Sinkhole Removal

Phil’s Excavating - Your Excavating Partner

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Phil’s Excavating will inspect your sinkhole and decide, with your input, the best way to find the cause of your sinkhole and how to eliminate it. We will give you an estimate of the work involved, but since the cause and size of the sinkhole is typically unknown, a firm price is impossible.

While the work is underway, we will do everything possible to protect your property. When the job is complete, your property will be graded. 

Contact Phil’s Excavating now to have your sinkholes inspected and get an explanation and an honest, fair and free estimate on what work is needed to correct your problem. We are an excavating company that is licensed (MA Home Improvement Contractor #146190) and fully insured. 

Sinkhole  Explanation

Sinkholes are holes in the ground that suddenly appear, often with no apparent cause. They can be small to very large and they can be dangerous. People may sprain or break an ankle in a small hole while cars and houses have disappeared in large holes.

Sinkholes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are not usually the large type found in Florida. In our area, they are usually caused by rotting organic material such as stumps or construction debris that were buried by a contractor or property owner. An abandoned well, old cellar or cesspool are other possibilities. 

A homeowner can attempt to fill in a small hole, but if the hole opens up again, it’s best to have an excavating company dig it out to determine the cause. Be careful if you try to dig it up yourself. It’s possible that you could fall into an old cesspool or well and get seriously hurt.

Larger holes will have to be dug up by an excavating company. The excavator will dig around to determine the cause. If it’s old stumps or construction material, it will have to be removed. Abandoned wells, cellars and cesspools can probably be filled in.

If there is water or wet soil around the hole, it’s possible that a water or waste line broke. The pipe will probably have to be patched or replaced. An underground spring is another possible explanation of wet soil.

Small holes may not be a sinkhole, but a hole dug by an animal such as a groundhog or skunk. Look for signs that the hole was dug by an animal. Until the animal goes away or dies, it’s impossible to get rid of the hole. Trapping the animal, with transport to a distant wooded area, is probably the best way to get rid of the pest. Just beware that there is probably more than one animal and the process will have to repeated a number of times.

Large sinkholes are not common in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They are usually caused by a soft stone, such as limestone, that has dissolved due to water flowing through it. When the space gets too large to support the stone and soil above it, the limestone collapses and the soil above falls into it. Cars and houses have fallen into these holes and people have been killed. These require government officials to inspect and decide how to proceed with the help of experts.

Contact Phil's Excavating now for a free review of your sinkholes.