County Seat · Everett
Excavation & Tree Service in Snohomish County
Snohomish County is DirtRaptor's home county. It runs from the Puget Sound shoreline at Edmonds and Mukilteo east across farm valleys and suburbs to the Cascade foothills at Granite Falls, Sultan and Gold Bar, and most of our work happens somewhere inside it.
The Ground
Working the ground in Snohomish County
The west side is suburban upland and bluff shoreline. The middle is a series of broad river valleys, the Snohomish, the Stillaguamish and the Skykomish, separated by plateaus like Smokey Point, Getchell and Cathcart. East of the valleys the ground climbs fast into steep, forested foothills.
Soils
Uplands are mostly dense glacial till that digs hard and drains poorly. Valley floors are river silts, sands and peat with high groundwater, and the Arlington and Smokey Point plateaus have well-draining glacial outwash. In the foothills, cobble, boulders and shallow rock show up.
Water and buffers
Five major rivers and hundreds of salmon streams cross the county, with wide buffers and large mapped floodplains in the Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Skykomish valleys. The Puget Sound bluffs carry landslide hazard mapping.
Trees
Douglas fir and western red cedar dominate the uplands and foothills, with red alder, bigleaf maple and black cottonwood along valleys, pastures and creeks. Large second-growth conifers near homes are the most common tree call.
Typical work here
Rural acreage, pastures, shops and arenas around Arlington, Snohomish, Monroe and Stanwood; new subdivisions and ADUs in Marysville, Lake Stevens and Mill Creek; and tight older lots and bluff properties in Everett, Edmonds, Mukilteo and Lynnwood.
Services
Services across Snohomish County
Excavation Contractor
Foundation pits, footings, trenching, utilities, construction roads and building pads — dug to spec, inspected, and signed off. In Snohomish County: Uplands are mostly dense glacial till that digs hard and drains poorly.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Land Clearing
Raw and wooded lots made buildable. Brush, thinning, stumps and access handled by one crew instead of three. Typical here: Rural acreage, pastures, shops and arenas around Arlington, Snohomish, Monroe and Stanwood; new subdivisions and ADUs in Marysville, Lake Stevens and Mill Creek; and tight older lots and bluff properties in Everett, Edmonds, Mukilteo and Lynnwood.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Tree Removal
Arborist-led removal, thinning and stump grinding. Because the same crew runs the trees and the excavation, both happen on one mobilisation. Douglas fir and western red cedar dominate the uplands and foothills, with red alder, bigleaf maple and black cottonwood along valleys, pastures and creeks.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Grading & Drainage
Retaining walls, RV and equipment pads, and drainage correction that actually moves water away from the structure. Five major rivers and hundreds of salmon streams cross the county, with wide buffers and large mapped floodplains in the Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Skykomish valleys.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Demolition Contractor
Structures, slabs, outbuildings and hardscape taken down, sorted and hauled — with the site left ready for what comes next. Asbestos surveys and notices here go through the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Hauling & Dump Truck Service
Own trucks, own schedule. Spoil hauled off, material delivered, bins dropped — without waiting on a subcontractor. Spoil out and rock, fill and topsoil in, on our own trucks across Snohomish County.
Everett · Lynnwood · Bothell · Mill Creek · Mountlake Terrace · Edmonds
Cities
Cities we serve in Snohomish County
Everett
Everett is the county seat and the biggest city in Snohomish County, and it packs a lot of different ground into one place. Century-old lots in north Everett sit a few miles from 1990s subdivisions around Silver Lake, and the Snohomish River delta wraps the east side of town.
Lynnwood
Lynnwood is one of the fastest-changing cities in south Snohomish County. The City Center around the light rail station is filling with new buildings, while the neighborhoods around it are mostly established single-family lots that are getting remodeled, added onto and infilled.
Bothell
Bothell straddles the King and Snohomish county line, and the City of Bothell handles permitting on both sides. Downtown has been almost completely rebuilt in the last decade, and the north end around Canyon Park and Thrasher's Corner keeps adding homes on former wooded parcels.
Mill Creek
Mill Creek grew as a master-planned community around its golf course and Town Center, and it still feels planned: greenbelts, protected wetlands, and a lot of homeowners associations with their own rules on top of the city's.
Mountlake Terrace
Mountlake Terrace was built out quickly in the decades after World War II, and much of the housing stock is from that era. Now the light rail station and Town Center are bringing new density, while older homes are being remodeled or replaced.
