Groundworks & earthworks
Groundworks and earthworks, self-delivered
First trade on site and the one everything else depends on. Our own excavators, operators and supervision take your project from clearance to a level, drained platform ready to build on.
The brief
Out of the ground, on programme
Every programme lives or dies in the ground. If the groundworks slip, everything behind them slips: piling, frame, drainage, the lot. A main contractor buying this package is really buying one thing: confidence that the platform will be ready, right and on time.
We self-deliver groundworks and earthworks with our own teams, excavators, operators and supervision. Nothing is subcontracted out. The people who price the job are the people who dig it, which is why our programmes hold. Formed in 2007 and still family-run, we arrive as first trade on site and hand over a level, drained platform ready for the frame.
The package covers the full below-ground sequence:
- Site clearance, setup and level reduction
- Bulk and detailed excavation, cut and fill, muck away and imported fill
- Ground stabilisation, capping and piling mats
- Foundations, below-ground works and drainage
- Sub-bases, hardstandings, external levels and formation
How we run it on site
Earthwork support is designed before anyone breaks ground. Formation is inspected and recorded before it is covered. Every pour and backfill is signed off under our QA system. Where live services are in the ground, our own T-VAC 2 vacuum excavation unit proves and exposes them, so nobody waits on a hired-in rig. All of it runs under CDM with our supervision on site every day.
The record backs it up: new industrial units taken out of the ground, complete residential schemes carried as principal contractor, and groundworks proven across industrial, residential and education work.
We work for main contractors including Kier, BAM Nuttall, Galliford Try and ISG, and directly for public authorities such as North Somerset Council and Bristol City Council. From our base in Weston-super-Mare we cover the South West of England and South Wales. Much of it is repeat business, which tells you how the last job went.
Certified to deliver
SSIP accredited
Safety Schemes in Procurement, health and safety pre-qualified.
Constructionline Gold
Verified accreditation and supply-chain assurance.
SMAS Worksafe
Recognised health and safety competency.
Cyber Essentials
Certified against common cyber threats.
Why EJ McGrath
Built for complex, self-delivered work
First trade, run properly
Setup, sequencing and QA records from day one, so the trades behind us start on a platform that is level, drained and signed off.
Safe digging near live services
Our own T-VAC 2 vacuum excavation unit proves and exposes buried services before an excavator bucket gets anywhere near them.
Repeat business, earned in the ground
Kier, BAM Nuttall, Galliford Try and ISG come back because the platform is handed over right and on time.
On site
How we run the ground package
Groundworks set the critical path, so we plan the package backwards from the dates that matter: piling mat handover, foundation pours, drainage completion, formation sign-off. Muck away and imported fill are balanced against the cut and fill early, because haulage is where earthworks programmes usually come apart.
On site the job runs to CDM under our own supervision. Excavations get designed earthwork support before anyone enters them. Buried services are proved by vacuum excavation before a bucket goes near them, and formation is inspected and recorded before it is covered. Interfaces with piling, frame and following trades are managed day by day, not left to the weekly meeting.
The crew is ours from top to bottom: our excavators, our operators, our engineers setting out and our foremen running the sequence. When the design changes or the ground surprises you, decisions are made on site the same day.
What we self-deliver
Capabilities
Where else we work
Related services and sectors
Next step