About CANDO LLC
MEET THE OWNER DAN
Second-generation excavator. 20+ years moving dirt and solving water problems now serving Middle Tennessee.
Family & Roots
My wife Ashlee and I intentionally chose Middle Tennessee to raise our two boys, Carver and Oaklee. They're on job sites with me sometimes, learning what honest work looks like — the same way I did with my dad. Family is a big part of why I care about protecting homes, not just moving dirt.
My Story
Second-generation excavator. Third-generation builder at heart.
I'm Dan Johnson, and excavation is in my blood. My grandfather spent his career building homes. My father excavated many of the sites those homes were built on. I grew up on construction sites from around age 11 — starting out holding a transit rod and running a shovel, then learning skid steers and excavators as I got older.
By 21 I was running projects on my own. At 24, I took over the business side of my family's excavation company. A few years later I owned and operated my own excavation company in Illinois for about 13 years, doing everything from site development to utility work.
About four years ago, my family and I moved to Middle Tennessee. Before starting CANDO, I spent time working for a well-respected local excavation contractor here — not because I needed the experience with a machine, but because I wanted to learn this ground. Middle Tennessee soil, slope, and rainfall behave differently than what I grew up on. I wanted to understand how water moves across these properties, how the clay and rock sit under the surface, and how the local trades work together before I put my own name on a truck.
I've moved a lot of dirt in my career, and I've seen what separates a job that lasts from one that has to be redone. It almost always comes down to two things: how the ground was shaped, and whether the person doing the work took the time to understand the property.
I don't sell French drains. I solve water problems. And the simplest long-term solution is almost always the right one.
Why I chose residential drainage
After years of larger commercial excavation, I made a deliberate decision to focus on residential drainage and grading. I enjoy solving problems more than simply operating equipment. On a homeowner's property, every job is a puzzle — the soil, the slope, the trees, the neighbors, the foundation, where the downspouts land. I love that.
I also love working directly with people. When it's your home, your yard, your kids' backyard — you deserve to talk to the person actually doing the work. Not a salesperson. Not a call center. Me.
How I run a job
Before I recommend anything, I walk the property with you. I want to see where the water is coming from, where it's sitting, and where it should be going. I'll show you what I see and explain why. If there's a simpler fix than what you called me out for, I'll tell you — even if it means a smaller job.
I'd rather solve the problem once than come back every year. That's the standard I hold my own crew to, and it's the standard my grandfather and dad held me to on the sites I grew up on.