01 — Services
Seven things we get called for
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Gravel driveway refinishing
Potholes, washboard and years of runoff cut into the surface. We regrade the crown so water leaves the drive instead of sitting in it, then top it with fresh gravel that will hold through a Northern Michigan spring.
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Foundation excavation & lot prep
Clearing, levelling, digging the crawl space or basement, and putting a driveway in so the trades can reach the build. Dug to the plan and to grade, ready for the footing crew.
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Topsoil stripping
Topsoil stripped and stockpiled cleanly before the dig, so you keep it for the finish grade instead of paying to bring soil back at the end.
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Final grading — pole barns and new builds
Excavating the material back around the structure, cutting a slope that drains away from the wall, then straw and grass seed over the disturbed ground so it holds and greens up.
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Hauling aggregates
Sand, gravel, crushed stone and pea stone delivered and placed where you want them — not tipped at the end of the drive for you to move.
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Erosion control
Slopes, shoulders and drives that lose ground every thaw. We work out where the water is actually going first, then fix the route it takes.
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Landscaping & outdoor pads
Pea-stone fire pit pads, patio bases, machine access and re-shaping ground that never drained properly. Small jobs are still jobs.
Not on the list? Call 231-735-3063 — if it isn't something we do, we'll say so.
02 — The work
Five jobs, described by the man who did them
Every job below is A-T's own, taken word-for-word in substance from the Past Projects page. The frames below are waiting on photographs — each caption names the picture A-T already owns and would drop straight in.
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Photo 01 — already owned Existing shot: the finished gravel road running back into the timber. Best replacement: stand in the centre of the road, camera low, so the crown and both shoulders read.
A gravel road into a veteran's hunting property. Route planned first, then built with the right material, so the ground can be reached without tearing up what's around it. -
Photo 02 — already owned Existing shot: the finished pea-stone pad. Best replacement: shoot it at dusk with the fire lit — it is the one job on this list that sells itself.
A pea-stone pad for a backyard fire pit. The customer wanted somewhere to sit out. Cut in, levelled, edged and filled with pea stone. -
Photo 03 — already owned Existing shot: the cleared and levelled lot. Best replacement: one wide frame with the open crawl space and the new driveway both in it.
A whole lot made ready for a new house. Cleared, levelled, crawl space excavated and a driveway installed — one crew, one pass, before the builder arrived. -
Photo 04 — already owned Existing shot: the restored drive. Best replacement: a matched pair from the same spot, before and after — this is the job most of your callers have.
A driveway that had eroded for years. Regraded the surface and laid fresh gravel over it. It looks better, and more to the point it now sheds water instead of channelling it. -
Photo 05 — already owned Existing shot: the finished grade around the barn. Best replacement: take it two weeks later once the seed has taken, from the same corner.
Final grade around a pole barn. Material excavated back, a proper slope cut for drainage, then straw and grass seed so the ground holds and comes back green.
Want your ground to look like one of these? Call 231-735-3063
03 — Who runs it
Six years on the controls before the first invoice
A-T Excavation is veteran-owned. The owner spent more than six years as a heavy equipment operator in the Michigan Army National Guard before running a machine under his own name.
That matters on a job for an unglamorous reason: military equipment operation is taught as a procedure — check it, level it, measure it, and do not guess the grade. It is the same habit that decides whether a driveway drains in April or turns into a channel.
It is also why the small jobs get done properly. A pea-stone pad and a lot for a new house are the same discipline at different sizes.
- Ownership
- Veteran-owned and operated
- Operator background
- 6+ years, heavy equipment operator, Michigan Army National Guard
- Base
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Direct line
- 231-735-3063
- drew@atexcavationllc.com
04 — Where we work
Traverse City, Leelanau County, and out from there
- Traverse City
- Suttons Bay
- Cedar
- Maple City
- Lake Leelanau
- Northport
Plus the surrounding Northern Michigan areas. If you are just outside that ring, ask anyway — it depends on the machine the job needs and what else is booked that week.
Open A-T Excavation in Google Maps
Quickest answer on whether we cover you: call 231-735-3063 or text the same number.
05 — Get a price
Three fields. Or just call.
A phone number is the fastest thing you can give us — most of these jobs are settled in one call and a look at the ground.
Or skip the form entirely — 231-735-3063.