Pear Tree Property Services Reveals Utility Marking Steps Before Fall Landscape Excavation Begins

October 14, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Pear Tree Property Services outlines the utility-marking steps homeowners should complete before fall landscape excavation begins. The cooler months give property owners a window to finish outdoor construction before the ground freezes, and the company notes that any project that breaks ground carries a utility notification requirement separate from landscaping permits. The requirement applies to work on private property as well as public land.

Under the Massachusetts Dig Safe Law, anyone planning to excavate must notify Dig Safe, a nonprofit organization that alerts participating utility companies to the planned work. According to the state program guide, you can give notice by dialing 811, and the service is free. Pear Tree Property Services advises homeowners and contractors to call 811 before digging because the notice allows utilities to mark buried lines before crews or equipment disturb them. The law defines excavation broadly, and the state guide says the term covers grading, backfilling, and demolition in addition to digging.

The notification process follows a set sequence. The state guide explains that the planned excavation area must be premarked before the call is placed, and Dig Safe materials describe white stakes, paint, or flags as the accepted markers. Notice must be given at least 72 business hours before excavation starts, and weekends and holidays do not count toward that period. Utility companies are then required to mark their underground facilities within 72 business hours of the call. A Dig Safe ticket remains valid for 30 days, so a project that runs past that period needs a new ticket requested at least 72 business hours before the first one expires.

The scope of the requirement extends to routine residential work. The Dig Safe homeowner brochure lists landscaping, patios, walkways, retaining walls, irrigation, planting, and root removal among the projects that call for notice, and it states that even small, shallow jobs carry risk when utility locations are unknown. For landscape construction, where patios, walkways, and retaining walls involve grading and excavation, the notice becomes part of project planning from the start.

Pear Tree Property Services builds patios, walkways, retaining walls, fire pits, and pergolas, and says calling 811 before breaking ground protects on-site crews. Operators with 2A hoisting licenses handle excavation and material transport, and Dig Safe compliance is listed among the company’s site safety standards.

Scheduling is the practical consequence of the timeline. Because the 72 business hour period excludes weekends and holidays, a request placed late in the week can push the earliest permitted start date into the following week. Property owners planning fall projects can build that waiting period, along with any municipal review, into the schedule before booking a crew for a specific date.

Once utilities have responded, the markings remain part of the work plan. Utility providers such as Liberty Utilities describe a color-coded marking system and ask that excavators dig around the markings rather than on them.

Utility notification does not replace municipal approvals. The company’s guidance on landscaping permits notes that taller retaining walls, patios that add impervious surface, and work near protected water resources can each require separate local review. Because requirements differ from town to town, the company recommends confirming them with the local building department before work begins, and that step runs alongside the Dig Safe notice rather than substituting for it.

Pear Tree Property Services has provided landscaping, hardscaping, and property maintenance services across the South Shore of Massachusetts since 2015.

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For more information about Pear Tree Property Services, contact the company here:

Pear Tree Property Services
Pear Tree Property Services
(781) 204-4348
info@peartreepropertyservices.com
South Shore Area, Massachusetts, USA