Excavation and land clearing in Portland, Maine.
Excavation in Portland is rarely a raw-land job. Most of the city was built out long ago, so the work is usually infill: a foundation for an addition, a drainage trench along an old house, a new driveway, or clearing a back lot in outer Deering or on one of the islands. The ground is often a mix of fill, old utilities and clay, and the access is often a single narrow driveway.
We run our own excavation equipment, so one crew handles clearing, foundation and site excavation, drainage trenching and commercial retention pond work. In Portland, several code provisions set the terms.
Utilities and erosion control
The Land Use Code requires development within 200 feet of the public sanitary sewer system to connect to the nearest available sewer. The Portland Water District, working in partnership with the city, provides Portland's wastewater services, including collection. Where public sewer is not available, a private system must meet Chapter 24 of the City Code and the Technical Manual.
In the Shoreland Overlay Zone, which extends 250 feet from rivers, tidal water and coastal wetlands and 75 feet from streams, any permitted filling, grading or excavation needs a written erosion and sedimentation control plan based on the Maine Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook. The permit application names the person who will oversee the soil disturbance, and the controls stay in place until the ground is stabilized.
Clearing near the water
Tree clearing near the shore follows strict numbers. Within 75 feet of the high-water line or a wetland, the code allows no cleared opening larger than 250 square feet in the forest canopy, requires a well-distributed stand of trees to remain, and limits removal to 40 percent of the volume of trees four inches or more in diameter in any ten-year period. Areas of two or more contiguous acres with slopes of 20 percent or greater fall into the Resource Protection subdistrict.
On the islands, those limits often decide where a house, driveway or septic field can go. The IR-1 zone caps building coverage at 20 percent and requires 70 percent landscaped open space, so clearing is planned to the footprint rather than the whole lot.
The Maine Geological Survey describes how glacial seawater once covered low-lying southern Maine and left the silts and clays of the Presumpscot Formation. Where excavation hits that fine-grained material, it drains slowly, so trenches and foundation cuts are planned with dewatering and free-draining backfill in mind.
Land Clearing · Site Work · Trenching
How we handle excavation & land clearing
We run our own excavation equipment, which means one crew takes your project from raw ground to ready: land clearing, foundation and site excavation, drainage trenching, and retention pond mowing and trenching for commercial properties.
See the full excavation & land clearing service page or everything we do in Portland, Maine.
Excavation & Land Clearing in nearby towns
- Excavation & Land Clearing in South Portland
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Falmouth
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Westbrook
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Scarborough
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Cape Elizabeth
More services in Portland
- Hardscaping in Portland
- Retaining Walls in Portland
- Landscaping in Portland
- Landscape Design in Portland
- Planting & Garden Beds in Portland
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Portland
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Portland
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Portland
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Portland
- Septic Systems in Portland
- Tree & Shrub Services in Portland
- Tree Removal in Portland
Sources for the local facts on this page
Free Estimates
Excavation & Land Clearing in Portland? Let's talk.
Tell us about your property and we will walk it with you — free estimates, straight answers, stonework guaranteed to hold its lines.
Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine