Site Prep
We get a bare lot ready to build on, with the basement dug and the house pad graded. We also install sewer and water lines and dig ponds.
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Hermantown's zoning plans for homes on a private well and a septic system. Its S-1 Suburban district asks for at least 5 acres on private water and sewer, and R-1 asks for 2.5. Under much of the city, loam lies on dense glacial till, and spring water collects on top of it. That water shapes how a basement dig and a drainfield get planned here.
Wolf Creek Dirt Works is an excavation contractor serving Hermantown as part of our service area around Sturgeon Lake. On Hermantown lots we handle site preparation for new homes, including the basement dig and the sewer and water lines. We also do septic system installation to the plan a septic designer draws. Call or text (218) 820-9653 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at it and put your free estimate in writing.
NRCS soil maps show much of Hermantown as loam over dense glacial till, with peat and muck in low ground. One common soil even carries the town's name: the Hermantown series.
In that series, the dense till starts 30 to 60 inches down. Water moves through that layer very slowly, so it sits on top. In spring, the NRCS says these soils can be soaked to within about 6 inches of the surface.
So a basement dig here plans for water from day one. Drain tile and a pad graded to shed water are part of the job. The city's building inspection page lists a 60-inch minimum frost depth for foundations.
Not every Hermantown home has city sewer and water, and the city's utility page says so. Where they are available, the city says you hire your own contractor to install the service line. Sewer and water line trenches are part of our site prep.
On S-1 and R-1 lots, the plan is a septic system and a private well. A licensed well driller puts in the well. Septic permits here go through St. Louis County's Onsite Wastewater Division, under county Ordinance 61. Hermantown's zoning code holds the building permit on a lot without city sewer until the septic permit is in hand.
A septic designer draws the system from a soil test on the lot. Minnesota's septic rules call for three feet of unsaturated soil below the drainfield. Where spring water sits high, the design may be a mound system. We install to that plan, and an inspector checks the work.
Hermantown's erosion control and fill permit covers new construction that disturbs 500 square feet or more. Exposed soil must be stabilized within seven days, per the permit form. A site that will not be stabilized before October 30 needs winter cover. Erosion control is part of the site prep we quote.
A new driveway onto a city road needs a driveway access permit from Hermantown Public Works. If a culvert is needed, Public Works sets its size and the applicant supplies it. The drive must also fall away from the road at least 3 inches in its first 15 feet. We build to that grade as part of driveway and road building.
Every machine dig starts with a locate. A ticket goes in through Gopher State One Call (811) at least 48 hours ahead. Weekends and holidays do not count toward those 48 hours. The city's utility page gives the same reminder.
The NRCS lists aspen and balsam fir as typical trees on the Hermantown series, with tag alder and hazel below. Our land clearing takes the trees and stumps off the pad and the driveway line. We can mulch the trees we remove.
Wet ground on a wooded lot may be a wetland. Runoff here drains to creeks such as Miller Creek and Keene Creek. The city runs Minnesota's Wetland Conservation Act inside its limits, so wetland questions go to the city. Ask about a wetland delineation before any land clearing or fill in a wet spot.
Hermantown grew from 9,414 people in 2010 to 10,221 in 2020, per the Census. Census survey estimates put about 7 in 10 homes as single-family houses, with a median build year of 1993. About 1 in 5 dates to before 1960. When an old house or garage comes down, our demolition work removes it and hauls the debris.
Communities and areas we serve around Hermantown: Maple Grove Road, Ugstad Road, Hermantown Road, Morris Thomas Road, Arrowhead Road, Lavaque Junction, U.S. Highway 53, Miller Trunk Corridor, Keene Creek Park, Fichtner Park, Stebner Park, Rose Road.
Hermantown ZIP codes served: 55811, 55810.
Hermantown is part of our service area. Call or text, and we look at the job and put your free estimate in writing.
(218) 820-9653 We get a bare lot ready to build on, with the basement dug and the house pad graded. We also install sewer and water lines and dig ponds.
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We clear trees, brush, stumps and rocks from building sites and acreage. We can also mulch the trees we remove.
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We install new septic systems, mostly for new homes, to a septic designer's plan. The septic tank and the drainfield go in, and then an inspector checks the work.
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We take down old houses, cabins, barns and sheds, and the concrete foundation comes out with them. The debris gets hauled away, and the site is ready for the next build.
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We build gravel driveways and private roads, and the base under paved driveways. We also haul gravel and repair driveways that rut or wash out.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Hermantown. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the land is and what you want done on it. Call or text (218) 820-9653 or send the form, and we set up a time to look at the job.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at it and put your free estimate in writing.