Vancouver Island Excavation Company

Illaheechuck Civil Construction is a Vancouver Island excavation company based in Campbell River, serving the Island from Victoria to Port Hardy and up into Northern BC and Yukon. We're First Nations owned, we self-perform our excavation work with our own operators and equipment, and we run everything from compact track loaders to full-size excavators and rock trucks, so the machine on your site is the right one for the job.

Excavation is where every project starts and where budgets are most often won or lost. Here's what we do, and how we do it on Island ground.

Excavation services we provide

Site preparation and clearing. Clearing and grubbing, site strip, organics removal, and rough grading to get a lot or a commercial site ready to build on.

Foundation and footing excavation. For new homes, additions, garages, shops, commercial buildings, and structures, dug to the lines and grades on the drawings, with the subgrade prepared for what goes on top.

Mass excavation and bulk earthworks. Cut and fill, structural fill placement, and building pads for subdivisions, commercial developments, and industrial sites, with compaction tested and grades verified.

Trenching and underground services. Water, sewer, storm, hydro, and gas trenches, with utility locates requested first, live services exposed by hand or hydrovac, and proper bedding, backfill, and compaction.

Drainage excavation. Perimeter drains, storm drainage, ditching, and grading that moves water away from buildings and off sites, the most common thing Island projects get wrong, and one we build right.

Rock excavation. Island ground turns to rock fast. We handle rock excavation and shot-rock earthworks, and coordinate drilling and blasting when the ground calls for it.

Demolition and removals. Small structures, slabs, old foundations, driveways, and site cleanup, with material sorted and hauled off.

Aggregate supply and hauling. Gravel, structural fill, drain rock, and topsoil delivered and placed with our own trucks.

Tight-access and compact excavation

A lot of Island excavation happens between two houses on a narrow lot, behind a home with a metre and a half of gate, or where the driveway and the mature trees have to survive the job. We run compact track loaders and mini excavators for exactly this: backyard foundation digs, perimeter drain replacements, service trenches through side yards, retaining wall prep, and small pads.

Because we run both compact and full-size equipment, we'll tell you honestly which the job needs. An oversized machine that can't reach the work costs more than a properly sized one; so does two weeks of a mini excavator doing what a real excavator would do in two days. Access, protection of existing surfaces, and restoration are priced up front: in the quote, not in a change order.

How we work on Island ground

We plan for what's actually underground. Vancouver Island ground changes within a single lot: coastal fill, glacial till, hardpan, and bedrock. We read the geotechnical report when there is one, tell you our assumptions when there isn't, and price rock and unsuitable material as a known scope rather than a surprise.

We build for water. High water tables and real rain mean dewatering, drainage, and grading are planned before the bucket goes in, not after the hole fills up.

We verify grade as we build. Layout and grade control are handled in-house, so the pad, the trench, or the foundation you get is the one on the drawings, and quantities and as-builts hold up when someone checks.

We dig safe. Utility locates on every job, exposure of live services before machine excavation, shoring where trenches need it, and WorkSafeBC coverage and insurance documentation available the same day you ask.

Who we work with

Homeowners and builders on residential projects. Developers and general contractors on subdivisions, commercial sites, and institutional work. Municipalities and utilities on servicing and infrastructure. First Nations and their development corporations on community projects. And general contractors who need a capable Indigenous-owned partner to meet participation requirements on larger work.

Get an excavation quote

Planning a project anywhere on Vancouver Island? Send us the drawings, a site plan, or just photos and a description through the chat on our home page or the contact form. Our estimating team will tell you what the job actually involves (machine size, access, ground, and water) and get back to you within one business day, often sooner.