Berkeley County · 20 minutes from our shop
Excavating Contractor in Martinsburg, WV
Utilities, drainage, septic, site prep and demolition. Webster's General Contracting LLC works Martinsburg and Berkeley County out of Kearneysville, twenty minutes down the road.
- 20 minutes away
- Berkeley County permits
- 811 locates every job
- Free on-site estimates
Working in Martinsburg
Two different towns, depending where you are
Martinsburg splits into two kinds of work for us, and which one you need depends almost entirely on your address.
In town it's older property and public utilities. Houses built when the railroad ran everything, with clay sewer laterals full of roots, water services that have started leaking, basements that take water every spring, and garages and outbuildings that have outlived their use. Tight lots, close neighbors, and a lot underground to work around.
Outside the city it's septic country and new construction. Lots being split off farms toward Hedgesville and Inwood, homes on their own well and septic, long driveways, and site prep for people building where there wasn't a house before.
Berkeley County specifically
The septic permit comes first
This is the single thing that catches people out building in Berkeley County: a septic permit generally has to be in hand before a building permit will be issued. Not alongside it. Before it.
That reverses the order most people assume. You can't finalize the house plans, get the building permit and then sort out the septic — because the septic approval is what determines where on the lot a drain field can physically go, and that in turn constrains where the house and the well can sit.
What to do about it: start the site evaluation before you're committed to a site plan. The perc test and health department review take weeks, and everything downstream of them waits. We run the test, sign the installer portion of the application, and work it through with the Berkeley County Health Department.
How septic permitting works
01
Water, Sewer & Storm Lines
Replacing failing water services and collapsed or root-choked sewer laterals is steady work in the older parts of town, along with storm lines and the culverts and cross drains that feed them. Sewer is all about fall — we shoot grade with a laser and hold it the length of the run, because a lateral laid by eye is a callback waiting to happen.
Utility details
02
Boring & Restoration
On established properties the concern isn't the line, it's the lawn and the driveway. Where we can bore under instead of cutting through, we do. Where a trench is necessary, it goes back compacted in lifts so it doesn't leave a sunken stripe across your yard next spring.
Directional boring
03
Basement & Yard Drainage
Water in the basement after every hard rain is one of the most common calls we get from Martinsburg. Usually the cause is outside — grade sloping toward the house, downspouts dumping at the foundation, or no drainage where the ground holds water. We fix it from the outside where that's the actual problem, and say so when it isn't.
Drainage details
04
Septic Outside the City
Once you're past the sewer service area you're on septic, and Berkeley County has a lot of it. New systems for people building, drain field replacements on systems installed decades ago, and repairs. Permits through the Berkeley County Health Department, with the perc test driving what the ground will support.
Septic details
05
Demolition & Concrete Removal
Detached garages, sheds, old foundations and slabs. On the older in-town lots this is usually tight-access work — a structure coming down twenty feet from a neighbor's fence has to fall where we intend it to. Foundations come out rather than getting buried, so the ground is usable afterward.
Demolition details
06
Driveways & Access Lanes
Out past the city, houses sit well back off the road and the drive is a real piece of construction — cut, ditched, stoned and crowned so it carries a loaded truck in February. We also fix the ones that were never built right and rut in the same three spots every spring.
Site development detailsEverything we do here
Services in Martinsburg
- General Excavating Foundations, grading, drainage and hauling
- Septic Systems Perc testing, permits, tanks and drain fields
- Utilities & Storm Sewer Water, sanitary and storm sewer, electric and boring
- Land Clearing Brush, stumps, fence rows and acreage
- Site Development Building pads, driveways and finish grade
- Demolition Barns, garages, foundations and concrete
- Pond Construction Farm ponds, detention basins, cleanouts and dam repair
Around Martinsburg
Also working nearby
All within a short run of Martinsburg.
- Hedgesville
- Falling Waters
- Inwood
- Bunker Hill
- Gerrardstown
- Darkesville
- Shepherdstown
- Kearneysville
Common questions
Martinsburg questions, answered
Do I need a septic permit before my building permit in Berkeley County?
Generally yes — and this trips up more people than anything else here. A septic permit typically has to be obtained before a building permit is issued, which means the site evaluation and perc test have to happen before you finalize where the house goes. Start it earlier than feels necessary.
Who issues septic permits for Martinsburg-area properties?
The Berkeley County Health Department. The property owner submits the application with a plot plan showing tank and drain field placement, and a state-certified installer signs off and performs the percolation test. We handle our portion and work it through with them.
Am I on city sewer or septic?
Depends on your address. Inside the sewer service area you're connected to the public system and the work is laterals, water services and drainage. Outside it you're on your own septic, and it's a different job with a different permitting path. If you're not sure, tell us the address and we'll sort it out.
Why does my basement take water every spring?
Most often the cause is outside: grade sloping back toward the house, downspouts discharging right at the foundation, or nowhere for water to go once it's in the ground beside the wall. Those we can fix by regrading and running drain pipe. If it's a cracked wall or a failed interior system, that's a different trade and we'll tell you rather than sell you an excavation.
Can you replace a sewer line without tearing up my yard?
Often, yes. Where the run allows it we bore under lawns, driveways and landscaping instead of open-cutting. Where a trench is unavoidable it gets backfilled in compacted lifts, graded and seeded so it doesn't settle into a stripe across the yard.
Do you work on the older properties in town?
Regularly. Tight lots, close neighbors, mature trees and a hundred years of utilities underground — it's slower and more careful work than an open field, but it's normal for us. Locates get called on every job, and near marked lines we hand dig.
How long does a water or sewer line replacement take?
The dig itself is often a day or two for a residential service. What extends it is locates, which take a few days and can't be skipped, plus any permit required if the work crosses a right-of-way or ties into a public main.
Can you take down a garage close to my neighbor's property?
Yes. Tight-access demolition is routine — the structure comes down in a controlled direction rather than however it wants to fall. Worth knowing that an asbestos inspection is generally required before demolition, with notification at least 10 working days ahead, so start earlier than you think you need to.
Do you do site work for builders around Martinsburg?
Yes. Pads cut, stoned and draining, utility runs, driveways and erosion control, working to prints or to stakes. A fair share of our work is getting a site ready before the framing or concrete crew arrives.
Do you charge for an estimate in Martinsburg?
No. On-site estimates are free, and we'd rather look at the property than guess over the phone. Martinsburg is twenty minutes from us, so it's an easy trip.
Working in Martinsburg this week
Twenty minutes up the road. Tell us the address and what you're dealing with, and we'll come look at it, tell you what it takes, and put a real number on it.
webstersgeneralcontracting@outlook.com
Webster's General Contracting LLC — excavating contractor serving Martinsburg and Berkeley County, West Virginia.