Jason was a pleasure to do business with. He had a fair price and did excellent work. I will definitely use Elite Excavation Services again in the future
Excavation and demolition in Opelousas usually starts with an old building that somebody finally wants gone. The city calls itself the third oldest in Louisiana, and the local housing stock clearly shows its age. Census figures put the median build year for a house in Opelousas at about 1971. Very few of the homes inside the city limits went up after the year 2000.
So most of what we take down here is vacant wood frame houses, leaning carports and empty mobile homes. Some were inherited by family members who live out of state and cannot keep the place up. Others sat empty after a storm, never got repaired, and lost the roof a winter or two later. The lot underneath usually still has value, and the ruined structure is the thing blocking it.
We work out of New Iberia, about 45 miles south, running up US 167 and I-49 through Lafayette. The other half of the calls we get in Opelousas are about land instead of buildings. A vacant lot on the edge of town can turn into a solid thicket in about two seasons. Call (337) 201-0594, and every estimate is free.
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Most of our Opelousas work is residential. We take down wood frame houses, mobile homes, detached garages, barns and carports, plus small commercial buildings. Concrete slabs and driveways come out on the same trip. Our page on house demolition in Opelousas lays out the full process.
Before anything moves, the power, gas and water get disconnected by the utility. Louisiana law also requires a call to Louisiana 811 at least two full business days before digging. That call is free, and each utility marks its own lines on the property. Then the structure comes down in sections and the debris gets sorted as it falls.
Debris leaves the site in roll off containers, and the slab or piers go with it. We backfill the hole and grade the lot so water runs off toward the ditch. Louisiana's asbestos notification rules apply mostly to commercial and multi unit buildings. Abatement belongs to an asbestos abatement contractor accredited by LDEQ, and we schedule our work around it.
Inside the city limits, Code Enforcement inspects the structure and brings a condemnation recommendation to the city council. The council then votes on it. City code enforcement staff have said publicly that more than half of the residential property in Opelousas is blighted. Demolition costs are normally billed back to the owner.
Outside the city limits, the St. Landry Parish Council handles the same problem. Owners get notice by certified mail and regular mail, and the parish cross checks addresses with the assessor. An owner can appear at a council meeting and ask for more time. The parish has granted extensions of 90 days or more to owners who showed a plan.
Owners often hire the teardown themselves instead of waiting for the city to do it and bill the cost back. We quote the demolition and the haul off together. The container leaves with the lumber, roofing and slab, and our demolition debris removal in Opelousas page covers that. What is left is a graded lot you can sell or build on.
Empty lots in Opelousas fill in fast. Briars and privet crowd the fence line, then young hardwoods fill in the middle. After a few years it is a wall of green with trash and old fence wire inside. A compact track loader and a mini excavator take it back down to dirt.
Drainage decides a lot of these jobs. Roadside ditches and coulees carry most of the water in and around Opelousas, and they silt in over time. High water on Bayou Courtableau has put water over streets in town and into yards. Cleaning the ditch line and reopening a blocked culvert is often the first thing we do.
You can underbrush a lot and keep the mature oaks, or clear the whole thing to bare ground. Both jobs are covered on our land clearing in Opelousas page. The brush leaves in a dump trailer or a roll off container. Stumps get dug out of the ground with the excavator instead of ground down.
St. Landry Parish is farm country. Soybeans, sugarcane and rice cover the most acres, and sweet potatoes are a signature crop here. The parish was named the Equine Capital of Louisiana in 2022, and cattle and crawfish ponds are common. Work on that land means house pads, land leveling, lot grading and pond digging.
A new gravel driveway usually needs a culvert under it so the ditch keeps flowing. Sizing the pipe depends on ditch depth and how much water that run carries. LA DOTD permits a driveway connection on a state highway such as US 190, LA 182 or LA 31. The parish permit office handles connections on parish roads, so check with them before the pipe goes in.
