Dig This

Ok DigThis just wrapped up a big project for me. Some context: 1 acre property on a 30 degree slope.
4 years ago I brought in the first of 60 different contractors to excavate 30 football fields (1″ deep) worth of dirt, and install a 120 foot retaining wall («because there was no way to not have a wall»).
1 month ago the wall came down.
Pat, with DigThis, got straight to work with great equipment and his OWN trucks and inside FIVE days. FIVE… brought my hillside not only back, but vastly improved the entire situation. I have perspective of 60 different contractors and had I only known about DigThis, I would’ve saved tens of thousands.
Most impressively, each day they left my yard cleaner than the day before and now that they’re gone, it is seriously tidier and cleaner than it was before they came. Pretty incredible. They will always be my first call going ahead.
Nuke

We had a wonderful experience working with Dig This Inc. Pat and his team were extremely professional, polite and hardworking. We have a large sloped backyard which needed clean up and re-​terracing. We absolutely found the right people for the job and are so happy with the results. They were very flexible and accommodating with fitting us in their schedule and went above and beyond with what we were expecting. Pat and his team were very communicative throughout the project and made sure we were happy with how things were going along the way. Pat’s suggestions for the project were spot on and we now have so much more useable space in our backyard. The team cleaned up and put everything back where it came from at the end. They treated our house and our project like their own. We are truely grateful for all of their hard work.

Well… it’s my turn!!! I don’t even know where to start so I will just tell my story. We bought a house a year ago and have been working on the inside. I couldn’t even bear to look at the back yard. It was AWFUL!!! The whole thing was a complete mess… overgrown, retaining wall falling, dirt, not level, concrete patio that was always green… you get the idea. I called Pat, he came over and immediately I knew I liked him. He was down to earth but obviously knew his business. He quickly provided us with an estimate and was able to start within a week.
The whole crew, Pat, his son Brian, Antonio, Jose and Rick were amazing. For a group working in dirt, they sure kept the place clean!!! I have the cleanest dirt in town!!! They literally had to move a LOT of dirt out, excavate, grade, build a retaining wall, put in drainage, and then bring dirt back in again to build up the back area so it is higher. They totally went above and beyond also. Not only did they clean up the whole backyard, but they even did week abatement on the OTHER side of our fence. I could not be more impressed with these guys. They did everything in a very timely, professional manner and it was a lot of fun watching them maneuver the machinery in and around the back yard.
I would not hesitate to hire these guys again or recommend them to anyone needing this kind of work done.
Also, Fadia in the office, was very efficient and quickly answered any questions we had. All in all, a great experience! I couldn’t be happier!!!

We had Pat, his son Brian and their crew come out too tackle the large flat-​ish lot our «new» home in Orinda was situated on which needed some serious work & leveling … old trees & heavy brush, crazy humps and mounds, a funky 2^nd tier, some serious sloping & water issues towards the house (see the pic!) … we really weren’t sure how to get the whole process of the actual hardscaping started because it was such a mess. And that’s where Pat comes in: after he did exactly what we wanted done around the house (and a bit extra for free) he, after listening to our ideas, made some smart (with no hard sell at all) suggestions about what we might want to do next. Now we have our «canvas» — hard packed, clean and ready for our landscaping choices … which he’ll be giving us a hand with as well.
If you’re looking for a capable, professional and easy to be around landscaping /​earth moving crew then Pat & Dig This Inc should be your first phone call. Prices were reasonable too — no hidden charges etc. … just a good positive experience throughout.

So «Dig This» I was setting out to restructure my entire backyard after almost 50 years of planting and growing some now very large trees and dense vegetation. New yard plans along with a water conservation prospective left me needing major excavation to make it happen.
Pat, his son and the awesome crew from Dig This made the first step in my yard remodeling a breeze.
These guys came in and downed 7 very large and a few smaller trees, several bushes and all the vegetation around and under them along with pulling up and neatly stacking hundreds of pavers, removed a retaining wall and dismantled a shed. They worked pretty much non stop for 2 days. Completely professional and masterful at their trade. They were very skillful at bringing down very large trees and were impeccably precise in excavation equipment operation.
The entire crew was completely respectful in communicating with us and amongst themselves while working in our yard and also mindful and respectful of our property and of our neighbors while they maneuvered the equipment and dump trucks in our court.
They left a very clean and beautifully prepped area for our new endeavor.
We paid a very fair price for all the work that was completed and we’re not charged a cent more than the original quote. Not to mention it was quite a show and interesting just to watch these guys work.
So «Dig This» we are completely satisfied with Dig This and would highly recommend them if this is the type of services you need.
Sincerely in Antioch, Ca

