After starting my project, I quickly discovered that there is only one name to know in Almonte when it comes to excavation: Merv Logan at LBL contracting. Merv has been running his business for 38 years and knows everyone in town. After a few minutes reviewing the plans, Merv got to work scraping the building site, laneway and parking lot down to the bedrock. He found bedrock less than 2 feet down and it was surprisingly flat. It took Merv just over a day to have the site ready for footings. What did slow Merv down was digging down 6 feet through solid limestone to get below the frost line to connect the building to the sanitary/water at the property line. It took him 3 days and once he cleared the rubble I had limestone canyon going through my lot. I called it Merv Canyon. The town had to cut the road to dig down to the main sewer line to make a repair to the lateral servicing my lot. The main line runs deep at 12 feet below the street. While the main sewer line was being serviced, Merv took the opportunity to upgrade my water service from a 1” to a 2” line. I’ll have no problems with water pressure in my shower.

One of my motivations for blogging is to pass on what I have learned. If you’re planning to build in the Almonte business park, here are some tips: Get your survey done by GA Smith Surveying. Tony has surveyed most of the lots in the business park and is close by in Carleton Place. You’ll need a stormwater management plan. I’m going to do a dedicated blog post on stormwater management but in summary, you need one for any new build in the business park. Be prepared to write a big check to the municipality of Mississippi Mills. As part of the site plan agreement, you’ll need to prepare a budget of all the “site works” done on and off the property. Site works includes landscaping, paving, curbs, the water/sanitary connection and road cuts. Once the town approves the budget, you’ll need to write a check for 100% of the off site works and 50% of the onsite works. The town will hold this money until all the works is done. It's a strong incentive to finish the job quickly! They want it to look pretty. All the buildings in the business park must have paved laneways with proper curbs. If you’re looking to put up a storage shed, the Almonte business park is not the place for you. The rock goes deep. Our excavator discovered that our site is sitting on solid limestone. So it won’t be cheap to connect to the water/sanitary. Lots in the business park are serviced with 1” water supply. No one at the town could confirm this before we dug. I have absolutely no regrets setting up my business in Almonte. I’ve experienced none of the red tape I’ve heard about in Ottawa. Sure there are rules and paperwork but it mostly makes sense and the people are city hall are always willing to help.