Good construction starts with good dirt work. Pope Construction & Excavation, Inc. handles excavation and site preparation for homes, cabins, and commercial projects across East Tennessee: cutting and filling pads, digging footers, trenching, rock work, and finish grading so the next trade can build on a solid, level, well-drained site.
Excavation Built for East Tennessee Ground
Kyle Pope founded the company in 2013, and working in this part of the state means dealing with hills and rock. When the ground is too hard to dig, an excavator with a hammer attachment breaks it up so work can keep moving. Our crew knows how to read the ground, plan around it, and keep the job on schedule.
What Site Prep Includes
- Building pad cut and fill, with rough and finish grading
- Footer excavation, ready for forms, rebar, and concrete
- Rock excavation and breaking with hammer attachments
- Backfilling and final grade once the work below ground is done
Footers and Site Work Are Core Services
Digging footers and doing site and prep work is a big part of what we do every month. We dig footers to the plan, set the site up for forms and steel, and coordinate the next steps through to the foundation. If the lot still needs trees or brush removed first, we handle that too through our land clearing service.
A Clean Final Grade
Kyle's standard is that the finished site should look right. On one recent final-grade job, he told the crew that if it took an extra day or two to get the grade pristine, that was fine. The details are what the customer sees every day after we leave, and we take them seriously.
Work Through the Seasons
We typically work straight through the winter. Wet ground and snow can slow things down, and extreme cold limits some rock work with hammer attachments, but in East Tennessee we are usually able to keep projects moving year-round.
Residential and Commercial Projects
We prepare sites for single homes, cabins, and larger builds, and we do commercial and developer site work as well. See our commercial and developer work page for more.
Where We Work
Pope Construction & Excavation, Inc. provides excavation & site prep across the five East Tennessee counties we serve, starting from our base in Sevierville. Find your area below, or see our full service area page.
- Sevier County: Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Seymour
- Jefferson County: Jefferson City
- Knox County: Knoxville, Farragut
- Blount County: Maryville
- Hamblen County: Morristown
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Digging footers and doing site and prep work is a core part of what we do.
Yes. East Tennessee ground is often rocky, and we use hammer attachments on our excavators when rock has to be broken up.
Typically yes. We work through the winter in most conditions. Very wet ground or snow can slow a job, and very cold temperatures limit hammer work.
Yes. We can clear the lot, prep the site, and move straight into footers and foundation work.