Recent Work
Foundation & Excavation Project Gallery
Real foundation and excavation work from across central Illinois.
Footing digs, basements, crawl spaces, garages, and pole barn footings. Square corners, accurate grade, drainage tied in. Mattoon, IL — 60-mile radius.
📞 Call (217) 809-0779 Free EstimateA foundation that's dug right makes the next ten steps go fast. The wall crew sets up easy, the concrete crew pours clean, and the building sits on ground that won't move. A foundation that's dug rough costs you in time and concrete every step after.
Brohez Trucking LLC handles foundation excavation across central Illinois — footing digs, full basement digs, crawl spaces, garage and pole barn foundations, and addition footings. Square corners, depth to print, and ground left clean enough that the next crew can get right to work.
The fundamentals matter: locate properly, stake true, dig square, hold the depth, and watch your spoils. One contractor for the dig, the spoils handling, the foundation drain rough-in, and the backfill once the walls are up.
Building new? We'll meet your concrete crew on-site, walk through the access, and figure out the best sequence — when to dig, when to pour, when to backfill. Adding on? We'll work around the existing structure carefully. Pole barn? Hole-by-hole or trenched as your post crew prefers.
Different foundations need different digs. Here's how we approach the common types in central Illinois.
Strip the topsoil and stockpile it. Cut a hole roughly the building footprint plus 2–3 feet on each side for working room around the walls. Hold depth to the basement floor elevation, leave a ramp for the wall crew, stockpile or haul spoils, rough in the foundation drain. Standard depth in central Illinois is 8–9 feet finished — about 9.5–10.5 feet of dig from finished grade.
Shallower than a basement (typically 4–5 feet) but with the same accuracy requirements. Square corners, even depth across the footprint, perimeter footing trench dug to print. We rough in the perimeter drainage and a vent rough-in if the prints call for it.
The cheapest and fastest foundation if your soil cooperates. Strip topsoil, cut to subgrade, dig the thickened-edge perimeter trench (typically 16–24 inches wide, 36–48 inches deep to clear frost), and compact the pad. Common for detached garages, shops, and some additions.
Trench around the building footprint to footing depth (below frost line — see below), dig stepped footings on sloping ground, and leave room for the wall crew to form and pour. Used for homes without basements, additions, garages, and a lot of pole-barn-on-foundation builds.
Hole-by-hole footings for posts, dug to the print's diameter and depth. Or trenched perimeter footings if your post crew prefers. We coordinate so the post crew can come in and set the same day if access allows.
Three things shape every foundation excavation in central Illinois, and ignoring any of them costs you later:
Frost depth. Footings have to bear below the frost line — the depth ground regularly freezes. Coles and surrounding counties sit in the 36–42 inch zone in the IBC frost-depth map. Anything shallower will heave. We dig footings to a minimum 42 inches in our area, deeper where the prints or the local code official specify.
Heavy clay soil. The Drummer, Flanagan, and Sable silty-clay-loam series dominate central Illinois. Good news: it bears load well once compacted, and it doesn't drain a foundation hole fast (so backfilling stays clean). Bad news: it holds water against your wall if you don't get the foundation drainage right. Perforated tile in clean stone along the footing, tied to a real outlet, is non-negotiable. We rough it in while we're already there.
Water tables and farm tile. Some sites in low-lying ground or near drainage swales have a seasonal high water table 4–6 feet down. If we hit water in a basement dig, we deal with it: trash pump on a sump, dewater the hole while the walls go up. Farm ground especially can have clay tile drainage lines running through the footprint — we sound them out and reroute or rebuild as needed. Knowing what's under the ground in advance is part of why we walk the site before we bid.
Local code and inspection. Different jurisdictions in central Illinois have different inspection requirements. We dig to print, but if the AHJ wants something specific (e.g. step-down footings on slope, deeper bearing on soft spots, larger spread on heavy loads), we handle that on-site with the inspector and your concrete crew.
We don't post fixed prices because every foundation is a different volume of dirt — but the variables are predictable:
Call (217) 809-0779 or send us your prints and we'll come look — free, no obligation.
Whether it's a footing trench or a full basement, the steps are the same.
Walk the site, look at the prints, talk through access, depth, drainage, and spoils. Free estimate with a clear scope and timeline.
Utility locates called in. Building corners and elevation marks set so the crew can see the dig before we start.
Strip topsoil off the footprint and stockpile. Open the basement or footing trench to depth and width per the prints. Square corners, true to grade.
Spoils stockpiled on-site for backfill, spread across the property, or hauled off — whichever fits the job. Dump trucks if we're moving material off.
If called for, perforated foundation drain laid along the footing in clean gravel and tied to a real outlet. Downspout drain runs roughed in while the trench is open.
Hand off to the concrete crew clean. Once walls are up and waterproofed, we backfill in lifts, compact, and grade for surface drainage away from the foundation.
From a single footing to a full basement.
New home basement excavation. Square, deep, and ready for the wall crew to set up. Ramps included.
Perimeter, interior bearing, and pier footings dug to width and depth per the prints. Spoils handled.
Crawl space digs for new builds and additions. Right depth, square corners, drainage roughed in.
Detached garage and shop building foundations — slab-on-grade with thickened edges or full perimeter footings.
Hole-by-hole or trenched post footings sized for the building. Coordinated with the post-set crew.
Tight-access foundation excavation for additions, sunrooms, and second-story bumps. Mini excavator where the big iron can't go.
Perforated drain pipe in clean gravel along the footing, tied to a real outlet. Done while we're already there saves a second mobilization.
Once the walls are waterproofed, backfill in lifts, compact, and grade away from the foundation so water moves away from the building.
Real foundation and excavation work from across central Illinois.
Depends on size, depth, soil type, spoils handling, and whether it's footings only, crawl space, or full basement. Free estimate — call (217) 809-0779.
Yes. Square corners, accurate depth, ramps for the wall crew, spoils stockpiled or hauled off as you prefer.
Yes — perimeter, interior bearing, and pier footings dug to width and depth per the prints.
Yes — both, plus pole barn footings of any spec.
Foundation drains roughed in along the footing while we're already trenching. Tied to a real outlet.
Stockpile on-site for backfill, regrade across the property, or haul off — your call.
60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — Decatur, Champaign, Effingham, Charleston, Urbana, Sullivan, Tuscola, Shelbyville, Pana, and Terre Haute.
Brohez Trucking LLC delivers foundation excavation across a 60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — into Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Shelby, Moultrie, Effingham, Edgar, Clark, Champaign, and Macon counties, plus over the line into Vigo County, Indiana. Pick your town below for local details, or call (217) 809-0779 for a free estimate anywhere in the radius.
Call us before the concrete crew shows up. No pressure, no obligation — just a straight number.
(217) 809-0779 📞 Call For Free Estimate Send A MessageOpen daily, 7am–7pm · Mattoon, IL · 60-mile service radius