Work Gallery

Before-and-after results from real property work.

Project photos, before-and-after results, and field images from the type of land work Lil Yellow Dog Diggin handles.

Water line & hydrants

A 400-foot water line trenched in and hydrants set

Four hundred feet of water line, from the well house down by the pond all the way out to where the water was actually needed. There's no shortcut on a run like this — you open the trench, you lay the pipe, you glue it up, and you tee off your risers for the hydrants. We took it across the gravel drive, out through the yard, and tied the whole thing back in at the well house. Three days start to finish. The yellow dog inspected every foot of that trench, mostly at a dead run.

Farmstead — well house out to the hydrants · Compact excavator and tractor — 400 feet of trenching, water line, hydrant risers, and backfill (three days)

Compact excavator opening the water line trench across the gravel drive with the spoil piled up alongside — During, opening the trench

Tractor and excavator working the open trench where it cuts across the gravel driveway — During, crossing the drive

The open trench running back toward the barn with the yellow dog trotting up the bottom of it — During, the full run

The finished trench with white water line pipe laid out alongside, ready to drop in — During, pipe staged

The trench dug in around the well house by the pond where the new line ties into the water source — During, at the well house

Water line glued up in the bottom of the trench with a riser teed off for a hydrant — During, hydrant riser teed in

Billboard demolition

An old roadside billboard taken down and the right-of-way raked clean

An old billboard along the road had outlived its usefulness, so down it came. Working right at the edge of the road with power lines overhead is the kind of job where you slow down and pay attention — cones out, and nothing left in the ditch when you pull away. We dropped the face, broke down the framing and the posts, hauled the whole mess off, and raked the strip back down. All that's left is a couple of cut-off posts and a clean roadside.

Roadside right-of-way · Compact excavator and flatbed truck — teardown, post removal, haul-off, and cleanup

The Lil Yellow Dog excavator staged in the tall grass along the road with the yellow dog sitting up in the operator's seat — Before, staged

The billboard face and splintered plywood framing piled on the ground beside the cornfield — During, sign down

The torn-down billboard and broken framing seen from the excavator cab, with a safety cone set out on the road and power lines overhead — During, breaking it down

The cleaned-up roadside strip seen from the cab with the old posts cut off flush — After, raked clean

The finished roadside with all the debris hauled away and only the cut-off posts left standing — After, hauled off

Brush clearing

Overgrown brush cleared back off a home's yard and tree line

The brush had crept in until it was crowding the side of the house and swallowing the back edge of the yard. We worked the whole tree line with the excavator and ran the brush mower behind it, pulled the undergrowth out from under the good shade trees, and opened the line back out to the field. The yard ends where it's supposed to again, the big trees have room to breathe, and there's a clean strip along the timber instead of a wall of brush. The yellow dog supervised, which mostly meant running laps through the fresh-cut grass.

Home yard and tree line · Compact excavator with grapple and tractor with brush mower — clearing, mowing, and grading

Thick overgrown brush and cedars crowding right up against the side of the house, with the yellow dog crossing the lawn — Before

The excavator working the brush line at the back of the yard while the yellow dog trots up the grass — During

Excavator pulling brush out of the cedar line beside the house with the mowing tractor working behind it — During, the cedar line

The excavator clearing the tree line while the tractor and brush mower cut the field edge behind it — During, mowing behind

The same view beside the house with the wall of brush gone and the field visible through the trees — After, opened up

The cleared back yard with a fresh strip of dirt along the tree line and the house off to the side — After, the back yard

The cleared strip beside the house graded down smooth, with the excavator and tractor parked up at the tree line — After, graded out

Undergrowth cleared out from under the shade trees so you can see clear through to the house and driveway — After, under the trees

The mowed lawn meeting a clean, defined tree line where the brush used to run out into the yard — After, a clean edge

The cleared strip between the tree line and the cornfield with the yellow dog standing out on it — After, out to the field

Hillside road build

An uphill four-wheeler path turned into a crowned hay-equipment road

This one started as a narrow, washed-out four-wheeler path running uphill through the timber — too rough and too tight for much of anything. We cleared it back, widened it way out, and crowned it up into a proper water-shedding roadway, big enough now to run full-size hay-field equipment right up and down the hill. Start to finish, the whole job took less than a day.

