Our sewer has been backing up for a few years requiring at least annual preventative rooter clean outs. This is due to having the dreaded 'orangeburg' sewer pipe. We obtained several bids with Kalin coming in at the lowest. I have to say there was a $5k spread on the bids which was kind of surprising being they were all doing exactly the same thing. The crew showed up pretty close to the time we were told but it was just a crew of two instead of the normal 3 to 4. As a result things went slower than expected, making the one day project push into the next day. All the work was done as expected and the two guys that were here were pretty nice guys. One thing that could have been better was communication. A pre-made document stating what to expect, when the crew will arrive, payment info etc would help them tremendously. It would be nice if they had put a note up at the alley entrance notifying neighbors a couple days in advance that the alley would be blocked. We've noticed their biggest competitor does this when working in alleys in our neighborhood. We also didn't find out they were pushing to the following day until late in the afternoon. It was good my wife happened to be off the 2nd day, otherwise there would have been an issue getting them into the house. I had to ask when they would show up on day 2 and was told 9am. At 8am they were ringing the doorbell without a courtesy call to notify my wife they were going to be early. These would be easy fixes that would alleviate some customer frustration. Overall a decent experience that ultimately gave a us a new sewer line that will hopefully last longer than me. read more

I cannot recommend them based on my experience, as they did not respect my property. Complete lack of accountability. On top of ruining my yard, took boulders without permission when asked to leave them in the morning, but Chris will try to make you think he did you a favor. Wish I listened to the one star review. They offer a discount to leave a 5 star review. It feels unfair to the community. Pictures of what should have otherwise been an unaffected area with the premium I paid for trenchless. I cannot emphasize enough, it feels like they do not care. read more

Kalin Excavating is beyond incredible and I would give them 100 gold stars if I could! I plan to add a 400 SF raised concrete patio to the back of the house. I spoke with the Spokane Building Department engineers (in City Hall) and they recommended either replacing (with cast iron) or re-routing my PVC sewer line because of the shallow depth. They didn't think the sewer pipe could handle the load from the concrete. Time to call excavators! I had the pleasure of meeting with Chris Kalin. He is extremely knowledgeable, articulate, and incredibly polished for a man in his 30s. He has had many years of experience in his family's excavation business and now manages operations. Chris quickly determined that my existing sewer pipe was likely to tolerate the load, but said that if it did crack or even collapse (the latter is unlikely), he could replace it with a thick-walled HDPE pipe using a trenchless technique. I was concerned about limited future access to my sewer pipe due to hardscape features, but he said they would simply hand-dig down to my sewer line to avoid damage. If it would give me peace of mind, he was more than willing to do the work now. The ballpark estimate was $7-8K. But he emphasized that he didn't think that 'preventative' pipe replacement was necessary. Chris Kalin chose to prioritize MY best interest over scheduling a $7-8K job. (I was operating with the believe that replacing my sewer pipe was necessary and I would not have been any wiser without the education that he provided.) THIS demonstrates his honesty and integrity. But this wasn't the end of our meeting! Our conversation continued for another 45-minutes. He educated me about the drainage system for my abandoned septic tank, the history of sewer lines (in the 1800s they were made of wood and he had a sample!), and the details of the trenchless technique. He showed me a sample of the thick-walled HDPE pipe that he could install in the future, if necessary. He also has concrete experience, so we discussed the challenges that my raised concrete patio poses and the specifics of how to mitigate these challenges. And, he gave me a couple of recommendations. Of all the folks that I have spoken with regarding my project (including the city engineers), he was, by far, the most knowledgeable AND the most willing to provide me with in-depth education. Chris lived up to the Kalin promise . . . I received an expert who was deeply passionate about his work and delivered top-tier service even when he had nothing to gain in this moment. I asked for his business card, but he needed to restock his truck. He promised to drive over the following day and deliver one and he kept his word. I cannot say enough good things about this man. Honestly, he is the kind of person I would welcome as a friend. He is just that awesome. If I have ANY future sewer needs, I am not bothering with other companies. I want someone whom I can trust. I am only calling Kalin. read more

Had some Orangeburg pipe replaced before we moved in and they absolutely DESTROYED our front yard. Going to be a huge project trying to fix and we got zero explanation or care in the process about fixing it. Never using this company for anything again. Oh yeah, it was also $8000. Don't waste your money. read more

My wife and I hired Kalin Excavating to come out and excavate our patio and sidewalk in order to replace the plumbing from the house out to the public line. We originally had two bellies in our piping and we had to have the crummy orangeberg pipe lined that went underneath the garage so it didn't become a larger issue down the road. Kalin did an excellent job! We had to spread the job out over three days due to heavy rain / weather, but the teams that came out each day were efficent and did a great job. Would recommend them if you're needing plumbing / excavating work done. Competitively priced and friendly. read more

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These guys are excellent! They just recently replaced the old Orangeburg sewer pipe on our home. They worked so hard and were so diligent with this project. They even took the time to clean up after themselves. Great customer service! They explained the entire process to me before the job and didn't charge to run a video through the sewer line during the quote. The price for the job was also reasonable. They were recommended to me by the city of Spokane and the Drain Specialist. I am so grateful for their service. Highly recommend them for any excavating job! read more

Incredibley over priced. Having problems with our tank/drain field. Tom came out. Said drain field is shot. He could try some water jet cleaning idea to help unclog the drain field but wasn't guaranteed. I said to try it since it is winter and digging up the back yard isn't an option yet. He charged me $2,000. My husband later reminded me we had the same exact service about 4 yrs ago for under 500. I called action drain and verified what they currently charge for this same service. It would have been $549.00. When I called Tom back to voice my irritation for the huge price difference he said if we use him to repair the field in the spring he would apply that 2k towards that service. So. I had him come out recently. He quoted me $17,000 as a STARTING fee. My husband and I have priced out parts for our entire back yard. They would be less then $2,000. So I don't know why Tom thinks his time is worth 15k. We have friends in construction in CDA. An entire NEW tank and field runs 7-10 k. I have a hard time thinking a repair in wa is really double the price. Needless to say. I will be getting other quotes. read more

These guys are great! Had JB come over and give me a quote on bursting my old line out. One week later I had them scheduled. They worked with my work schedule. Showed up on time. Very nice guys. Dakota, Colton and Luke. Started at 830am and done and cleaned up by 5pm. Dug a hole by the alley, and a hole in my basement. New pipe and new connections. Backfilled and graded the hole in the alley, patched my basement hole back up with new concrete. Great company and Great employees. I would definitely recommend them. No worries about my sewer now. read more

These guys are pretty much miracle workers. If you are in need of excavating services you can stop looking. This is the company you want to hire. Not just professional, polite, and amazingly competent, they can move mountains of city hall paperwork and actual mountains of rocks and dirt to get the services you need to your site. Thanks fellas! I'm one happy customer. read more