Author: Dallas Wohlfeil

Dallas Wohlfeil is the owner and founder of DW Excavation, LLC, a licensed California excavation and general engineering contractor (CA LIC #1060838) he started in 2013 in Windsor. Over more than a decade in the field, he's built the company into a trusted partner for homeowners, builders, and developers across Sonoma County, Monterey County, and the Central Coast, delivering everything from site preparation and grading to underground utilities, drainage, and erosion control. Hands-on and locally rooted, Dallas is known for clear communication and getting the job done right the first time.

How Late in the Year Can You Still Dig a Foundation in Santa Rosa?

Aerial view of residential with concrete walls, excavators, and grading equipment preparing land.

Direct Answer: In most years, foundation excavation in Santa Rosa runs into late October or early November if the ground is still dry and permits are in hand. The first soaking storm usually ends it. Nobody brings up the calendar at the bid stage. You get a number, you get a start date, and everybody […]

French Drains: What a Properly Installed System Actually Requires

Open french drain trench with perforated pipe, washed rock and geotextile fabric beside a house foundation

Direct Answer: A french drain needs a sloped trench, clean crushed rock, the right geotextile fabric, perforated pipe, and a working outlet. Skip any one of those and it clogs within a few seasons. Water pooling against a foundation is one of the most common calls I get, and the fix people ask for by […]

Culverts on Private Property: How Sizing and Placement Decisions Get Made

Workers inspect large white corrugated culvert pipes laid in excavated trench at construction site.

Direct Answer: Culvert size depends on the drainage area, slope, soil, and design storm above the crossing, not your neighbor’s pipe. Placement depends on invert elevation and protecting the outlet from scour. A homeowner in Monterey County wrote to us with a clear picture of their problem. An open drainage ditch ran across the front […]

Hauling Off 500 Yards of Dirt: Where the Soil From a Site Cut Ends Up

Excavator loading excavated soil into dump truck at construction site

Direct Answer: Clean soil from a site cut usually goes to a quarry, an engineered fill site, or a nearby property that needs import material. Mixed soil with concrete or brush gets sorted and priced separately. A property owner getting ready to build in Carmel sent us a note that read like a short shopping […]

Trenching for Electrical Lines on a Residential Property: What the Job Involves

Two excavators dig a residential electrical trench with concrete pipe and junction boxes staged along the excavation.

Direct Answer: Electrical trenching means digging a marked, code-depth trench, placing conduit, then backfilling and compacting it. In California, most residential branch circuit conduit sits at least 18 inches deep, with more required under driveways. Most people who call me about electrical trenching already know what they want. They want power out to a hot […]

When a Neighborhood Undergrounds Its Utilities: The Excavation Breakdown

Two CAT excavators digging a long utility trench with concrete pipes and junction boxes in a residential development area.

Direct Answer: Neighborhood utility undergrounding requires coordinated trenching to specific depths, utility separation standards, 811 locates, and proper backfill, all managed separately from the utility company’s own installation crew. A neighborhood association in Carmel recently submitted a form to our team after receiving approval for a full street undergrounding project. Their message was short: they […]

Demolishing a Septic Tank: The Permit and Documentation Steps

Excavator working beside an open septic tank demolition site with field documentation notes on a clipboard nearby.

Direct Answer: Demolishing a septic tank requires a separate abandonment permit from your county Environmental Health or Building Department. Photos, pumping records, and contractor documentation must be submitted before the inspection closes. One of the most stressful calls we get is from a homeowner who has already connected to city sewer, already had the septic […]

Private Road Grading After a Wet Winter: What a Proper Job Actually Covers

Freshly graded gravel driveway through forested area showing completed road grading and site preparation work.

Direct Answer: A proper private road grading job after a wet winter addresses base failure, crown and drainage correction, and gravel replacement, not just surface smoothing. Every spring, I talk to property managers and landowners who describe the same problem. The winter rains beat up their private road, left ruts in the access lanes, and […]

Land Clearing Beyond Weed Whacking: What Machine Work Gets Done That Hand Crews Cannot

Yellow CAT excavator on graded dirt site next to earth materials, demonstrating and heavy equipment work.

Direct Answer: Machine-based land clearing removes root systems, rhizomes, and compacted vegetation below the surface. Hand crews and weed whackers only cut what’s visible above ground, the root structure stays intact and regrows. We got a call last May from a property owner asking about discing two acres of overgrown land. When we gave him […]

Coastal Lot Site Prep in Monterey County: What the Terrain Changes About the Process

installation with riprap stone and drainage pipe along a streambank slope near water.

Direct Answer: Coastal lots in Monterey County involve variable soils, strict drainage requirements, and a grading permit process that can require a geotechnical report and drainage study before a single shovel hits the ground. A developer recently reached out to us about a lot near the corner of Martin and Bayview in Carmel. The scope […]