Access for small digger?

[Donwill]

In the near future I shall be modifying an existing garage to become a workshop. However the only decent access I have to the garden beyond it is through the garage. In the medium term I will need to get a digger through the garage to dig out some footings, this will involve digging a trench approx 30 ft long & approx 3 ft deep ( not stony, just heavy clay / loam) In modifying the garage what is the smallest door I can get away with to allow a suitable digger to pass through. Or in other words what are the dimensions for a small digger that I should allow for?

Are there very small diggers available for hire and what makes would contributors recommend?

Don

[RubberBiker]

Polish or Lithuanian.

[Donwill]

Ha ha!!!- slightly amusing but unfortunately not very helpful.

Don

[jim]

common enough to hire are mini-diggers with tracks that "retract" (sideways) so that they can pass through an ordiinary doorway - once through they are expanded back to their (not much wider) full working width, similarly with the roll over bar - quick release and back on when inside - we used one inside for digging out to abt 9ft depth - just make sure there's adequate ventilation if using inside.......

makewise they are enarly all Japanese (/sounding) and if it's on hire then it should be good enough for the job - if not complain or ask for a go before you hire it

cheers jim

[Kevin Poole]

A Bobcat 316 will draw its tracks in to 700mm overall width, but if you have 980mm to play with you can use the next two bigger Bobcats. Watch the height, also - 2155 min.

I've been using a Bobcat 320 this week, and it's very capable. Make sure you get the size of bucket you want when you hire it. Ask one or two local plant hire places what they have - it would be annoying to find that the nearest 316 is 50 miles away, but there's a cheap 320 on your doorstep, if by then, you'd made a narrow door.

A wider door will also be easier for getting materials in and out - your trench will generate spoil that has to go somewhere.

[PeterC]

Yes; Spear and Jackson.

[John Rumm]

The smallest 600kg models will usually go through a normal door way and are a little under 70cm wide. Most seem to have fold down roll cages that allow them to pass under relatively low height obstructions as well.

The slightly larger 700 - 850kg machines (which are far more capable diggers) like the Yanmar "Scoppy" have retractable width tracks that allow the tracks to move closer together such that they are completely within the width envelope of the digger. That will take it down to just under 75cm for moving, but allows a more stable 90cm track base when digging.

Above mentioned scoppy is rather good - easy to get through most gaps digs quite well and has a surprising lifting capacity (one can just about shift a 1 tonne dumpy bag of sand etc - although it is right on the balance point!).

Bobcat do similar beasts, which are ok (although the seat in them makes gives me arse ache after a while!). There are plenty of other brands I have not tried, but chances are they are also ok.

Speak to your hire centre. Our local one does a days hire for about £65. Delivery each way is a further £15. So by the time it has been delivered, used, collected, and the diesel paid for, then the cost comes out in the £100 - £110 range. Longer periods of hire usually get progressively cheaper.

[Andrew Mawson]

Kubota K008 - I have one and they are excellent

AWEM

[Owain]

Why not. It's only about 6 cubic metres of earth to be excavated. That's

12 standard car trailer loads or about 70 wheelbarrow loads.

Alternatively, is it possible to crane the digger over the garage.

But however you get the digger in, you presumably have to get the spoil out, or otherwise store it on site. Also 'footings' suggests further building work, which will have materials to be got on site.

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

will break when shown anything more than soft loam. Bulldog top quality better, but costs more than a days hire of a motorised digger..

[Al]

Thinking laterally, why do you want the smallest possible door? I had a double door put in at the back of our garage. Great for moving big furniture in via the garage/patio doors, great for getting large shrubs/trees into the back garden, and great for fresh air and light in the summer.

Al.

[John]

At my previous house there was an up and over door at the back of the garage - it was really handy - I could get cars into the back garden for maintenance. Better than working on the front. Probably cheaper than bricks as well.

[geoff]

In message , Donwill writes

In the summer, we needed a digger to landscape my mother's garden

Yes, you can get a decent digger which will fit through a "normal" door (with an inch to spare on both sides). I have been looking for the photos and can't find them, I'll have a better look later

[Doctor Drivel]

Maxie, will the photos do the digging? Fantastic Maxie. How can you do these things?

[me here]

I have to say that being cursed with a narrow gap and a 200' garden I WISH the previous owner had thought laterally. Literally. And made the bloody gap a bit wider. It is SUCH A continual PITA.

[The Medway Handyman]

Yawn...

[The Medway Handyman]

Australian. 'Digger'?

G'day.