Licensed excavation, Double Bay

Excavation & Earthworks Double Bay

Double Bay is a harbourside village on sandstone, basement and pool work over rock beneath heritage streets and apartments. The regular jobs here are basement digs, pool digs and retaining walls. Services located first, sites left level and clean.

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Licensed operators
Dial Before You Dig
Fully insured work
Local Sydney crew
Rock
Digs handled
Mini to 35t
Machine range
4.9★
Average rating
Free
Site quotes
What Eastern Suburbs jobs need

Sandstone or sand, and the neighbour’s wall either way

Digging in Double Bay sits on one of two grounds, and both are difficult in their own way. The headlands and harbour slopes are sandstone at the surface, sawn and broken out a metre from the neighbour's footing; behind the beaches it's deep sand with the water table close, shored and dewatered because it collapses if it's cut vertical. The blocks are tight, heritage overlays cover the older streets, and access is often by crane over the roof, so the site look settles the approach before the quote.

Sandstone sawn at the boundaries, broken in the middle, carted as rock
Dilapidation and vibration handled before anything starts
Crane and through-house access planned for blocks with no way in
Woollahra and Waverley heritage conditions followed
Excavation in Double Bay

What's different about digging in Double Bay

Double Bay, in short

Double Bay sits about 5 kilometres east of the city. The markers are Double Bay village, Redleaf Pool, Steyne Park and Sydney Harbour. It's ringed by Bellevue Hill, Point Piper, Darling Point, Edgecliff, Rose Bay and Woollahra. What's changing: basement garages and pools cut into rock, and retaining and underpinning on the steep harbour blocks.

The houses, and what they need

Double Bay's housing near Double Bay village runs to victorian and Federation mansions with harbourside apartments, with heritage character. Near Double Bay village, the heritage streets carry conditions near the listed houses. On a Double Bay block that usually means basement digs, pool digs and retaining walls.

The ground under Double Bay

Around Double Bay village, Double Bay is on Hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on the harbour slopes. On the Double Bay blocks toward Redleaf Pool the rock is shallow, so pools, piers and basements are sawn clean and broken rather than dug. Around Point Piper, the sandstone is sawn at the boundaries and carted out as rock.

The council, access, and getting to you

Double Bay is in Woollahra Municipal Council; the Double Bay village end carries heritage and tree protection controls, so we dig to the approved plans. The crew reaches the Double Bay job off Bay Street or Cross Street, where the slope is worked in benches with retaining, past Bellevue Hill.

How it runs

First call to clean handover

Every job follows the same sequence, whether it's a single trench or a full site cut.

Services located 01

Assess & quote

Site visit, plan review and Dial Before You Dig. One clear quote covering dig, cartage and cleanup.

Access protected 02

Set out & protect

Levels marked, driveway and surfaces protected, machine sized to the site.

Spoil carted 03

Dig & cart

Dug to plan and level, spoil carted as we go so the site keeps moving.

To level 04

Trim & hand over

Site trimmed, tidy and to level, ready for the next trade.

A trench can be a day, a basement can be weeks. Dates come with the quote, not after.

Where we work

Where around Double Bay we dig

Double Bay and the streets around it, from the older estates to the new blocks.

Bellevue HillPoint PiperDarling PointEdgecliffRose BayWoollahra
Eastern Suburbs

Excavation across Double Bay

From the older streets to the newer blocks, Double Bay and the suburbs around it. If you're anywhere in the Double Bay area, we can get to you.

See the whole Eastern Suburbs →
Recent work

Sites we've dug

Backyards to building sites, right across Sydney.
Penrith Site cut
Castle Hill Pool dig
Ryde Basement
Liverpool Civil
“Very easy to deal with.
Excellent communication”
Priya, Penrith
“Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill
“Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde
“Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool
“Very easy to deal with. Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith “Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill “Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde “Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool
“Very easy to deal with. Excellent communication” Priya, Penrith “Left the site spotless.” Dave, Castle Hill “Would definitely recommend them!” Marcus, Ryde “Great job thanks so much.” Lauren, Liverpool

Excavation in Double Bay, answered

How much does excavation cost in Double Bay?

It depends on the volume of material, the ground (hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on the harbour slopes), access for the machine and how far spoil has to be carted. Every job gets a written quote after a site look, with the dig, cartage and cleanup spelled out, so you know what’s included before anything starts.

Do I need council approval before you dig in Double Bay?

Usually, if the excavation is part of a build. Cut and fill beyond set limits, work near boundaries and anything on a lot with a flood, bushfire or heritage overlay needs approval as part of the DA or CDC. We work to the approved plans; check with your certifier before the dig is booked.

How long does an excavation job take in Double Bay?

A trench, pool dig or single pad is a day or two; a knock-down site cut or a basement runs longer and depends on volume, ground and weather. Dates come with the quote, not after.

Is there rock in Double Bay?

Yes. Hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on the harbour slopes. On the headlands and the harbour slopes sandstone is at or near the surface, so pools, basements and garage cuts are rock jobs from the start: sawn at the boundaries, broken in the middle, carted as rock. It’s in the quote from the site look.

Can you cut a garage or basement under my existing Double Bay house?

Yes, it’s a common harbour-slope job. The rock is sawn at the house footing line and the boundaries and broken out in stages to the engineer’s underpinning and shoring sequence, so the house above and the neighbour’s house stay where they are.

There’s no way to get a machine into my Double Bay backyard. Can you still dig?

Yes. Mini machines are craned over the house or walked through it, and spoil comes out the same way in bins or by conveyor. Slower than a side-gate job and priced for it, but it’s how most Eastern Suburbs backyards get dug.

Do you do knock-down rebuild site cuts in Double Bay?

Yes. The old house down, slab and footings out, the block stripped and the new pad cut and compacted, as one run if you want the demolition handled too.

Can you dig a pool in Double Bay?

Yes. Hawkesbury sandstone with rock close to the surface on the harbour slopes. The pool builder’s engineer will usually want the base checked, which is standard, and the machine is sized to the side access.

What happens next

Tell us the job. We'll size it up.

Tell us the suburb, the access and what needs digging
We'll come out and look before quoting anything
You'll get a written quote with what's included spelled out
The machine's matched to your access, not whatever's free
Clear on spoil, cartage and cleanup before we start
No obligation, no pressure
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Excavator arm breaking rock on a Sydney site
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Tell us about the job. We'll look at the site before quoting, so you know what's included before anything starts.

Written quote after a proper site look
Free quote after a proper site assessment
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No obligation, free site quote