Quick answer
Dig Out WNY does excavating, tear-downs and construction site prep in Lancaster, NY, covering the Town of Lancaster, the Village of Lancaster and the Lancaster side of Depew. We handle foundation and footing digs, house and garage tear-downs, sewer lateral work, yard drainage and new-home site prep for homeowners, builders and businesses. Call or text (716) 444-6613 and we'll look at the site in person before quoting.
Lancaster is really two kinds of work under one name. Inside the old village, the work usually centers on an older house and an aging sewer lateral, in the blocks around Broadway and Central Avenue where the two historic districts sit. Out in the rest of the town, it's more often a newer home on a subdivision lot that needs an addition, a pool, a garage slab or a backyard that finally drains. We take on both, residential and commercial, and we answer our own phone.
Three things shape almost every dig here. The town and the village share one building department, so the paperwork runs through the same office on Central Avenue. The ground is flat and heavy, with clay that sheds water slowly. And six creeks cut across town with mapped floodplains along their banks. This page covers what's under your lot, what the town wants before a demolition, and the questions that come up most often before a dig here.
Red clay, six creeks and shallow rock in the north end
Lancaster is a town in eastern Erie County, set up in 1833. Inside its borders sit an incorporated village of the same name (1849, about 2.7 square miles) and the part of the Village of Depew east of Transit Road. The town's comprehensive plan names two historic hamlets: Bowmansville, on Genesee Street between Transit and Harris Hill Road, and Town Line, where Broadway crosses Town Line Road at the Alden border.
The town lies on the Erie Plain between the Onondaga Escarpment to the north and the Portage Escarpment to the south, and most of it slopes 0 to 8 percent. Odessa soils, mapped by NRCS from the Depew side through the village and out across town, formed in red, clayey lake deposits. They're somewhat poorly drained, and in a typical profile the firm silty clay starts about 10 inches down. The north end is different in spots: NRCS maps shallow Benson soils there, with limestone or calcareous shale 10 to 20 inches below the surface, and the town's comprehensive plan places a crushed-stone quarry north of the Thruway.
Water is the other constant. Cayuga, Ellicott, Little Buffalo, Plum Bottom, Scajaquada and Slate Bottom creeks run generally east to west, flood hazard areas follow their banks, and hydric soils cluster along them. A large State wetland sits on the north side of Ellicott Creek.
The housing splits by era. The plan found that more than half the town's homes were built after 1970, well above the Erie County share, while about four in ten Village of Lancaster homes predate 1940. So older village houses tend to need laterals, tear-downs and new driveways, while newer town homes more often need additions, pools and yard drainage.
Services in Lancaster
What we do in Lancaster
Lancaster work tends to fall into a few groups. In the village it's sewer lateral replacement under an older house, a detached garage tear-down or a worn-out driveway rip-out. In the newer parts of town it's yard drainage for a lawn that holds water, footings and foundations for an addition or garage, grading, or site prep for a new house. Commercial lots along Walden Avenue and Transit Road get the same treatment. Whatever the job, we walk it before we put a number on it.
Demolition & Removal
Excavation & Earthwork
Building & Foundations
Sewer, Water & Utilities
Driveways & Finish Work
Lancaster's demolition checklist and clean-lot rule
Any building or structure coming down in the Town or Village of Lancaster needs a permit from the Building and Zoning Department first. The demolition checklist is longer than most owners expect, so it pays to line it up before a machine is scheduled. The town asks for:
- a stamped survey locating the structure, plus a plot plan with existing and proposed grades
- proof that sewer or septic, water, gas and electric are disconnected
- a copy of the asbestos survey as submitted to the NYS Department of Labor
- proof of rodent abatement within the last 30 days
Two local rules change the scope of a house demolition here. In the town, taking down a primary building means the sheds and detached garages go too, unless the Town Board approves otherwise through site plan review. And foundations and every paved surface on the lot must be removed entirely, so the footers, the slab and the old driveway are part of the job, not an extra.
In the village, anything other than an accessory building for a one- or two-family home needs Village Trustee approval after site plan review by the Village Planning Commission. If curbs, sidewalk or street pavement get damaged along the way, the contractor or owner replaces them with approval from the highway department that owns the road.
A 42-inch frost line in wet red clay
Frost depth here isn't a guess. The Building Department's posted 2025 design-criteria table lists a 42-inch frost line, so footings for an addition, attached garage or new house go at least that deep below finished grade. A detached garage can follow different foundation rules, so confirm that one with the department. On Odessa-type ground, that trench bottom sits in firm silty clay, and after a wet week it can take on water faster than it gives it up. That changes how we work:
- We open footing trenches close to the pour so the bottom doesn't turn soft.
- Wet clay spoil stays back from the trench edge, and what won't compact gets hauled away instead of pushed back in.
- Backfill against new walls goes in thin, compacted lifts, with drainage stone and a footing drain where the plans call for one.
- Finished grade pitches away from the house so roof and surface water leave the foundation.
On a flat subdivision lot, a lawn that stays soggy into May usually needs a place to send the water: a French drain or catch basin tied to a proper outlet, and often a regrade. Because the Building and Zoning Department also administers stormwater and floodplain rules, anything near one of the creeks goes past them before we dig.
