Excavation Company in Cortez, CO
Animas Excavating is a licensed and insured General Excavation Contractor working across Cortez, Montezuma County, and the wider Four Corners region. We're based in Durango, about 45 miles east, and we've been putting infrastructure in the ground out here since 2018.
Most of the people who call us have bought a raw piece of land and aren't sure what comes first. That's the part we're good at. We'll walk you through what the parcel needs, what each phase costs, and why, before anyone signs anything.
Mike Zarlingo founded the company, and his family has been in the Four Corners since 1939. Our crew is local and homegrown, and it's the same crew whether the job is in Durango, Mancos, or Cortez.
5.0 Star on Google
7+ Years Serving the Four Corners
Certified OWTS Installer
Site Preparation
Excavation
Underground Utilities
Septic Systems
Sewer Line Repair
Demolition
Retaining Walls
Road Construction
Land Clearing
Grading
Our Construction Services
Residential excavation in Cortez
If you've just closed on land near Cortez, you need an excavator before you need almost anyone else. Nothing else on the site can start until the land is cleared, graded, and has utilities and a septic system in place.
We handle that whole sequence, and we'll connect you with the builders, plumbers, and electricians you'll need next. Mike thinks of himself as a teacher more than a salesman, and that shows up in how the first conversation goes. You'll get a plain explanation of the work, not a pitch.
Our residential construction page covers what this looks like from start to finish.
One honest thing worth saying up front: raw land costs more to develop than most buyers expect. We've watched people add up clearing, grading, utilities, septic, and a driveway and decide not to build at all. We'd rather give you real numbers early, while you can still plan around them.
Underground utilities and access road construction in Cortez
Utilities and access usually come right after clearing. We trench and install water lines, electrical conduit, gas, and sewer connections, then build the road or driveway that gets equipment and eventually you onto the property. Access road construction means clearing the route, cutting the grade, setting culverts where water crosses, laying road base, and compacting it so it holds up through runoff season. Done right, it's the last time you think about it. Done cheap, you're regrading every spring.
Land clearing and grading services in Cortez
Clearing usually starts with brush, trees, and stumps, then rough grading to get the site workable. Finish grading shapes the building pad and moves water away from where the house will sit. On larger residential jobs and most commercial work, we grade using 3D smart grade GPS satellite technology instead of grade stakes and string line. Our site preparation page explains the process in more detail.
Septic system and OWTS installation in Cortez
OWTS stands for onsite wastewater treatment system, which is what Colorado and county health departments call a septic system. Plenty of parcels around Cortez have no municipal sewer connection, so an approved system has to be permitted and installed before you can build. We install standard systems and engineered systems, including mounded systems and advanced treatment units for difficult terrain or a high water table. We don't guess at what a site needs. We do soil analysis to determine which system is right for the ground you actually have. Mike is a licensed OWTS installer on the La Plata County Public Health roster. Septic permitting in Montezuma County runs through Montezuma County Public Health, which adopted its own local regulations in addition to Colorado's Regulation 43. More on the process is on our septic system and OWTS installation page.
Sewer line repair in Cortez
A failed sewer line is usually bigger than a plumbing problem. If the lateral has gone bad along its length, the fix means opening the ground from the main to the house. We cut the asphalt, locate and tap the main, run the new line in, backfill with special flow fills and special backfills, then patch the asphalt, the sidewalk, and the curb and gutter. It’s one contract and one crew from the street to your cleanout. Mike cut his teeth in this business doing sewer line repair, and it’s still work we take personally. Our sewer line repair page has the full breakdown.
3D smart grade GPS technology
We're a technology company that happens to do excavation. Instead of a surveyor setting grade stakes that get knocked over and reset week after week, our machines are guided to grade by GPS satellite, using the same equipment surveyors use.
On the commercial jobs we take, that's cut roughly $90,000 in surveying costs off a project. On residential work, it mostly shows up as accuracy and fewer days on site.
