Mechanical excavator for DIYers?

[atgcpaul]

I'm going to be doing a 700 sqft brick patio next spring. I am not looking forward
to excavating all the dirt to make room for the subbase and pavers. I might
have to go down as much as 12" because we have clay soil. That's a lot of
digging!

Are there walk behind excavators suitable for DIY use? I know I have utility
lines running through this area and by law I have to keep 3 feet away from them
with mechanical equipment. For the other areas, it will really save me if I can
use an excavator. I'm talking smaller than a Bobcat. What is better, a backhoe
style excavator or one with a front end shovel loader?

Paul

[Daryl]

Check with your local rental emporium. If they don't have walk behind they might have small ride on equipment.

[Tom Slick]

it depends on your soil, if it is really soft then you might be able to use a walk behind. most front end loaders, especially really small ones, don't dig, they only move loose material. an excavator digs but doesn't move much material. for digging and moving a lot of material you need both. a walk behind is really a heavy duty, self propelled, wheel barrow, not really a digging machine.

here are a couple definitions for you for when you are ready to rent the equipment.
excavator: machine with a long arm and bucket on the end, like the rear of a backhoe
front end loader: wide bucket on the front, like the front of a backhoe
skidsteer: generic name for a "bobcat" front end loader.
backhoe: combo of an excavator and front end loader.

[os1kne]

Having dug out a patio that sounds approx. the same size as yours last summer, I highly recommend using some sort of mechanized help. What I did was use a rototiller to "loosen" up the dirt and then dug it out with a shovel. I wish that I had bit the bullet to rent a bobcat. The digging took MUCH more time than I expected.

Good luck!

[dlminehart]

A little googling turned up rental fees of about $120/3 hours, $175/day, plus $50 delivery. I'd thought it would be more for both rental and delivery. Will have to consider it myself, as I have a project that looks like it would take about 40 hours of manual digging!

[Thalermade]

While running a bobcat is certainly fun, you guys might want to go ahead and make a couple calls to see how much it would cost to hire someone. With the building industry slow down, you might be able to get a good deal.

When we did a paver patio 10 years ago (about 400 sq. ft.), the bobcat guy scooped out, leveled the patio area and then spread the excavated dirt out where we wanted it in the yard.

The crushed limestone for the base, and the sand were piled in the street at our driveway (they would not deliver it to the back of the house). So he also hauled and spread the crushed limestone and then moved all the sand to the back as well. All for a couple hundred bucks.

Have fun and buy good knee pads and gloves for laying the pavers
Russ

[lebomike]

The rental house in my area has a walk behind bobcat that works great. I have talked to a number of landscapers here at work and they say it is well worth the money and is just shy of 36" wide if you have to go through a gate. We put a new patio in last year 27'x 22' and the guy dug it by hand. It took him and a helper 4days of digging. I talked to him about using one of these and he insisted on digging by hand. We had a contract price so it was up to him.

[Hellrazor]

Just remember that you need to compact any soil you disturb. So the bigger the toy, the more you can disturb.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks guys! I kinda' wish I was doing this thing this year because now I'm
psyched! It appears there are a bunch of people on Craigslist that do
excavation work. It appears some even haul away dirt.

Paul

[crokett]

If you want to do it yourself, a walk behind may be a better fit. It won't tear up the yard as much as a skid steer and the learning curve is not nearly as steep for driving one.

[DaveStL]

I rented a "Dingo" walk-behind a few years ago to dig about 200 ft of trench for a gas line. That was w/ the optional trencher, and it worked very well. I think it also came w/ a toothed bucket (don't try digging w/ a straight bucket!). It doesn't have the mass of a Bobcat so you can't take big bites or move big rocks, but for a small job it might suit just fine.

Another issue w/ renting a Bobcat is many places won't let you out of the yard w/o a 3/4 ton truck, even if your truck is rated to tow it. Not a problem w/ a Dingo.