Based in Trinity, AL · serving about a 60-mile radius
Trackhoes, Dozer and Dump Trucks · Free Estimates (256) 303-7210
Our Services

Rock Removal in Trinity, AL

Rock Removal · Trinity, AL

Trackhoes with rippers pull the rock out

Rock removal is the job when the ground fights back. North Alabama sits on limestone and chert, and in many spots that rock is close to the surface. You feel it when a tractor bounces or a post hole digger quits. We pull that rock out with trackhoes and rippers so the rest of the work can go on.

Most rock work happens under something else. Rock has to come out before we start cutting a house pad or building a gravel driveway. It comes out of pond bottoms, pasture ground, garden spots and fence lines too. What we pull gets moved where you want it or loaded out.

What We Handle

  • Trackhoes fitted with rippers to break rock loose
  • Rock pulled out of the footprint before a pad is cut
  • Rock taken out of a driveway route and base
  • Boulders moved and set where you want them
  • Fence line rock pulled so the posts will drive
  • Rock pulled from pond bottoms and pasture ground
  • Loose rock loaded and hauled off by the truckload
  • Ground rough graded back once the rock is out

Free Rock Removal Quote

Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.

How ripping rock works

The rock under the Tennessee Valley is limestone and chert. The Fort Payne Formation, named for outcrops at Fort Payne, Alabama, is a cherty limestone. Some North Alabama upland soils are described by the USDA as 35 to 80 percent rock fragments. That is why a shovel or a tractor bucket can stop so fast.

A ripper is a single steel tooth that goes on in place of the bucket. The machine puts all of its force on that one point. The tooth drops into a seam and lifts, and the rock breaks along its own layers. Layered rock like limestone comes up in slabs and chunks.

Ripping has a limit. Layered and cracked rock comes up, and solid thick bedrock stays where it is. If we find that, we stop and tell you. Rock like that takes a hydraulic hammer, which is separate work.

Rock and stone removal for pads, driveways and pasture

New building is where rock shows up first. A pad gets cut to a set grade, so rock in the way has to come out. Some building contracts carry a rock clause, since no one can see under a lot until it is dug. A driveway base gets cut into solid ground too, and loose rock comes out of the route first.

Farm and pasture ground is the other half of it. Rock sitting in a field tears up mowers and hay equipment. Fence lines are worse, because a post has to go where the rock is. We pull rock along the line so the posts will drive.

Water work runs into rock too. Pond bottoms and banks here often have rock in them. That rock comes out when we are digging a pond or cleaning an old one back out. Garden spots and food plots are the small version of the same job.

Boulder removal and what happens to the rock

Some rock is too big to load in a truck as it sits. A trackhoe can roll a boulder out of the way or pick it up and set it somewhere else. Some people stack them on a property line or put them at the end of a drive. It is your rock, so you say where it goes.

The rest gets loaded and moved. Small rock can be buried on site if there is a spot for it. It can also go in a low place out of the way. When there is no room for it, our dump trucks haul it off by the load.

Once the rock is out, we grade the ground back. We fill the holes the rock left and spread dirt back over the area. Rock usually turns up as soon as the brush is off. We can take care of both in one trip when we are clearing a lot.

Ripper shank on the trackhoe bucket after a day in rock Driveway cut through ground that was solid rock under the grass

Ready to get started?

Free, no-obligation estimates across North Alabama.

(256) 303-7210
How We Work

How a Job With Precision Excavation Runs

From the first call or text to the last load hauled off, here is how it goes.

1

Call or text

Tell us what you have and where the property is. Photos of the ground help. Call or text (256) 303-7210 and we set a time to come look.

2

We look at the ground

We come out and see the job in person. Trees, slope, wet spots and rock all change the work. The estimate comes after that, and it is free.

3

We plan the approach

We decide which machines the job needs and in what order they work. Access, where the dirt goes and where the debris goes get settled first. Alabama 811 gets called before any digging starts.

4

Machines and trucks come in

Our lowboy brings the machines to the property and the work starts. The dump trucks bring material in and carry spoil, rock and debris out. We work in an order that keeps water running off the ground.

5

Cleanup and final grade

The debris leaves the property and the dirt gets rough graded back out. Water is shaped to run away from the pad, the drive or the house. Then we look the job over with you.

FAQ

Rock Removal Questions, Answered

Common questions about rock removal across North Alabama. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.

Call (256) 303-7210

How much does rock removal cost?
Price comes down to how much rock is in there and how deep it sits. Hard rock takes longer, and hauling adds to it because rock is heavy. Rock cannot be priced from a photo, so we come out and look at the ground. Estimates are free, and you can call or text (256) 303-7210.
What is the easiest way to remove rocks from the ground?
For anything past a wheelbarrow load, a machine does it. A trackhoe with a ripper breaks the rock loose, then the bucket lifts it out. Hand tools and a tractor bucket will move surface rock, but they stop at the first buried ledge.
What machine takes rock out of soil?
We use trackhoes, which is what most people here call an excavator. The ripper goes on for breaking, and the bucket goes on for digging and loading. A dozer pushes loose rock into piles, and a dump truck hauls it off.
What if the rock is solid bedrock?
A ripper works on layered and cracked rock, which is most of what is in this ground. Solid bedrock is different, and it will not come up with a ripper. If we run into it, we tell you what we found. Raising the grade or shifting the pad a few feet often solves it.
What happens to the rock you pull out?
That is your call. Rock can be stacked in a corner or buried in a low spot on the property. If you want it gone, our dump trucks load it and haul it off.
Do I need to call 811 before you dig?
Yes. Alabama 811 is the free one call service for the state, and it is how buried utility lines get marked. You can call 811 or put the request in on their website. Digging starts after the utility companies have answered.
More From Precision Excavation

Work That Pairs With Rock Removal

Red clay house pad graded flat with the treeline behind

House Pads

We build house pads for new homes, barns, shops and metal buildings on lots across North Alabama. Fill comes in by the load, goes down in packed lifts and gets graded so water runs away from the building.

Learn More
Cleared ground with the pushed-up brush and root piles waiting to be hauled off

Land Clearing

We clear wooded lots and overgrown acreage with the dozer and trackhoe. Trees and stumps come out, the debris gets hauled off, and the ground is left rough graded.

Learn More
Our site dump truck loaded with red dirt

Hauling

Two dump trucks move material by the load across North Alabama. Fill dirt, topsoil, gravel, crusher run and chert come in, spoil and debris go out.

Learn More
Why Choose Precision Excavation

Built for Dirt Work in North Alabama

Trackhoes, a dozer and dump trucks

The excavators, the crawler dozer, the skid steer mulcher and two dump trucks belong to the company. A lowboy trailer hauls them to your property. One call puts all of it on the job.

Clearing through haul off

The same company clears the lot, cuts the pad, shapes the drive and hauls the debris away. You line up one contractor for the dirt side of the work.

Built for rocky ground

North Alabama sits on limestone and chert, often close to the surface. Our trackhoes carry rippers, so rock that stops a tractor or a post hole digger comes out. It gets moved, buried or hauled off.

Free estimates across North Alabama

We are based in Trinity and work about 60 miles out, all inside Alabama. That takes in the Decatur and Huntsville area, the Shoals, Cullman and the farm country between. Estimates are free, so call or text.

Free Estimates

Get In Touch With Precision Excavation

Tell us what you need done and where the property is. Call or text (256) 303-7210, or send the form and we will get back to you.

Get a Free Quote

Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.