Okanogan County, Washington
Excavation in Omak and Okanogan, WA
Omak and Okanogan sit on stacked glacial lake terraces. Which terrace you’re on decides what the job actually is.
Core sample
What’s under Omak and Okanogan
- 1Silt loam terracesOn the lake terraces
- 2Gravelly loess over outwash35 to 70 percent rock on the benches
- 3Sand and gravel aquiferSeveral hundred feet deep
- Frost depth 24 inFootings and water lines go below it
Illustration based on the ground notes for Omak, Okanogan and Malott. Not to scale and not a soil test.
Working ground in Omak and Okanogan
What the ground is like
- Three different soils inside a mile. Silt loam on the lake terraces, gravelly loess over outwash on the benches at 35 to 70 percent rock, and clean alluvium on the valley bottom at under 10 percent rock.
- Dune sand shows up between Omak and Malott. Excessively drained, very rapid permeability, and sidewalls in it won’t stand.
- The steep banks between the orchard benches usually limit a job more than the digging does.
- Valley sand and gravel runs several hundred feet deep and is a working aquifer. Shallow wells here yield anywhere from under 10 to 1,000 gallons a minute.
Permits in Omak and Okanogan
Omak and Okanogan each run their own building department. Outside city limits the county critical areas code applies, and disturbed erosion hazard ground has to be reseeded with natives.
Backcountry Excavation LLC is a registered Washington contractor, licensed, bonded and insured. You can check all of it before you hire us.
Services in Omak and Okanogan
What we do in Omak and Okanogan
Site Preparation in Omak and Okanogan
Raw ground turned into a pad you can build on: cleared, stripped, cut to grade and compacted.
See the detailExcavation and Earthwork in Omak and Okanogan
Digging, moving and placing dirt. Foundation holes, bulk earthwork, backfill and haul off.
See the detailGrading and Drainage in Omak and Okanogan
Shaping ground so water leaves the property the way it should, instead of sitting against a building.
See the detailLand Clearing in Omak and Okanogan
Overgrown or wooded ground opened up. Brush, stumps, slash and debris out, site left workable.
See the detailDriveways and Access Roads in Omak and Okanogan
Gravel driveways and access roads built or rebuilt to hold up to weather, grade and loaded trucks.
See the detailUtility Trenching in Omak and Okanogan
Trenching and backfill for water, power and other underground lines, dug to depth and bedded properly.
See the detailFoundation Excavation in Omak and Okanogan
Foundation holes, footings and cutting to concrete grade, ready for the concrete crew.
See the detailStorm Drainage Systems in Omak and Okanogan
Catch basins, storm pipe, culverts and drywells that carry storm water off the property.
See the detailRetaining Walls in Omak and Okanogan
Vertical block and large retaining walls that hold a grade change where dirt alone won’t.
See the detailAsphalt Prep in Omak and Okanogan
Subgrade cut, base rock placed and compacted, grades held so the paving crew can do their job.
See the detailDemolition in Omak and Okanogan
Structures, slabs and hardscape taken down, material hauled off and the ground left clean.
See the detailEmergency work in Omak and Okanogan
Washouts, broken lines, plugged culverts and storm damage. Call or text the owners.
What to do right nowSomething else in Omak and Okanogan?
Most jobs are a combination. Describe what you want to end up with and we’ll work out the pieces.
Tell us about the jobQuestions
Omak and Okanogan questions
You’re based in Chelan. Do you actually come up here?
Yes. Omak and Okanogan are part of our regular service area. Call and we’ll tell you when we can get eyes on it.
What decides the price on a bench lot?
Getting the machine on and off it, and how much rock is in the lower two feet. Both are visible on a site visit, which is why we do one first.
Nearby
Other ground we work
Okanogan County
Brewster, WA
Brewster, Bridgeport and Pateros sit on the Great Terrace of the Columbia. It’s layered, inconsistent ground that was stacked up against a wall of ice, and no two digs there go the same way.
See the groundOkanogan County
Methow Valley, WA
The Methow is cobble and boulder country. Twisp, Winthrop, Carlton and Mazama all sit on it, and it’s the reason a trencher is usually the wrong tool up here.
See the groundChelan County
Chelan, WA
Chelan is home. It’s also where a lot of the hardest ground in the valley is, and most of what makes a job here difficult shows up before the first bucket of dirt moves.
See the groundWhat our machine fits through · How an estimate works · Permits and locates
Call or text the owners
Got a job in Omak and Okanogan?
Tell us where the site is and what you’re trying to get done. We’ll let you know whether we can take it on and roughly when.
(509) 421-1539