Well, we been scratching in the dirt by fits and starts. First dirt scratcher gave me a fixed bid and when his experience and equipnment proved to be inadequate he bowed out voluntarily in favor of a more heavy duty industrial approach. I now have a track hoe with a 4 ft dide bucket, an Extend a hoe, a D-6 cat, two 10 wheel dump trucks approaching the two week mark.

I drove dump truck for 2 1/2 days and a Bobcat with 500 lb hammer chisel on the front for 1 1/2 days. I spent a couple days in a trench with a jack hammer and 2 1/2 days with an air powered rock drill. (1/2 day with electric hammer drill).

I'll toss in some pix to show some stired dirt.
Here is a shot of the excavated basement wall where water was seeping out yesterday when it was cold enough to freeze it. I opt for this shot as the one with the bikini is still being edited in PhotoShop to remove goosebumps.

Patrick