How do I know what I need to hire?
If you’ve got a landscaping or building job and you need to hire a mini digger or dumper you will need to do some planning before the hire. This will help you to get the right hire for the right amount of time, and also to complete the job efficiently.
Planning Phase
This is a crucial part of any project. You need to work out how much earth you need to move. How deep do you need to dig? Will there be services such as gas pipes, electrical cables or water pipes? A thorough survey of the site is required before you start to dig. You may survey the site and find you will need to change where you are going to dig to avoid any hidden services.
If you have a good idea of how deep you need to dig you can work out how many days you’ll need to hire for. A mini digger can move between 10-20 cubic meters of soil per hour. This depends of how compacted the soil is, and how experienced the operator is.
What do you need to move?
Is there concrete that needs breaking? If there is you need to get a breaker as well as a digger and dumper. This will slow the job down, so it’s wise to add extra time to the hire for breaking and moving concrete.
Is the earth very compacted or made of heavy clay? If it is this will also slow you down.
Where are you going to put excavated material?
If you’re landscaping you may be able to put this somewhere else on the site, so you may not need a dumper. If you’re building you are likely to be taking the earth off site, so will need a dumper to put it directly into a skip.
What’s access like?
It’s worth thinking about access to your site. You need to make sure whatever you hire has room to work safely. Always consider any height restrictions as well as being able to move and turn on site safely.
What’s the weather going to be like?
The last question might be a bit of an unknown, but the weather can slow things down. If it’s frozen the earth will be very hard to move. Heavy rain can also effect the speed of excavations. Taking a look at the forecast might help with your planning.
Once you’ve answered all of the questions and have a good plan it should be easy to work out what you need to hire and an approximate length of time you’ll need it for. We know that even the best planned project can run over a deadline, so don’t worry if you need to extend your hire it won’t be a problem.