank you Adam, Jim, and Excavators Northwest for making this a pleasant experience.

You're the best!

Jayne Hibbing

The project took a bit longer than they had thought but they did a thorough job. The project managers were very professional, courteous and knowledgeable. The only minor complaint I have is that the work crew left some of their trash behind. I bought the crew some coffee and they left the empty cups along with some energy drink cans behind.

The work went smooth and efficiently.  They even went out and got a "specialist" to oversea and help with the concrete formwork.  The owner, Frank, helped and negotiated a change order  with the building inspector (which they had a good reputation with (it helps alot).  I was impressed at how easy the crew and Frank were to work with. 

Adam was extremely professional, responsive, and easy to communicate with.  
His examination was thorough, and given the time and site limitations, more than I expected.  Afterward, he spent a lot of time answering questions and explaining all our options regarding his findings, and also followed up promptly with the estimates I requested.  I would absolutely recommend using their services, and plan to use them again.

The owner of the company, Frank, was very nice and was very easy to work with. I believe he made a concerted effort to try to save the foundation which really would save the structure. He was also the carpenter who after 3 days of working on it came to me and said, I wish I could have said this earlier to you but I wouldn't bother to bring one more penny to this house, you should just tear it down. It was a very expensive advice, but I ended up doing a little more examination of it and I did tear it down a couple of months later. I wish I didn't have to spend $5,000 to learn that.

These guys are tight, they work well together and my project was completed exactly as I had communicated. They resolved an old water run issue that had been inherited with the house with a very simple grading and trenching trick.
Very happy with these guys and have used their services more than once with this old house.
Their history and knowledge of the area we live in, is invaluable to the projects Frank has worked on for me. Excavators NW is very thorough and approached each project with respect and pride in their work.
Thank you Excavators NW.

Foundation issues became apparent with crumbling walls in the basement laundry area.  The primary issue was hidden behind walls of cabinets built decades ago. 

We worked with Adam through the estimating phases.  He made sure to keep us informed and helped move the project along.  After a long lead time, the magnitude of the problem was uncovered after the initial demolition of the old cabinets.  The affected walls were shored so that a revised plan with engineers could be made.

We worked with Frank once the project began.  He always was very responsive and proactive making suggestions to improve the outcome.   All challenges were met with his can-do attitude.  Throughout the project, they listened to all of our constraints and concerns and patiently answered all of our questions. 

We appreciated the extra effort helping to get our house back in order and enjoyed working with Frank and the guys.

This project is currently in-process. My house is on a very tight urban lot, yet Excavators NW was able to efficiently move in multiple machines and get the house in the air right away. The excavation process removed a huge quantity of soil and basically consumed my lot wall to wall between the dig and the required 1:1 sloping. The city of Seattle and my Geotech are being extremely strict with me, so the guys on site required a bit of coaching from me to get the cut to comply with the city's needs. In the end, we got the dig looking great and are now moving into forming the foundation. Save for a few days of delay due in part to excavation being more extensive than anticipated, a structure change on my end, and some staffing reorganization on their part, I would say the guys have made a good effort to keep things on schedule. Major earthwork on a tight, sloping lot is never likely to be pro-forma.

On the whole, Exc. NW has been very responsive to me as an owner/builder. . The Site Leads, Adam, and the owner, Frank very are experienced and thoughtful about their approach. One of the main reasons I hired them after our initial on-site interview was that I knew they would listen and work well with me to fulfill my project the way I envisioned it. So far that communication and trust has held up.

Their pricing reflects their level of service. One of my main concerns going into an excavation process was a ballooning budget due to the unforeseen problems that come up once you see what's really under your feet. Exc. NW has been reasonable and fair with any changes that have arisen. Where others use changes as a chance to gouge you, I feel these guys have played fair and simply haven't sweated the small stuff.

I'll update my review when the project is complete. Very happy overall so far.

Kept us informed of project progress and any setbacks.  Managed expectations well.  More comments upon completion of job.

We called Adam to see if we could get someone to take a look at the sloping porch of a house we had gone into contract for a week prior.  He was friendly, professional, and was the only one able to make time at the end of his day to come out to visit the property. 
He was on time and performed a thorough inspection and clearly explained to us what his findings and impressions were.  He later provided a pdf file of the report that included pictures and a detailed explanation of his inspection.  We decided not to proceed with any foundation work/repairs (our primary purpose was to get an assessment of the foundation issue of the porch) but were thoroughly satisfied with Adam's professionalism and thorough inspection work. 
We would highly recommend Excavators NW to anyone needing similar services or foundation work and would go back to them if we do need them in the future.