Aging village laterals and new-build subdivision lots
The comprehensive plan notes that in both villages, groundwater seeps into aging sanitary lines when the ground is saturated, and storm water gets in during heavy rain and big snowmelts. Cracked, root-filled laterals under older homes are one common path for that water. An open-cut replacement means a trench from the house to the street connection, new pipe on a steady grade, bedding stone, and backfill compacted in layers so the lawn or driveway doesn't sink next spring.
Where the sewage goes depends on your address. Erie County Sewer District No. 4 carries flow from much of the town, the village and the town's share of Depew to the Buffalo Sewer Authority for treatment. No Village of Lancaster homes rely on septic, but some town properties do, and others sit on town-owned lines that the district maintains under contract.
Out in the growing parts of town, the work is new-home construction on subdivision lots. The plan counted about 225 new housing units a year from 2011 to 2015, and in 2017 the Building Department reported 300 open building lots in approved developments. Developers pay for new sewer lines, which then fall under District No. 4. For a single lot, that leaves the basement or crawlspace dig, utility trenches, stone for the driveway, and final grading ready for topsoil and seed.
Lancaster permits, sewer district and utility locates
The Town of Lancaster Building and Zoning Department, at 21 Central Avenue, reviews plans, issues building and demolition permits and inspects work for both the town and the Village of Lancaster. It also handles zoning setbacks and stormwater and floodplain review, so ask that office about size and placement before anything is drawn. If your home is on the Depew side, the Village of Depew runs its own building inspection and code enforcement. Sewer service in much of Lancaster runs through Erie County Sewer District No. 4; confirm with the district or your village who owns the line at your street before lateral work. Before any machine digging, we file a locate request with UDig NY (formerly Dig Safely New York) through 811. That call is the contractor's legal duty, and the ticket must be placed no earlier than ten working days, and no later than two full working days, before the first bucket. Utility owners mark only their own lines, not privately owned ones on your lot, so point out anything you know is buried in the yard.
Questions & answers
Questions from Lancaster homeowners
Do I have to remove the foundation and driveway after a Lancaster demolition?
Yes. The Town of Lancaster's demolition rules say foundations and all paved surfaces on private property must be removed entirely, so the job isn't done when the house is on the ground. We break out and haul the basement walls, floor and footers, the driveway and the walks, then fill the hole with clean material compacted in lifts and grade it. In the town, sheds and detached garages come down with the house too, unless the Town Board approves otherwise.
What frost depth does Lancaster use for footings?
At least 42 inches below finished grade. That's the frost line depth in the Town of Lancaster's posted 2025 design-criteria table, and the state code defines that column as the minimum depth of footing below finish grade. It applies to footings for new homes, additions and attached garages. Footings also have to bear on solid soil, so where fill or soft, wet clay has to come out first, the trench goes deeper. Confirm the depth for your permit with the Building and Zoning Department before we dig.
Why is the dirt so red when you dig in Lancaster?
Because Odessa, one of the most common soils NRCS maps across Lancaster, formed in red, clayey lake deposits. In its typical profile, reddish silty clay starts around 10 inches down and is still there at six feet, the bottom of the profile NRCS describes. NRCS rates it somewhat poorly drained, which you'll notice on the job: trenches can fill after a storm, wet spoil turns sticky, and flat yards stay soft into spring. We plan footing work, backfill and yard drainage around that.
Is there bedrock under the north end of Lancaster?
In some spots, yes. NRCS maps shallow Benson soils in parts of the north end of town, where limestone or calcareous shale sits only 10 to 20 inches below the surface, and the town's comprehensive plan identifies a crushed-stone quarry north of the Thruway. Across most of the rest of Lancaster, including the village, NRCS maps very deep soils, many of them formed in lake-laid silt and clay. Before a basement or deep trench goes in up north, it's worth checking the soil map for your parcel and digging a test hole where rock is likely. Send us the address and we'll start there.
I live on the Lancaster side of Depew. Who handles my permits?
The Village of Depew. It runs its own building inspection and code enforcement, separate from the town office on Central Avenue that serves the rest of Lancaster and its other village. Depew straddles Transit Road: the eastern part sits inside the town, and the western part belongs to Cheektowaga, a town we also serve for excavation and demolition. Sewer flow from the eastern side of the village is carried by Erie County Sewer District No. 4, so ask the village and the district about any lateral work before digging.
Is a demolition in the Village of Lancaster handled differently?
Yes, for anything other than a shed, garage or similar accessory building at a one- or two-family home. In the village, those larger structures need Village Trustee approval after site plan review by the Village Planning Commission, on top of the demolition permit from the Building and Zoning Department. The department also posts the village Historic Preservation Commission's district properties map and list, plus its application form, so check your address before planning exterior work on an older village building.
Service areas
Other towns we serve
The same crew and the same approach across Erie and Niagara counties.
Sources and further reading
- Town of Lancaster Building and Zoning Department (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Lancaster: Demolition permit requirements (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Lancaster: 2025 RCNYS Table R301.2 design criteria, frost line depth (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Lancaster, Village of Lancaster and Village of Depew Comprehensive Plan Update (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description: Odessa (opens in a new tab)
- USDA NRCS Official Soil Series Description: Benson (opens in a new tab)
- UDig NY (811): homeowner and contractor locate requirements (opens in a new tab)
Tell us what's going on at your Lancaster address
Text a few photos and the address to (716) 444-6613, or call. We'll come look at the lot, the soil and the permit path, then give you a straight estimate.