What are the opening hours?

Monday 6am - 5pm Tuesday 6am - 5pm Wednesday 6am - 5pm Thursday 6am - 5pm Friday 6am - 5pm

Dirt FX Excavating & Demolition

Home
United States
Mesa, AZ
Dirt FX Excavating & Demolition

Dirt FX is Mesa's trusted excavation contractor delivering precision demolition, site preparation, and excavation services—on time and on budget.

06/19/2026

Average Well Depth in Payson Is 400 Feet

Most Rim Country properties require private wells. Understanding what that means for your project timeline and budget is important before you buy a lot.

The numbers in the Payson area:

Average well depth: 400 feet
Drilling cost: $35 to $75 per foot
Complete system cost including drilling, casing, pump, pressure tank, electrical, and permits: approximately $20,000 to $27,000

The primary aquifer is the Coconino/Payson Granite Basin Aquifer. Depth varies by location. Some lots require 500 to 600 feet or more depending on geology.

Arizona Department of Water Resources requires a Notice of Intent before drilling. ADWR reviews these within 15 calendar days. Gila County requires a separate permit, typically $150 to $200.

Wells must be drilled by a licensed well driller under Arizona law.

For site preparation, this means ensuring clear, level equipment access for drilling rigs. These are large vehicles that need stable, graded access. Rocky terrain can significantly complicate drilling and increase costs.

06/18/2026

No Municipal Sewer in Rim Country Means Septic for Every Lot

One of the biggest differences between building in the Phoenix Valley and building in Rim Country is infrastructure.

Most Payson-area properties are not connected to municipal sewer. Septic systems are standard.

The process starts with a site and soil evaluation, commonly called a perc test. Gila County Wastewater Division handles these inspections. The test determines how well your soil absorbs water, which dictates the size and type of septic system you need.

Here is where Rim Country gets complicated. Rocky soils and subsurface granite can cause perc test failures. When conventional systems will not work, you need an engineered alternative septic system. These run $15,000 to $40,000 more than standard installations.

The septic permit must be approved before you can get a building permit. The excavation work includes tank placement, leach field trenching, and proper drainage grading to keep monsoon runoff away from the drainfield.

Gila County maintains a list of approved wastewater contractors. Only approved contractors can perform design and installation.

06/17/2026

Payson Lots Are Not Like Valley Lots

If you have only built in the Phoenix Valley, Rim Country will surprise you.

The terrain differences start immediately. Instead of flat desert with caliche soil, you are working with rocky decomposed granite, ponderosa pine forests, and slopes that can range from 15 to 40 percent grade.

Subsurface boulders are common, especially on steeper hillside lots. Standard excavation buckets may not be enough. Hydraulic breakers attached to excavators are frequently required to fracture rock before removal.

Tree root systems from mature ponderosas run deep and wide. Clearing involves more than just cutting trees. You need root raking and stump grinding before any grading can begin.

And elevation matters. Payson sits at 5,000 feet. The Rim Golf Club and upper communities reach 6,000 to 7,000 feet. Ground freezing in winter is real. Soil composition changes. Equipment loses roughly 3 to 4 percent power per 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

Different terrain requires different equipment, different timelines, and different expertise.

06/16/2026

Why Phoenix Homeowners Are Building in Payson

Rim Country is having a moment.

The Wall Street Journal featured Payson and the surrounding communities in November 2025, calling it increasingly popular with second-home buyers and retirees from the Phoenix metro area.

The appeal is straightforward. Payson sits 90 minutes from Mesa at 5,000 feet elevation. Summer highs in the mid-80s instead of 115 degrees. Ponderosa pine forests instead of desert. And prices well below Prescott, Flagstaff, and Pinetop-Lakeside.

Gila County permitted 217 new homes in 2024, virtually all single-family. Home values have risen 43 percent since 2018, the fifth highest gain among Arizona counties.

The most active building areas include Chaparral Pines, Diamond Pointe at The Rim Golf Club, Star Valley, and the Pine and Strawberry communities.

For Phoenix metro buyers looking for mountain property, Rim Country offers weekend escape distance without the four-hour drive to the White Mountains.

06/15/2026

Picture Your Backyard Without the Pool

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine it gone.

No more blue rectangle. No more pump humming. No more weekly service visits. No more chemical storage. No more liability keeping you up at night when the grandkids visit.

Now picture what could be there instead.

An extended patio with an outdoor kitchen. A fire pit with built-in seating. Low-maintenance desert landscaping that costs almost nothing to maintain. Artificial turf where the dog can run. A sport court for the kids. Space for a casita or ADU.

The pool takes up 400 to 800 square feet of your backyard. That is a significant footprint. Right now it is dedicated to something you do not use.

Pool removal takes 2 to 4 weeks. By fall, you could be enjoying a backyard designed around how you actually live instead of maintaining equipment for how you lived 15 years ago.

The pool served its purpose. That chapter is over. The next chapter is whatever you want it to be.

