How many days will i need a mini digger and driver for

[britishboy7]

As above, need the following doing:

35m2 taking down 4" and levelling ready for sub base
16m2 lawn digging down 8" for sub base
10m long footing digging out for retaining block wall (approx 10m long, 600mm wide, 10" deep

I know 'how long is a piece of string' but want to have a bit of a clue when i ring around for quotes
Thanks all

 

[lostinthelight]

Can you just get a price for someone with a digger to do the job then all you have to do is compare quotes without the worry of under or over estimating hire period?

 

[Halitosis]

Time taken will depend on the size of the digger and proximity of truck/skip on/into which it is dropping the spoil - both of which are dependent on site access. You might be limited to a micro-digger that can fit through your garden gate, or perhaps no problem getting a 3 ton digger and truck alongside it. If the latter, then a matter of a few hours in the hands of a talented operator. Otherwise perhaps a couple of days. Hope that helps, but as lostinthelight suggests, getting a few quotes is your only real way of finding out. Good luck

 

[lonner]

When I drove my hired 1.5t mini diggers I used a grab lorry.

So have you got room for a large heap of soil..

Normally you dig the area where you stock pile the spoil first, dig back and then move it to where you've dug out..
Then add to it.
I reckon you will need 2grab lorry loads for that.
So it's all down to ability of the digger driver, muck away and how dry ,hard the ground is.
If it's dry as a bone clay it's a bugger to dig off neat and accurate so potentially more spoil.

Allow 2days hire if you have room and a reliable muck away service.

Skips will cost a bomb and you have a big obstacle in your way.