Commercial excavation in Cortez
For developers and general contractors, we handle site clearing and stripping, cut and fill earthwork, building pad preparation, utility trenching, drainage and erosion control, and road base work. Our wheelhouse is projects with dirt work up to about $1.5 million.
We also do government and municipal work, which a lot of contractors won't touch because of the paperwork. Certified payroll and Davis-Bacon wage documentation don't slow us down, and that's kept us on public projects other bidders skip.
You can see completed work on our projects page, and our commercial construction page covers scope and capability in more depth.
What the work costs and how we bid it
Estimates are free and there’s no obligation. Call, text, or email, and we’ll set up a short exploration call to see whether we’re the right fit for what you’re doing. If we are, we come look at the parcel, pull your plans, talk to the permitting offices, and put a written bid in your inbox.
If the scope is clear, we bid a fixed cost so you have a hard number. If site conditions are uncertain, we’ll do a time and materials contract and explain exactly where the uncertainty is. Most residential work doesn’t need a deposit. Material-heavy jobs like a septic install typically run 50 percent down.
Once we start, we invoice weekly for the work completed that week. No surprise bill at the end.
Call (970) 403-2787 or request a free estimate.
Serving Cortez and the Montezuma County area
Cortez sits inside our regular working territory, not at the edge of it. We run projects across the region from our Durango yard, and Cortez is a straightforward reach on Highway 160.
Our confirmed service area covers:
- Durango
- Bayfield
- Hesperus
- Mancos
- Cortez
- Pagosa Springs
Every parcel out here is a little different. Hard rock is a real factor across Southwest Colorado and it changes both cost and schedule, so we'd rather find it during the estimate than halfway through the dig. When we hit rock, we break it mechanically with hydraulic hammers and breakers mounted on the excavator.
Frequently asked questions about excavation in Cortez, CO
Do I need a septic system on my Cortez property?
If the parcel isn’t connected to municipal sewer, then yes, you’ll need a permitted OWTS before you can build. Montezuma County Public Health reviews the application and issues the permit. We do soil analysis on site to figure out which system the ground will support, and we’ll tell you what that means for your budget before you commit.
What does it cost to get a raw parcel ready to build near Cortez?
It depends on what the land needs. Clearing, grading, utility trenching, a septic system, and an access road each carry their own cost, and hard rock can move the number in a hurry. That’s why we walk the site before quoting anything. The estimate is free.
Do you do both residential and commercial excavation in Cortez?
Yes. Residential ranges from clearing a single lot to putting all the infrastructure in on raw land. Commercial covers site work, pad prep, utilities, and drainage on projects with dirt work up to about $1.5 million, including public and municipal jobs with certified payroll requirements.
Can you handle hard rock?
Yes. Rock is common across this region and we’re set up for it. We break it mechanically with hydraulic hammers and breakers. When we find rock during the estimate, we tell you then, not after the invoice.
Do you charge for estimates?
No. Free estimates are just part of how we bid. You’ll get either a fixed-cost number or a time and materials structure depending on how clear the scope is.
Why Cortez property owners work with us
We've been at this in the Four Corners for more than seven years and have over 200 completed projects behind us. We hold a 5.0 rating on Google across 24 reviews and an A+ rating with the BBB with zero complaints. We're fully insured and bonded, and we're a registered FMCSA carrier, so our own trucks haul our own material.
Mike handles first contact on every project. Our foreman Ben Keil runs the crews day to day, and he started here with no experience at all before working his way up to running jobs. That's the kind of company this is.
You can read more about the crew on our about us page, or see the full range of work on our excavation services page.
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Let’s Work
Get a free estimate for your Cortez project
Tell us about the property and what you're trying to build. We'll talk through what it needs and get you a written bid.
Serving Cortez, Mancos, Durango, Bayfield, Hesperus, Pagosa Springs, and the Four Corners region.
Address:
2942 E 4th Ave, Durango, CO 81301
2942 E 4th Ave, Durango, CO 81301
Phone Number:
(970) 403-2787
(970) 403-2787
Email Address:
mike@animasexcavating.com
mike@animasexcavating.com