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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Dig a basement near Hinckley and two things show up: stones and water. The federal soil survey's most common ground around town is the Mora-Ronneby complex, a stony glacial till. It drains somewhat poorly, and from April to June its water table can rise to about a foot down. Ground like that shapes the basement dig and the drain tile, and it narrows the septic choices.
Wolf Creek Dirt Works is an excavation contractor serving Hinckley and the townships around it. Hinckley is part of our service area, about 29 road miles south of Sturgeon Lake on Interstate 35. Here we handle site preparation for new homes and septic system installation to a designer's plan. Call or text (218) 820-9653, and we look at the job and give you a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at it and put your free estimate in writing.
Hinckley counted 1,904 people in the 2020 Census, and the Census estimate for 2025 is 1,992. The houses inside the city limits lean older. Census survey figures put the median build year at 1974. About one home in five dates from the 1960s, and about one in seven went up before 1940.
Older houses come with old garages and sheds, and some are past saving. Inside the city, the City of Hinckley requires a Demolition Permit before a building comes down. Our demolition work takes the structure and its concrete foundation down. We haul the debris away, and the lot is ready for the next build.
The 55037 ZIP reaches well past the city limits and holds about 3,200 homes in Census survey figures. The median build year there is 1991, and about a third went up in 2000 or later. Close to three in ten are seasonal or recreational homes, and about one in four is a mobile home. Nearly all of those sit out in the townships, on rural land.
Most of the ground the soil survey maps around Hinckley is stony, loamy glacial till. Mora and Ronneby soils drain somewhat poorly. Milaca and Millward soils, found in smaller patches, drain better. About a third of the mapped ground is poorly or very poorly drained, much of it peat and muck.
Frost goes deep here. Minnesota's building code puts Pine County in frost Zone I, where footings go at least 5 feet down. We dig basements and frost footings to the depth on the plans. Where the plans call for drain tile, we lay it around the footings and run it to a sump.
Minnesota's septic rules call for a 3-foot zone of treatment soil under the drainfield. That zone has to sit above the soil that turns saturated part of the year. With the spring water table about a foot down, a designer may call for a mound system. A licensed septic designer runs the soil test and draws the plan, and we install the system to it.
Inside the city limits, the City of Hinckley's Planning, Zoning and Building office issues permits under the state building code. Its permit list includes a Grading and Excavation Permit. The city's own permit page says adding gravel to a driveway needs one. Ask the city about it before any gravel driveway work in town.
Hinckley Township runs its own zoning. It requires a zoning permit for any building over 64 square feet, decks and patios included. Pine County Planning and Zoning handles septic permits throughout the county, and it takes those applications online.
A new entrance onto a county road needs an access permit from Pine County Public Works. MnDOT issues driveway permits on state highways, such as Highway 48 east of town and Highway 23 toward Mora. Before any digging, a locate ticket goes in through Gopher State One Call at 811. The law asks for 48 hours of notice, not counting weekends and holidays.
The Grindstone River runs through Hinckley, with its north and south branches close by. FEMA's flood map puts a Zone A flood area along the river through town. Pine County's countywide flood maps took effect in 2012. Lots along the river are the ones to check on the flood map first.
In the townships, Pine County's shoreland rules reach 1,000 feet from a lake and 300 feet from a river. On shoreland, the county requires a Grading and Filling Permit for bigger dirt moves. The line is over 10 cubic yards on steep slopes or shore impact zones, and over 50 elsewhere.
Wet spots need a check before any fill goes in. Pine County Planning and Zoning handles Wetland Conservation Act questions for wetlands that are not public waters. On a wooded lot, land clearing comes before the pad. We take trees, brush, stumps and rocks off the building site, and we can mulch the trees we remove.
Communities and areas we serve around Hinckley: Hinckley Township, Mission Creek Township, Barry Township, Munch Township, Main Street, Old Highway 61, Fire Monument Road, Highway 48, Highway 23, Interstate 35, Grindstone River.
Hinckley ZIP codes served: 55037.
Hinckley 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 Hinckley. 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.