If I could give Pat and his team 10 stars, I would. I was referred to him by a friend who was very happy with the work he did for her back yard. I called Pat to get an estimate for demolishing a HUGE barn that sat right in the middle of our 1.5 acre parcel. Pat promptly came out to give me a bid for not only demo’ing the barn but also excavating the property as well. The bid was extremely reasonable (I had already received several bids so I knew his numbers was far less than others). Several weeks later, he delivered on his promise. It was so incredible to watch the demolition — his crew was so professional, clean and they delivered on exactly what they said they would do. Our backyard looks *amazing* with the help of his excavating expertise.
I would highly recommend Dig This and Pat to anyone. He can make things happen where others say it isn’t possible. He is prompt, professional and wonderful to work with! My husband I are extremely satisfied with the work they did for us!

Unfortunately Pat wasn’t able to serve my area, as I’m in Oakland. But I explained my issue to him and he gave me a good 5 minutes of free advise on things I should look at and test before spending thousands of dollars on a french drain/​sump pump. Great guy, just wish he could drive to Oakland!

Pat Ward and his team really worked with the Acalanes Softball program and Boosters to address our poor drainage and ratty field conditions. Despite rain delays, he stayed with our job and installed French drains to handle runoff from another field, which was quickly tested in succeeding rains. The crew leveled the infield and spread cinder mix, filled uneven areas in the outfield with top soil/​sand and added grass seed. The result looks like a million bucks, which clearly was not in the sports budget! I highly recommend Dig This for your field project.

Can’t say enough good things about these guys! We needed some work done on a large project we took on which included a complete ground up build. Brian came in and not only helped dig pier holes for our foundation but dig out all of our utility lines and graded our whole lot! Completely experienced, he made everything seem like it was easy. He knew exactly what to do each time and got in and out with no headache… I would definitely hire them to do any dirt removal or grading of any kind. If I could add stars I would …

Very professional crew. We had a swimming pool filled in, and the cost was totally reasonable compared to the other bid we had. We are very happy! Pat is a very nice guy, and easy to talk to. I would highly recommend them. One tip for other who are filling in their pools: the bobcat is very heavy (and it hauls so much dirt) and will be hard on anything it rolls over. You will lose all plants in its path, but he told us that ahead of time. We had a cracked concrete patio on the side of our house, and it really cracked and buckled more under the weight. Just a heads up for anyone filling in a pool. It’s unavoidable, but worth it. (Now we don’t have deal with a leaking pool, not to mention all the work to keep it clean when hardly anyone used it…)

We hired Pat to grade our entire lot — front and back yard — to a new lot look so we could rebuild, remodel, and re landscape with a clean slate. Pat and his team did a fantastic job with draining, grading, and digging a new foundation. Highly recommend! Everything they did exceeded our expectations.

Pat and his team did an awesome job building a 120 foot wide retaining wall that was 8 feet tall at my home in Orinda. He was one of the three contractors who bid on the job and I was very impressed with his knowledge of the Lamorinda area and the soil that occupied my hillside. I read through all his Unilocal reviews, followed up with his references (one who worked for the city of Orinda) and decided to move forward. The project took 2 – 3 weeks to complete and he provided me an update almost daily of the progress. His team was very prompt and showed up every morning at 8am and stayed until 4−5pm. I’m very happy with Dig This and the work that they did to stabilize my hill side and increase the square footage in my backyard. Happy to be a reference

Found Dig This through Unilocal,met with Pat and immediately knew all the high Unilocal reviews were accurate and that we would work with him (yes, we had other bids as well). We had them remove all the old hardscape in our backyard and the crumbling retaining wall. Pat made great recommendations on improving our drainage as well. Demolition was quick and very careful of the foundation and house. He listened to us, understood what we wanted, and made great suggestions. His son and the crew built us a great new stone retaining wall, you can see the pictures of their work on Unilocal,it really looks that good! The hardscape replacement is just what we wanted and looks great. His crew laid a fantastic flagstone path just where we wanted, looks so good! After the first good rain of this season, drainage worked perfectly in the yard and from all the gutter downspouts they routed to their suggested dry well, perfect. They laid conduits for spa electrical connection and gas line connection for a fire pit perfectly. His entire crew is professional, courteous, and just does a great job. Their estimate was fair, and right on. They worked fast and finished on time as estimated. Don’t know what else to say, Pat knows how to run a top notch business. I wouldn’t hesitate to be a reference for them, and he is the only call we’ll make when we get the front yard and driveway re-​done. Oh, and you can trust him on a hand shake… so rare today! If you don’t call Pat for a consult and estimate, you’re crazy. Thanks Dig This!

