Excavation Services in Pagosa Springs, CO
Animas Excavating is a licensed and insured excavation contractor serving Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, and the Highway 160 corridor across Southwest Colorado. Mike Zarlingo founded the company in Durango in 2018, and our family's roots in the Four Corners go back to 1939. In that time we've completed more than 200 projects across the region, and we hold a 5.0 rating across 24 Google reviews.
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
Services available in Pagosa Springs
One of the hardest parts of any build is juggling subcontractors who don't talk to each other. When site prep runs late, the utility crew can't start, and the whole schedule slips. We handle multiple phases of a project under one contract, which takes most of that coordination problem off your plate.
We work with residential property owners and with the general contractors and developers building across Archuleta County.
Site preparation and grading
Getting a site ready to build in Pagosa Springs is rarely simple. The San Juan Mountains sit on hard rock and shallow bedrock, and that rock doesn't go away just because a permit says the lot is buildable.
For a home, site prep might mean grading a building pad, cutting in a driveway, or shaping a foundation footprint on a sloped lot.
For commercial work, it usually means larger pads, engineered grading plans, and stricter compaction standards. Archuleta County often requires engineered grading plans on steeper or more complex sites, and we work from those plans directly.
Our site preparation page has more on how we approach it.
Grading with 3D smart grade GPS technology
Here's what sets our grading apart. Most crews in this market still grade the old way, with wooden grade stakes and string line that a surveyor has to set and reset as the work goes. We grade with GPS satellite guidance instead, which makes our equipment its own surveyor on site.
That matters most on commercial work. On a typical commercial job, grading this way can take roughly $90,000 of surveying cost out of the project, because there's no surveyor coming back week after week to replace stakes that have been knocked out.
It also means tighter accuracy and a faster schedule. It's the clearest reason a builder or developer working in Archuleta County should put us on the short list.
Sewer line repair
Sewer trouble along the Highway 160 corridor comes up more than people expect. Properties out here run from older in-town lines on municipal systems to rural laterals that haven't been looked at in decades.
Sewer line repair is where Mike started in this business, and it's still some of our most requested work. The causes of failure are predictable. Freeze-thaw cycles crack older pipe, tree roots find their way in, and aging clay or cast iron reaches the end of its life.
We handle the full job, from the connection in the street to the line at the house, including the asphalt, sidewalk, and curb and gutter when we're done. When a repair ties into a municipal or district system, we coordinate with the utility provider and the inspectors on their connection requirements.
There's more on our sewer line repair page.
Septic system site work
Most properties outside the town of Pagosa Springs aren't on municipal sewer. They run on onsite wastewater treatment systems, and installing one in this terrain asks more than it would on flat, forgiving ground.
Shallow bedrock, steep slopes, and high water tables in some areas mean a standard gravity system doesn't work everywhere. Many properties here need an engineered design, reviewed under Colorado's Regulation 43 and Archuleta County's requirements.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sets the baseline, and the county's Water Quality Department applies site-specific review on top of it. We handle the excavation and site work and coordinate closely with the design engineer and the county, which keeps the number of parties you're managing down.
Underground utilities and demolition
Utility work here means dealing with the same hard rock and unstable soils that slow everything else down. We trench for water, sewer service lines, gas, electrical conduit, and communications. Every job starts with a call to Colorado 811 to mark existing lines before any equipment touches the ground.
Demolition covers removing old structures, breaking and hauling concrete, and clearing old foundations before new construction starts. Both usually tie into a larger project, and running them under one scope keeps the timeline tighter than splitting them across contractors.
Retaining walls and road construction
A lot of Pagosa Springs sits on sloped ground, and slopes mean retaining walls. Hillside lots, properties with erosion problems, and sites where a pad has been cut into a grade all need walls built to hold over time. We build them in two main forms, pre-cast engineered concrete block and natural stone, matched to the site and the engineered plan.
Road and driveway work is often the first thing a rural property needs. Before anything else can start, you need access that handles equipment and delivery trucks. We build private driveways, rural access roads, and site access improvements, on their own or as part of a larger package.
