Excavation contractor in Highland, CA
Highland sits right at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, and Verdemont Excavation sends Highland requests to a licensed contractor who has worked both halves of it. South of Base Line the lots are older and wider, with citrus history and plenty of room behind the house for an ADU. North and east, the tracts in East Highlands Ranch climb onto the foothills, where backyards are tighter and the soil turns rocky.
Pools are the single biggest job here. East Highlands Ranch backyards often have one side gate and a slope behind the house, so a pool dig means a mini excavator, a skid steer and a lot of truckloads leaving through the front. A typical dig runs $3,500 to $8,500, and haul off is usually the line that surprises people.
The north edge of town has been through the 2003 Old Fire and the 2024 Line Fire, which started in Highland in September 2024. Rebuild and defensible space work keeps coming: clearing burned slopes, regrading pads for new foundations, fire breaks around the house and drainage that keeps winter runoff off a slope that lost its brush.
Highland neighborhoods we cover
Requests around Highland come from East Highlands Ranch, Greenspot Road, the Base Line corridor, the Santa Ana River wash edge, the foothills below the Line Fire burn, covering ZIP 92346. Grading permits here run through the City of Highland Building and Safety Division, and septic systems through San Bernardino County Environmental Health. The permits page has the details, and the cost guide has every range.
Price your Highland job
The address and a photo of the yard get the fastest answer. One licensed contractor who works Highland calls within one business day.
Grading below a burn scar
After a fire the slope above a house sheds water and mud far faster than it did before. Before rebuilding near the burn line, ask the contractor about a drainage swale or a debris basin on the uphill side. It is a few thousand dollars and it protects the new foundation the first winter.
Highland questions, answered
How much is a pool dig in East Highlands Ranch?
Usually $3,500 to $8,500 for the excavation alone. Narrow side yards mean compact machines and more hours, and the spoil almost always leaves the property at $175 to $400 a truckload. Rocky ground near the foothills pushes it toward the top.
Do I need a permit to regrade my lot after the Line Fire?
For a new foundation pad, almost certainly. Highland Building and Safety reviews grading for rebuilds, and burned hillsides often need erosion control and drainage on the plan. Clearing brush for defensible space alone usually does not need a grading permit as long as you are not moving soil.
Can I put an ADU in my backyard in south Highland?
Most single family lots qualify under California ADU law, and the wide older lots south of Base Line are some of the easiest in the area to build on. Site prep for the pad and footings typically runs $4,000 to $11,000, more if a sewer lateral has to be extended.
Does Verdemont Excavation do the work itself?
No. We are a referral service with no contractor license. We publish the ranges and pass your request to one licensed contractor who covers Highland, and they quote, contract and permit the job under their own license.
Verdemont Excavation covers San Bernardino and the east Inland Empire. See the excavation cost guide, or nearby areas: Lake Arrowhead, Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga.