Sentinel Excavating

11/25/2025

2025, Sentinel Excavating's 11th year of business, is just wrapping up. One more septic system to install and some details left on another job, then it's a wrap. I think we managed 15 septic system installs this year and a whole bunch of other work. That's a bit less than usual, but yeah, I've been a little distracted with other stuff.

I got the sweetest email from a client this fall I thought I'd share below verbatim. I got this, a couple hundred dollar tip, and some home made preserves.

"I suspect that when you leave a job site when the project is completed people will say to you great job and all the accolades that go along with that. They may even say "buddy you're the best". But the truth is many of them really don't have a clue and only say that because whatever you fixed, it's definitely better than when you arrived.

But when you're 80 you know a lot more than most in many cases. Having said that, I will say this:

You are the best contract service that I have ever worked with. This is coming from a man that ran crews of 100 dealing with all phases of road construction.

The points I observed to lead me to this conclusion are these:

1) Knowing but not arrogant. Willing to take the time to explain all aspects of what you were about to do without making the homeowner feel stupid. Your interaction skills are second to none.

2) Digging under a carport that you have never done before. Your words not mine. Not once during that dig period was I ever in doubt about my building coming down after I took the time to note your skills on the machine.

3) When the field pit was dug you took a pause. You chronologically walked through the steps in your mind as to how you were going to approach the task ahead. That gave me a ton of confidence in your ability to do exactly what you said you would.

4) How you laid out the 3 runs. You wouldn't settle for close; it had to be bang on. If the last pipe was a 37 inch center and not 33 like the first two, you readjusted to make sure they were all the same.

5) Your math on the fly when adjusting lazer heights was crazy cool. I as a homeowner could have gone into my house and gone to bed knowing I was in good hands at that point.

6) Your professionalism of not talking down to the competition on all fronts but rather giving everyone the benefit of the doubt is a class act.

7) Cutting the geotec. What the f**k was that all about. The placement of the knife between the index and middle finger for safety purposes and then walking backwards and talking to me at the same time to hit the notched cloth on the other side was mind boggling. I've worked around that stuff for almost 50 years and never seen it done that way.

I could go on Joe but I know you're a busy guy. Thanks for being there for me in my hour of need"

Ha ha, pretty nice... So with that, see you in 2026. I basically rely on word of mouth at this point so you probably won't see much in the way of Facebook posts beyond this.

07/05/2025

Busy year so far - 8 septic systems install plus a lot of other work! A couple more still to go this summer, then three booked in September. Book me now for fall work!

04/28/2025

Here are a few photos from this year - busy! I still have a few holes in my schedule to fill this spring. Reach out if you need pretty much any kind of excavation work.
A 22,000 lb mid-sized excavator, a 10,000 lb tracked skidsteer, and 11 years in business ensures your job gets done fast and efficiently. I am a licensed ROWP septic installer and planner working anywhere from Kaslo through to Genelle, south to Ymir, and up the Valley as far as Slocan Park but I am based on the North Shore. www.sentinelexcavating.com

03/06/2025

Need excavation or septic work this year? Look no farther than North Shore based Sentinel Excavating.

Sentinel Excavating has installed over 200 septic systems during the past 10 years from Genelle to Kaslo. But I don't just do septics, I love doing modular home pads, gravel driveways, land clearing, foundations, burying services, site grading etc. etc. Book now as my spring calendar is filling up!

People are always wondering why there is so much variance in septic system design and costs. I installed a few septic systems last year for around $8000, and I installed a few septic systems that were over $40,000! Why the discrepancy?

It mostly comes down to two things: the quality of the native soil, and how many bedrooms the home has. Poor soil increases the difficulty and cost of installing a quality septic system that will last a long time, and not pollute ground or surface water.

So let's talk about soil. Making generalizations about soil is usually a bad idea. That is why wastewater professionals are legally required to dig two 5' deep test pits plus do additional percolation testing before designing a septic system around the results of that testing.

But having worked around the Kootenays for the past decade, I will make some fair generalizations of what I have witnessed. If you live in Krestova, Ootischenia, Genelle or Glade you're probably laughing - mostly sand except a few anomaly areas. But if you're in Blewett, Slocan Park, or Robson, you're probably at the other end of the spectrum - lot's of examples of poor silty, shallow soils, bedrock and groundwater - all things not good for septic.

I checked in on my thought on this post with my fellow ROWP Phillip Jackson for his input and he concurs with my vague generalizations, but also concurs that every site is different, and can be wildly different even on the same site. Phillip was my original mentor into doing septic work, and he has been designing septic systems in the Kootenays since the late 1980s. He still does lots of planning work for me.

When Phillip and I encounter really tricky soils to design for, we call in actual Engineers who know the BC SPM inside and out: Highland Consulting or KSP septic. Choose your engineer carefully folks - under the professional reliance act, there is basically no meaningful oversight happening by the province regarding septic systems. This has led to no end of very expensive complications for people. It makes sense to do it right the first time!