Planning a project? Call (970) 403-2787 or request a free estimate.
A local track record on hard ground
Our largest documented project in the area was a public transit facility right here in Pagosa Springs. The total project ran in the range of $9 to $10 million, and our excavation scope came in around $900,000, retaining wall work included.
That kind of work is harder than it looks from the outside, and not because of the dirt. Government projects run heavy on paperwork, certified payroll and Davis-Bacon prevailing wage documentation that has to be filed correctly every pay period. A lot of excavation contractors won't bid public work at all because of that administrative load. We take it on as readily as the fieldwork, which is part of why we can handle the full scope of a project most subs would split up or walk away from.
Across more than 200 completed projects and seven-plus years in the Four Corners, that combination of field capability and follow-through is what's earned us a 5.0 Google rating. You can see more of what we've built on our projects page.
Working in Pagosa Springs terrain
The San Juan Mountains aren’t a forgiving place to learn this work. Hard rock, unpredictable drainage, steep grades, and winters that punish poorly planned site work all shape how a project gets built and what it costs if something goes wrong.
A contractor who works like a guide
Mike Zarlingo founded Animas Excavating in 2018 and still leads the crew. For a lot of our customers, especially people moving in from out of town and building on raw land, he's the first call they make after closing, before the builder or the plumber or the electrician. He treats that role as part contractor, part guide, walking owners through what the site work will actually involve, why it costs what it costs, and who else they'll need to bring in. For a buyer who's never developed land in Archuleta County, that kind of plain explanation is worth as much as the equipment.
That local knowledge also shows up in how we deal with the offices that regulate this work, including the Town of Pagosa Springs Development Department, Archuleta County Development Services, the county's Water Quality Department, Colorado 811, and the CDPHE septic standards.
You can read more about our crew on our About Us page.
Pagosa Springs excavation FAQ
Do I need a permit for excavation or septic work in Pagosa Springs or Archuleta County?
Most excavation that involves utility connections, septic systems, or grading on a regulated lot needs at least one permit, and often more than one. Work inside town goes through the Town of Pagosa Springs Development Department.
Work in unincorporated Archuleta County goes through Archuleta County Development Services, and septic systems are permitted and inspected through the county’s Water Quality Department. Contact us and we’ll walk you through what your project is likely to need.
How does the rocky soil here affect my project?
Hard rock and shallow bedrock are common across Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County. That can mean more equipment time to break and remove material, changes to a standard site plan, and engineered designs for septic systems that account for what the ground can support.
Freeze-thaw cycles also affect grading and drainage in ways they don’t at lower elevations.
What does excavation cost in Pagosa Springs?
It depends on lot size, terrain, soil, scope, and permitting. Rocky or steeply sloped sites generally cost more to prepare than flat lots with easy soil. We provide free estimates after looking at the site, so you get a number tied to your actual conditions instead of a regional average.
Do you work with builders, or only with homeowners?
Both. We work directly with homeowners, and we work as a subcontractor for general contractors and developers on Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County projects. If you’re a builder looking for an excavation sub who knows the local terrain and permitting, reach out for a project-specific conversation.
Communities we serve
We work across Pagosa Springs and the wider Four Corners, including: Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County, Bayfield and the Highway 160 corridor between Durango and Pagosa Springs, and the broader Four Corners region of Southwest Colorado.
The broader Four Corners region of Southwest Colorado
We know how the ground shifts across that stretch, from the softer valley near Bayfield to the harder rock and steeper grades as you climb toward the San Juans. Being based in Durango means rural properties, remote access roads, mountain drainage, and county permitting are familiar ground for us, not something we figure out one project at a time.
Request a Free Estimate
Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you within two hours.
Let’s Work
Request a Free Estimate for your Pagosa Springs Project
Property owners and contractors in Pagosa Springs can reach us by phone or through our contact form. One call or one form gets things started.
Mountain project windows fill up fast. If you're planning work for spring or summer, reach out early to get on the schedule.
Address:
2942 E 4th Ave, Durango, CO 81301
Phone Number:
(970) 403-2787
Email Address:
mike@animasexcavating.com