Edmonds
Edmonds is a waterfront city with a ferry dock, a walkable downtown and a lot of view property. Much of the work here is on steep or tight lots, where access, slope stability and the neighbors' view all matter as much as the digging.
Mukilteo
Mukilteo runs from the ferry landing and Old Town on the water up to the Harbour Pointe neighborhoods beside Paine Field. Much of the city is built on or near bluffs, so slope and drainage questions come up on almost every job.
Marysville
Marysville has grown faster than almost any city in the county, from a small farming town to a city of new subdivisions, a growing industrial center at Smokey Point and plenty of acreage on its edges. Lot clearing, site prep and driveways for new homes are a big share of the work here.
Snohomish
The City of Snohomish is a historic river town with an antique-filled downtown, but most of the properties that call DirtRaptor are on the farms, acreage and wooded hillsides around it. Pastures, shops, barns and long driveways are standard work here.
Lake Stevens
Lake Stevens wraps around the largest natural lake in Snohomish County, and the city has grown fast through annexations and new subdivisions. Waterfront lots, hillside lots and new construction all make up the work here.
Monroe
Monroe sits where US 2 heads up the Skykomish valley toward Stevens Pass, and it is home to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Around the city, the valley is a patchwork of farms, river property and wooded hillside acreage.
Arlington
Arlington is where the north and south forks of the Stillaguamish River come together, and the area around it is farms, horse property, timber and fast-growing neighborhoods near Smokey Point and the airport. Pasture clearing, big tree removal and site prep for shops and new homes are everyday work here.
Brier
Brier is a small, quiet, almost entirely residential city between Bothell, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. It is known for larger wooded lots, and that means tall trees close to houses, long driveways and homeowners who want the woods kept.
Stanwood
Stanwood sits at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, the gateway to Camano Island, surrounded by some of the richest farmland in the county. Rural properties, horse farms and big timber on the surrounding hills make up most of the work.
Granite Falls
Granite Falls is the gateway to the Mountain Loop Highway and the foothills of the Cascades. Properties here tend to be wooded acreage with big timber, steep ground and long private roads.
Sultan
Sultan sits on US 2 where the Sultan River meets the Skykomish, with mountains on every side. Properties range from river-flat lots in town to wooded acreage up the Sultan Basin.
Gold Bar
Gold Bar is a small mountain town on US 2 below Wallace Falls State Park. Most properties are wooded lots and acreage with big trees, steep ground and limited access.
Woodway
Woodway is a small, heavily wooded town of large estate lots on the bluff above Puget Sound, just south of Edmonds. Work here usually means big trees, steep slopes and homeowners who care a great deal about protecting both.
Also serving Darrington, Index and surrounding unincorporated Snohomish County.
Timing
When to schedule work in Snohomish County
Across Snohomish County, the drier months from late spring into early fall are the best window for excavation, clearing and grading, when soils compact properly and machines leave the ground in good shape.
Floodplain ground in Snohomish County's river valleys is worked once high water has dropped, and work near salmon streams can be limited to set months.
Tree work, hauling and demolition run year round. Hazard trees are best handled before the fall and winter windstorms.
Permits & Rules
Permits in Snohomish County
Outside city limits, Snohomish County Planning and Development Services (PDS) handles clearing, grading, building and demolition permits. Inside a city, that city's permit desk takes over, and rules on trees and critical areas vary from city to city.
Demolition falls under the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which requires an asbestos survey and advance notice for most structures. Every dig starts with an 811 utility locate at least two business days ahead.
Questions
Snohomish County FAQs
Who issues permits in unincorporated Snohomish County?
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Snohomish County Planning and Development Services (PDS) handles clearing, grading, building and demolition permits outside city limits. Inside a city, that city's own permit desk takes over. We check which applies to your parcel before we quote.
Do I need a forest practices permit to clear my Snohomish County acreage?
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Sometimes. Clearing for a home site usually falls under county clearing rules, but larger timber harvests can need a Washington DNR forest practices application. We help you figure out which applies before any cutting.
Is all of Snohomish County in your core service area?
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Yes. Snohomish County is home base, so we take on jobs of every size here, from a single hazard tree to multi-acre clearing.
Who handles asbestos surveys and demolition notices in Snohomish County?
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Snohomish County is covered by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Most demolition needs an asbestos survey by a certified inspector and advance notice, and we line both up before scheduling.