Excavators Northwest did an excellent job on my project.

I was interested in getting some decent storage space in my home, and freeing up the garage.

So thought a crawlspace dig would be an ideal choice.

Got an estimate for a small space first, but working with Frank and Adam and coming up with an excellent plan to move the dirt to a hill and putting in an Ecology block retaining wall would be a win-win situation. A bigger more usable storage room and a larger flatter yard area.

The crawlspace was dug and the retaining wall built. David was superb at constructing the interior space, and spoke frequently with both him and Frank throughout the project.

The storage room and extra yard space are fantastic and make my home truly unique.

I would highly recommend Excavators Northwest for any project of any size.

Thanks again for a job well done!

The job went well.  They were responsive in scheduling a meeting for the estimate and suggested a second visit to drill in the slab and get a better idea what may be causing the problem. Their assessment matched the opinion we got from a structural engineer.  Communication was good throughout the project.  After the slab was removed, they recommended a change in our plan which included digging a trench to address standing water below the slab.  The job was done on time and clean up was good.  This was a messy project that had to be done with manual labor inside our home. The site supervisor was great and let us know what to expect each day.  I highly recommend Excavators NW.  They were knowledgeable and professional. 

See above.

Job was started and finished on time, got good quality for the price and kept the character of the garage to the house.  We were included daily in the job's progress and the issues as they came up.  Frank did a little extra at job's end to make us happy.
 We got two projects for the price of one and were happy with both.

 It was a fixed-bid contract, and they kept to the bid.  Very fair, professional,

I live in a 1941 vintage home in Ballard since 1999.   Over time I felt that there were signs of possible water damage occurring.  The interior foundation wall on the south side of the garage started developing a white efflorescence which can be a sign of water damage.   Since I was inexperienced in this area I had many contractors in to assess.  Unfortunately I never got a clear diagnosis of the problem until I contacted Frank owner of Excavators Northwest.  Without a doubt, Frank was the best.  Knowledgeable and confident, Frank assess the situation and came back with a proposal. He and his assistant, Adam, took the time to walk around my property explaining how the drainage system would work.  They also provided an accurate timeframe for completion.
The entire team were professional and did excellent work from beginning to end. The team worked well together and there was a mutual respect between Frank and his workers which was very refreshing and appreciated.  They were respectful and did everything possible to minimize disturbance of my landscaping. I was amazed how the entire operation was handled.  Although it was hard work to dig the trench, measure the angle of the slope and lay the pipes, the crew just kept on working with minimal breaks.  Bottom line: Excellent job in every imaginable way.
   
This review is late, with my apology, because I wanted to see what happened during the rainy season.  
It worked beautifully.....  No more water under my house....THANKS FRANK, ADAM AND OTHERS.
Louise

I bought a 30 year old house 2 years ago and have noticed that the garage door end post and center post has gone down. Since I've just owned the house for 2 years, I don't really know how long the house has stayed like this. I really wanted to have it fixed before I replace the 30 year old gutter.
Since I had little experience on house structure related issue, I found 5-6 highly rated Angie's list providers on structural repair.  Out of the 5-6 companies that I interviewed, Excavators Northwest is the only company that came with a 4 feet level. The reason I mention this is because that shows how prepared they are.
With 5 different solutions costing from $8000 to $2000, I was at lost. I didn't want to over kill nor under fix.  So I hired an Architect to evaluate the situation to see what kind of fix is really necessary. Excavator Northwest's solution came closet to the Architect's and the price was the most reasonable.
Since they were most prepared and least expensive, I went with them. 
On the first day of the work, the crew came half an hour early! During the 2 day process of the job, I had tons of questions and requests. They made sure that all the questions, concerns and requests were addressed. I feel that they are totally trustworthy.  Adam and Frank, answered all the questions that I had before the job began. After the job started, foreman David and his crew were very professional, punctual and helpful.
After I paid them in full, I noticed that there were gaps left between the new footing of the garage door post.  Later David explained to me that he was leaving the gap so that I could have the door post adjusted to cover the footing. However, I didn't expect the extra door adjustment job. So was asking if they could expand the footing to fit the door post. Since the job was already paid in full and the adjustment of the footing to match the post was not in the original contract, the new request was totally at their mercy. They could ignore me, or refuse to do it or charge me extra. However, none of this happened. David came to finish up the adjustment at NO extra cost after the job had been paid!!! I was totally amazed! I have nothing but positive experience dealing with Excavator Northwest.
I would not hesitate to use them again or recommend them to anyone else.