The two photos below show good sites and less good sites in Slocan Park and in Genelle respectively. Poor soils often require sand mounds which are very expensive. In Genelle where it is pure sand, a plain drain rock seepage bed will do just fine.

12/06/2024

That is a wrap on digging for 2024. And 10 completed years of business for Sentinel Excavating!

This was an interesting year. Lot's of unavoidable distractions. But I still managed to pull off 14 or 15 septic system installs, plus other work. One thing that really sucked was my transmission in my 2022 truck blew up on me leading to not having a real truck for over 6 weeks. But otherwise I can't complain. I did a lot of driving, often working an hour away from home (near Balfour folks - give me more jobs on the North Shore close to home!)

Here are a smattering of photos. I did 3 sand mounds this year, but the rest were cheap n' easy gravity systems and one tank replacement.

I have 7 septic systems installs already planned spring 2025. So hit me up now if you need on the list.

Just a reminder, I am a registered septic system planner, but I only do site plans on the simplest of sites (sandy soil, no other complications.) Otherwise I farm out planning work to Phillip Jackson, Highland Consulting, and KSP Septic.

05/30/2024

It's been a great year so far! But a few jobs just got delayed so I find myself with a bit of room in my schedule next week if anyone needs any excavation work done.

Here are some pics and descriptions from this year. Lot's of septic systems, a house perimeter drain, a swimming pond and a whole bunch more holes dug!

03/19/2024

Need a septic system planned or installed this year? It is important to look into septic requirements early in your building or land development project. Too often, septic is an afterthought and that can cost you time and money.

I am a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner (ROWP) planner and installer entering my 10th year of business in the Kootenays.

I just spent three days in Kamloops at the annual WCOWMA conference on onsite wastewater management. I go to these conferences almost every year and I learn a lot at them. This year I presented two talks to my peers. The first, "Good Installation Practices and Tips" was attended by over 200 people. Remarkably I didn't feel nervous!

General Excavation: Foundations, land clearing, road building/maintenance, and burying services. Licensed Septic System Design & Installation.

02/27/2024

Building this year? Now is the time to book!

www.sentinelexcavating.com does licensed septic planning and installations, foundations, burial of services, land clearing, building driveways etc. etc. I have an 21,000 lb excavator and a 10,000 lb tracked skid steer so work happens incredibly fast with these big machines.

I've got 4 septic system installs to get through this spring already -but that still leaves me with a fair bit of time in my schedule for more work. It is hard to say how busy this construction season will be, but every year my schedule fills up fast once spring really hits hard.

If you're building a new home, modular, or putting on an addition that adds more bedrooms to an existing home, you'll need to register a septic system design plan before you can even apply for a building permit. Planning out the septic should always be one of the very first steps.

I've been a licensed septic planner and installer (ROWP) in the Kootenay's since 2015 and this will be my 10th year in business. I've completed something like 190 installs and something like 50 septic plans. I do some straightforward planning work but I mostly focus on installing.

I'm happy to do an initial quick assessment of your property for suitability to give you an idea of how easy or challenging your site is. If your property is deemed a complex site, I can recommend various qualified professionals I work with for the planning work. Note that there is is minimal oversight of this industry by Interior Health or the RDCK (it is outside the scope of building inspectors) so it pays to chose your wastewater professionals carefully!

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Fast. Experienced. Dependable. Complete property development excavation professionals. Call Sentinel Excavating for all of your rural property development needs from land clearing and road building to foundations, burying services and licensed septic system design and installation. I specialize in h...

02/15/2024

Spring is springing, time to get diggin'!

12/01/2023

I still need to do one little back filling job and complete a couple of septic system designs but then that is it for my 9th year of business! Let it snow.

This year I did a total of 17 septic systems and a whole lot of other work unrelated to septic like foundations and driveways.

I so appreciate my customers. Looking through all the invoices I've written this year, I've got nothing but good feelings for every single person I've worked for. It comes down to being fair to your customers (and to yourself) and striving for excellent communication. With these two things in place, a contractor who does good work can navigate most circumstances that may arise in the perilous world of construction.

The little video is of testing a pumped to distribution box tiny septic system I installed for a beautiful little cabin on a very steep hillside. This system required pumping up about 25 vertical feet above the cabin to a small flat area with decent soils which was the only place a septic field could go.

09/17/2023

I have an opening the week of September 25th to 29th due to a job being postponed. Give me a shout if you need your gravel driveway tuned up, an area cleared on your property, or some drainage issues attended to before winter!

Pictured is about 2600 lbs of buckets: 24" dig, 36" dig, 48" finishing and 36" skeleton bucket.

08/30/2023

Well I do believe we gotta bit of a slow down in the construction industry happenin' finally. Whew... some breathing room. And I can take a rain day without it throwing me completely off my tight install schedule!

Am I worried? Nope. Got another call this morning. It ain't pouring but it is still rainin' enough for now.

9 years now of of installing quality septic systems at mutually fair prices - and a wide array of other work like solving drainage issues, land clearing, burying services and foundations. I'll be sticking around.

Photos are of last week installing an Eljen-based septic system and fixing some surface water drainage issues.