Service
Foundation Removal and Backfill in Oakville
When a house comes down, what is left in the ground is often the hardest part: poured or block basement walls, footings, a concrete slab and the old weeping tile around the perimeter. Foundation removal breaks all of that out and hauls it away so the builder can dig on clean ground.
Bolan removes foundations and backfills excavations for builders and homeowners across Oakville and Halton, usually as the final stage of a residential demolition and sometimes on lots where the house came down earlier.
What's included
- Basement walls broken out, whether poured concrete or block
- Footings and interior piers removed
- Basement slab broken and hauled
- Old weeping tile and drainage stone pulled out
- Temporary fencing around an open excavation when the builder is digging next
- Backfill and compaction in lifts where scoped, to the builder's grading plan
- Clean concrete separated for recycling where the site allows
How the job runs
Site walk
We look at the foundation, the neighbouring houses, trees and the builder's plan for the hole.
Written finish
The scope states whether the excavation is left open and fenced, or backfilled, and to what grade.
Break-out
Walls, footings and slab are broken with an excavator-mounted breaker and loaded onto trucks.
Drainage and debris
Weeping tile, stone and loose fill are removed so the bottom of the excavation is clear.
Open or filled
The hole is fenced for the builder, or filled and compacted in layers to the grading plan.
Handover
The site and street are cleaned and the lot is returned with the agreed finish.
Before we start
If the house is still standing, the demolition permit comes from Town of Oakville Building Services; our Town requirements guide walks through it.
Bringing in or moving large amounts of fill can fall under the Town's Site Alteration By-law, so the grading plan and any fill approvals should be settled before backfill is added to the scope.
The OHSA section 30 duty applies here too: the owner must identify designated substances before arranging the work, and older foundations can carry asbestos in parging, pipe wrap or old tile left on the slab. A qualified abatement contractor deals with those under O. Reg. 278/05 before we break anything. Our crew does not carry out abatement.
Trucks come in over the driveway and apron, which our driveway and lawn guide covers. For slabs, driveways and steps on their own, see our concrete removal service.
Photos from our jobs
Residential demolition
Questions we hear
- Should the foundation come out with the house or later?
- Most builders have us remove it in the same mobilisation, right after the house comes down, because the machine and trucks are already on site. Some prefer to leave it until just before excavation so the lot stays safer and tidier in the meantime. Both work; the choice depends on your permit timing and how long the lot will sit.
- Why remove the old weeping tile?
- Old clay or plastic tile and the stone around it can hold water and soft material at the edge of the new dig. Pulling it out with the foundation gives the builder a clear, firm perimeter to work from and removes a drainage path that no longer serves anything once the house is gone.
- What does backfill to a grading plan mean?
- It means filling the excavation to the levels set out on the builder's or engineer's plan rather than simply pushing soil in. Fill is placed and compacted in layers so it settles less over time. We only backfill where it is part of the scope, and we confirm the target levels with your builder beforehand.
- Is the open hole left unfenced?
- No. When the builder is excavating next and the hole stays open, we put up temporary fencing around it before we leave. That keeps people out of a deep excavation between our work and theirs, which matters on residential streets where children, cyclists and dog walkers pass every day.
Talk to us about your project
Tell us what needs to come down and where. We'll arrange a site visit and send you a written scope. Calls are answered 24/7.
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