LA 31 links Opelousas back to New Iberia along the west bank of Bayou Teche. It runs through Leonville, Arnaudville, Cecilia and Breaux Bridge on the way, and becomes Creswell Lane in town. That is the route our equipment often takes, along with I-49 and its Judson Walsh and Harry Guilbeau exits. We do the same kind of excavation work in Breaux Bridge on the way up.
Communities & areas we serve around Opelousas: Opelousas Historic District, The Hill, Brickyard, Carlton, Garland, Park Vista, Indian Hills, Royal Garden.
Opelousas ZIP codes served: 70570, 70571.
Free, no-obligation estimates throughout St. Landry Parish.
(337) 201-0594
We handle demolition on houses and small commercial buildings, down to the slab when you want it gone. Free estimates across Acadiana.
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We tear down old mobile homes and manufactured homes around New Iberia and haul every piece off. The lot is left clean. Free on-site estimates across Acadiana.
View Details We tear down sheds, detached garages, barns, pole barns and metal carports around New Iberia, haul the debris off and leave the spot clean.
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We break out old concrete driveways, patios, walkways and slabs around New Iberia and haul the pieces off. Free on-site estimates across Acadiana.
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We clear overgrown lots and acreage around New Iberia. That means underbrushing, brush removal, briars, vines and small trees. The vegetation leaves the property in dump trailers or roll-off containers.
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We do dirt work across Acadiana: site prep, cut and fill, and fill packed in lifts. Our excavators and track loader move, spread and pack fill to the grade you need. Call for a free estimate.
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We build house pads and mobile home pads around New Iberia. Fill goes down in packed lifts, and the sides slope so rain runs off. Free on-site estimates across Acadiana.
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We regrade yards so rain runs away from the house and fill the low spots that hold water. Lots get graded before a build too. Free on-site estimates across Acadiana.
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We build new gravel driveways and rebuild the ones that have washed out or gone to potholes. Crushed limestone gets shaped with a crown so rain runs to the sides. Free estimates around New Iberia and Acadiana.
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We install driveway culverts and replace crushed or rusted pipe across Acadiana. Every pipe gets set to the ditch grade so water drains instead of backing up. Free estimates on culvert installation in New Iberia and the surrounding parishes.
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French drain installation and yard drainage in New Iberia. We dig the trench, set the pipe and gravel, and move standing water to a ditch that can take it.
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Debris removal for piles too heavy to move by hand. We load construction, demolition and storm debris with an excavator or track loader. The load leaves in a roll-off container or dump trailer.
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We dig farm and recreational ponds on the clay around New Iberia. We also dredge ponds that have silted in and rebuild banks that went shallow. On crawfish ponds we handle the dirt: levee work and leveling.
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We pull stumps out of the ground with an excavator instead of grinding them down. The root ball and the big roots come out with the stump. We backfill the hole and haul the wood off.
View DetailsReal reviews from real demolition, debris and dirt work jobs on Google.
Jason was a pleasure to do business with. He had a fair price and did excellent work. I will definitely use Elite Excavation Services again in the future
I needed some debris removed and Elite Excavation came through very timely and the job was done smoothly!
Great service with a reasonable price. The operator did a great job with my shed demolition! He left the place very clean and ready for my new shop. I highly recommend Jason and his crew.
We needed a bobcat to spread a foundation for a rented horse arena and they did a great job for a very reasonable price. I’d use them again and highly recommend their services!
Elite was very professional and prompt getting the job done. Very reasonable pricing. Stayed in touch the whole process of the job
This company is very easy to work with. Prompt and very professional. Definitely would use Elite again!
A few of the questions we hear most around Opelousas. If yours is not here, call and ask.
A structure that needs to come down, a lot to clear, a pad to build, or a driveway that floods? Call or send the form. We come look at the property, price the job in person, and give you a number that holds. Estimates are free.
Tell us about the job and we’ll get right back to you.