We couldn’t be more pleased with the work that was done at our home by Pat and his crew. He is reliable, trustworthy and dedicated to his customers. He will deliver a product that is well beyond your dreams. If you need excavation work … He is the man to call.

pat runs his business in the most unprofessional manner, that I have ever seen!
I live on a steep downslope in contra costa co, I’ve had drainage issues for years mostly because the street is in disrepair.
I did all my homework, talking to the city about repair, getting a detailed soils report from a soils engineer and then was recommended to pat. he came in the middle of a rain downpour on dec 10, 2014, he stood in my driveway in the middle of the storm, looked me in the eyes and said,
«don’t worry,
I will take care of this,
I see exactly what needs to be done,
trust me!
it won’t be cheap,
probably $ 20,000,
we can probably do it the first week or two in jan 2015»
1 month later, he had not called me, I called him. he said «next week». 1 month later yet, he still had not contacted me about a start date.
THEN, ²¹⁄₂ months after he stood in my driveway and said «don’t worry», he left me a voice message!
«just off the top of my head, I haven’t worked out the details, we’ll need to repair the driveway, French drains, create a drainage pit, tie in all the drains. it will be at least $ 50,000 maybe $ 60,000. are you ok with this? I will not do a bandaid job. you’ll need to get a landscaper. hopefully, you are ok with this. goodbye».
after stringing me along for 2 ½ months, he has the audacity to give me a voicemail estimate that was 2 ½ x his original quote (because now he has gotten busy and wasn’t interested in my «small job» anymore).
terrible experience!
beware!

Pat and his Dig This crew just completed removing my pool and did a fantastic job.
They were clean and neat in their work and tidied up every day before they finished.
When problems occurred Pat was here to explain the situation and offer a solution.
Pat’s son Brian was outstanding in his workmanship and ability to devise innovative
ways to solve problems. All in all I can recommend them highly.
Al

I called up Pat @ Dig This to check out my pool. Initially we wanted a removal but decided against it since we needed the money for our backyard remodel.
Their bid was lower than the others we got, especially since he and his crew were able to get by our AC unit (other firms wanted $ 3k to remove and replace). I think that is the Dig This advantage. They really do «Dig Tight Spots».
We had a 45,000 gallon pool and 2 side yards of concrete to remove. Dig This did the job in 4 days, filled in the hole with dirt and graded our yard for proper drainage. Their communication skills are top notch, very attentive to phone calls and text messages.
We weren’t home during the demo, but they sent us over 40 pictures of the entire process. We didn’t have any problems and the final product is exactly what we had envisioned. They also took out our backyard lawn in the process — something we had asked for.
Pat and his crew did such a good job that we will call them back to come demo our driveway when we get to that project. If you need some digging, pool removal project or ANYTHING that requires a Bobcat in your backyard, Dig This is the company I would go for.
An added benefit — Dig This is also in the topsoil business — we needed some good high quality dirt for our front yard and they came through with a great price.
I appreciate a local guy with good heart when I choose anyone to work on our yard.

Pat Ward, son Brian, Brian’s Amigo and Rick did an amazing job here in Lafayette. Totally exceeded expectations. Beat his own time and cost estimate. Did great work, did more than asked and was super attentive to the neighborhood NIMBY crowd! Awe and then Some. We will have them back again.

We’ve used Dig This Inc for several different jobs at all of our properties. Pat is very professional, punctual, and shows up exactly when he says he will. Dig This know’s what they’re doing and they’ve been doing it for a long time. You can tell by the quality and condition of their trucks and equipment that this company means business. We’ve had them do drainage, grading, excavating, demo, and tons of hard to access jobs that know one else was willing to take on. These guys are magicians with a tractor. Dig This Inc also provides our business with the highest quality top soil in the area. Great for planting, gardening, lawns, etc.
I high recommend this company to anyone who needs work done and want’s it done right the first time! 5+ Stars in my book Thanks for the service.

This review is based on customer service and the quote — we went another direction with our project so didn’t need Dig This Inc’s services.
Pat showed up, was super congenial, gave a written quote, and made me feel confident he’d get the job dine well. IMO, half of the battle with a contractor is getting them to show up — and Pat did. Nice guy. I’d recommend them.