Wooded hillside path · Compact excavator and tractor — clearing, widening, crowning, and grading (done in under a day)

The narrow, overgrown four-wheeler path climbing the wooded hill before work — Before

The rutted, grown-over two-track path before it was widened — Before, washed out

Brush cleared back and the path widened out with the excavator and side-by-side on the hill — During, clearing & widening

Grading the fresh roadbed up the hill, seen from the excavator seat with the dog looking on — During, grading the hill

The finished crowned roadway climbing the hill with the yellow dog riding in the Lil Yellow Dog excavator — After, finished

The completed road crowned and wide enough for hay equipment, with the dog resting in the middle — After, crowned & wide

Looking up the finished, crowned roadway under a clear sky — After, up the grade

Milk house removal

An old milk house taken down and the yard cleaned up

An old milk house that had outlived its use needed to come down. We took the whole thing out, trimmed back a few trees, and hauled off the old foundation — and the cleanup went about as smooth as it gets, with only minimal yard damage left behind. The homeowner even set the yellow dog up with his own black plastic pipe to keep him entertained while we worked. A tidy little teardown from start to finish.

Farmstead backyard · Compact excavator — teardown, foundation removal, tree trimming, and cleanup

The old milk house standing in the backyard before removal — Before

The compact excavator staged next to the old milk house before teardown — Before, ready to start

Inside the milk house showing the old concrete foundation before removal — The old foundation

The milk house gone and the ground graded smooth, with the old foundation stone stacked to haul off and the yellow dog and his black pipe on the fresh dirt — After, cleared

The cleared pad graded out at sunset with the old debris burned down and the dog keeping watch — After, cleaned up

Walking bridge install

A heavy 24-foot prebuilt bridge moved, set, and leveled into place

Need a big, heavy 24-foot prebuilt bridge moved, set, and leveled up? That's right in our wheelhouse. We pulled out the old 24-inch culvert, cleaned up the ditch underneath, and prettied the whole crossing up the best we could. Now you can ride a golf cart across or walk your yellow dog across in style — or any other color dog, for that matter. A big thank-you to the folks involved for the opportunity to do this one.

Wooded trail creek crossing · Compact excavator, tractor, and trailer — moving, setting, and leveling the prebuilt span

Compact excavator digging out the old 24-inch culvert on the wooded trail — Before

The heavy 24-foot prebuilt wooden bridge loaded on a trailer and ready to haul in — The span

Tractor and excavator moving the prebuilt bridge down the trail toward the crossing — During, moving in

Crew maneuvering the wooden bridge into position over the ditch — During, setting the span

The bridge set across the freshly dug-out ditch before final cleanup — During, set in place

Bridge set and leveled over the cleaned-out ditch with the approaches being finished — After, leveled up

Finished walking bridge with the crossing graded and tidied up — After, cleaned up

Field access road

Hillside access road detoured around a spring and built back up

This field access road climbs a hill with a spring bubbling up right in the middle, so the owner kept burying his big tractor in the soft spot every year. We detoured the spring and built a French drain with sand to carry the water off, backfilled until the pipe ran a quarter full, crowned the road so it sheds water, and ditched one side to keep it draining. A few trees were plucked out and the whole run was tidied up so it's a road you can actually count on.

Hillside field access road · Mini excavator, tractor, French drain with sand, and crowning and ditching work

Overgrown two-track field access road before work — Before

Washed-out rut where the spring kept softening the road — Before, soft spot

Spring water seeping up through the grass beside the machine track — Before, the spring

Drain pipe set into a fresh cut to detour the spring during backfilling — During, French drain

Finished road crowned to shed water with a ditch down one side — After, crowned

Operator grading the rebuilt access road smooth — After, grading

Completed hillside access road graded up to the equipment at the top — After, finished

Pond edge cleanup

Overgrown shoreline cleared back into usable space

Brush and overgrowth were cleaned back around the pond so the bank is easier to access, easier to maintain, and a whole lot more usable from end to end.

Private pond edge · Mini excavator, mowing equipment, and clearing tools

Overgrown pond edge before cleanup work — Before

Pond edge after cleanup with the bank cleared and opened up — After

Cleaned pond bank after shoreline clearing — After, bank view

Opened access path along the pond after cleanup work — After, access path

Field Photos

Equipment, job sites, and progress in the field.

Mini excavator working along a rural field edge — Field edge work

Lil Yellow Dog sitting on a compact excavator blade — Archie on site

Before-and-after results from real property work.

Past projects by month.

Equipment, job sites, and progress in the field.