Horst Excavating & Excavation FAQ

Horst Excavating is based in Lancaster, PA, but we have projects that span the Mid Atlantic region. We consistently work on construction projects across Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

We offer a wide range of commercial excavating services including project planning, preconstruction, site excavation, underground utility installation, road and infrastructure construction, erosion control, soil remediation, demolition, and land clearing.

Whether we are your primary contractor or a member of the subcontracting team, we’ll deliver high-quality, efficient, and safe excavation services in a cost-conscious manner.

Click here to learn more about the excavating services we offer.

Typically, we work on contracts that are within the $30,000 – $20,000,000 range.

Regardless of size, we ensure each project is allotted the talent and attention required to complete it successfully.

We absolutely work for other construction companies. Horst Excavating is its own, independent business entity. We aim to be a valuable, trusted member of any construction team. While we’re proud to be a member of the Horst family, we can ensure there are no conflicts of interest due to our affiliation with Horst Construction.

Horst Excavating has extensive experience working on projects in the following industries or market sectors: commercial, industrial, municipal, educational, residential communities, parks, athletic fields, environmental, and energy.

Our team includes excavating professionals with varying areas of expertise, and we hand-select the project team that best suits each project’s needs. Because we have deliberately grown our business within these specific market sectors, we have a deeper understanding of the challenges and unique aspects of each.

Click here for a look at some of our recent work within each segment.

Not typically. Horst Excavating is a commercial excavator, meaning we focus primarily on projects for organizations, businesses, industrial facilities, schools, churches, etc. We do not do residential projects, except for working with developers creating large, residential communities.

Horst Excavating began in 1961 as a way to provide equipment and services for Horst Construction projects. However, over the past 60 years, Horst Excavating has grown to become its own independent business, working as a primary contractor for owners, and working as a subcontractor for a wide range of construction companies – not just Horst Construction.

For more about our company’s history and values, click here.

For most projects, the excavators are among the first teams on site, quite literally laying the groundwork upon which the rest of the project will be built. It’s essential to the success of the project that this work is done correctly.

At Horst Excavating, we recognize this, and we do everything we can to get the project off to the right start. Not only will we bring our experience, attention to safety, and the latest technology and equipment to your project, but we’ll also bring integrity, quality, and attention to detail.

Whether we’re brought in early to assist with the budgets and design process, or just before the project kicks off, we’ll approach the project with an emphasis on collaboration, relationship building, and doing the right things the right way.

Thanks for your interest in working with Horst Excavating! If you’d like to be added to our bidders list, please go to our Subcontractor Registration page and complete the form. We’ll get you prequalified and entered into our system.

Hiring us as a prime contractor means we’ll work directly for you, the project owner. You’ll hold the contract with us with no in-between.

As a subcontractor, we’ll still be working for the owner, but indirectly. We’ll have a contract with the general contractor, design/build firm, or construction manager that’s leading your project.

There is a wide variety of equipment that excavators will use on your project, depending on the services required and scope of the job.

Perhaps one of the most widely used piece of equipment is the excavator. This large vehicle typically has a bucket attached via an arm. It is used for a variety of tasks, such as earth digging, demolition, and handling materials. A variety of attachments can be added to the excavator as well to perform different functions, like compactors and breakers. Other popular equipment includes articulated trucks, dump trucks, backhoes, dozers, graders, rollers, scrapers, and loaders.

Depending on the time of year, the duration, and scope of your project, it can be normal to lose a few days of work to weather. Heavy rains that saturate the ground can make doing any type of earth work difficult, as mud gets caught in the machines and needs to be scraped out regularly.

In addition to wet weather, windy weather can also cause delays. Blowing dust, dirt, and aggregate may create unsafe working conditions. Some equipment, like dump trucks, can’t operate during very high winds. Extremely hot or cold weather can slow down progress as well.

Experienced excavators plan for time lost due to weather, meaning a few rainy days shouldn’t throw off your project’s schedule. While one task may be impossible on a rainy day, excavators can move to another task to keep the job moving.

Click here for more on how weather impacts an excavating site.

From digging out the building’s foundation to laying the underground utilities, anything that goes below grade will displace dirt. If that dirt is contaminate-free, it can be used on other parts of the job, like grading or filling in holes.

Depending on the intricacies of your project, you’ll either have just enough dirt for on-site applications, too much, or not enough. If you have too much, local organizations like parks and schools are often happy to take it for landscaping purposes. If your site doesn’t have enough dirt, it can be imported from other job sites that have an excess.

Click here to see more of the applications of displaced construction dirt.