DirtFX handles pool removal throughout Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, and the East Valley.

480.571.1046 when you are ready.

06/14/2026

You Have Been Thinking About Pool Removal for Years. What Are You Waiting For?

Most pool removal clients tell us the same story.

They thought about it for two years. Three years. Sometimes five.

Every summer, the same internal conversation. "We should really do something about the pool." Then fall arrives, the pressure fades, and nothing changes. Then summer comes again and the conversation repeats.

Meanwhile, they paid another $5,000 or $6,000 in annual pool costs. Then another. Then another.

By the time they finally call, they have spent $15,000 to $30,000 maintaining a pool they barely used while thinking about removing it.

Here is what changes the conversation: a deadline.

Summer is the worst time to actually do the work. Heat slows crews. Monsoon season brings flooding risks. Fall is better. But summer is when the decision becomes clear.

If you schedule removal now for September or October, you lock in the timeline. The pool serves out its final summer. You stop the bleeding before another year of costs stack up.

Or you can have this same conversation again next June.

06/13/2026

Your Pool Pump Costs $80 to $100 Per Month to Run. In Addition to Everything Else.

June is when Arizona electricity bills start climbing. Air conditioning runs constantly. Every kilowatt counts.

And your pool pump runs 6 to 12 hours per day whether you swim or not.

That is $60 to $100 per month just for the pump. Add a heater and you can double it.

Now stack the rest of the pool costs on top:

Weekly service: $100 to $150 per month
Water replacement from evaporation: $25 to $50 per month
Chemicals if you self-manage: $20 to $60 per month
Insurance premium increase: $15 to $35 per month

You are looking at $300 to $500 per month, every month, twelve months per year, for something you used maybe a dozen times last summer.

That is $3,600 to $6,000 per year. Every year. Forever. Plus equipment replacements. Plus resurfacing every 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, you are also paying $400 to $600 per month in summer electricity to keep your house cool.

At some point, you have to ask what you are actually getting for this money.

06/12/2026

Your Pool Tech Spends More Time in Your Backyard Than You Do

Think about this for a minute.

Your pool service technician comes by every week. They test the water. They add chemicals. They skim the surface. They check the equipment. They spend 20 to 30 minutes working on your pool.

Now add up how many minutes you spent in the actual water last month.

For most Mesa pool owners, the service tech interacts with the pool more in one visit than the homeowner does in an entire summer.

And you are paying them $100 to $150 per month for the privilege.

This is not a criticism of pool service companies. They are doing exactly what you are paying them to do. The question is why you are paying them to maintain something you do not use.

The pool exists. It demands maintenance whether you swim or not. Algae does not care about your schedule. The pump does not care that you are busy. The chemicals do not care that you meant to swim this weekend but did not get around to it.

You are running a small water treatment facility in your backyard for a customer who never shows up.

06/11/2026

School Is Out. The Kids Still Are Not Using the Pool.

You told yourself this would be the summer.

The kids are out of school. Long days at home. Perfect pool weather. This is what you have been paying for all year.

So it is June 11th. How many times have they been in the water?

The truth that Arizona pool owners eventually face is that kids grow up. The 8-year-old who lived in the pool is now 15 and lives on their phone. The teenagers have friends with pools, or they would rather be at the lake, or they just do not care anymore.

Meanwhile, you are still paying for weekly service. Still paying the pump electricity. Still replacing water lost to evaporation. Still carrying the liability insurance.

The pool made sense when the kids were young. That season is over. Holding onto it because of what it used to be is costing you $4,000 to $6,000 every year.

The backyard could be something they actually use. A sport court. A fire pit. Space for the dog. An outdoor kitchen for family dinners.

Or it can keep being a blue rectangle that runs up your utility bill.

06/10/2026

It will hit 100+ Today. When Was the Last Time You Got in Your Pool?

Summer is officially here. And your pool is sitting there. Blue. Clean.

The pump running. The chemicals balanced. The service tech came by on Tuesday.

So when did you last actually swim in it?

If you have to think about it for more than five seconds, you already know the answer. It has been months. Maybe longer.

Here is the thing about Arizona pool ownership that nobody talks about: the pool does not care whether you use it. The electricity bill comes anyway. The water evaporates anyway. The maintenance happens anyway.

You are paying $300 to $500 every month for a backyard feature that exists primarily for the pool service company.

Summer is when this reality becomes impossible to ignore. The pool is right there. The weather is perfect for swimming. And you are inside, paying for something you do not use.

At some point, the math stops making sense.

Address

7303 S. Hawes Road Building 7, Suite 140
Mesa, AZ
85212

Opening Hours

Monday	6am - 5pm
Tuesday	6am - 5pm
Wednesday	6am - 5pm
Thursday	6am - 5pm
Friday	6am - 5pm

Website

https://dirtfx.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dirt FX Excavating & Demolition posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Contractor in Mesa?