Before You Hire an Excavator for Your Construction Project, Read This

About Me
Build Your Business Brick by Brick

Hello, my name is Gary. When I went into business, I didn't have a great deal of money. The lack of funds meant that I had to buy commercial premises which had seen better days. The roof was leaking, the plumbing was causing problems in the bathrooms and the interior walls were in need of repair. Thankfully, my brother loaned me some money so I could call in some contractors to work on the building before I opened it to my customers. The workmen were great, they carried out a quick but professional repair and I was able to open for business. My business is doing really well and I couldn't be happier with the building. I decided to start this blog to offer advice to others who are considering hiring construction contractors.

Before You Hire an Excavator for Your Construction Project, Read This

21 February 2017
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog


Earthmoving equipment is usually indispensable for any building and construction work. This is because such projects often involve digging and moving of materials. An excavator is one such equipment you will find extremely useful for your building or construction project. However, the key to tapping into that usefulness is renting the best equipment, and to do this, you need to consider the following 3 things.

Type of Work

For what use do you need an excavator? Knowing this will help you find the correct size of equipment. Excavators come in different sizes, each with its own power and operational weight. Larger excavators hold heavier loads, making them ideal for use in situations where maximising load capacity and minimising back and forth trips are more important. However, they will cost you more to maintain, especially on fuel. Larger excavators also require special transportation, which means you might also spend more to transport them to your site.

For these reasons, if you only need an excavator for backyard projects, installing utilities in your home, landscaping, digging a pool or pond, or backfilling, a mini excavator would suffice. The standard larger excavators should be left for projects such as construction of a commercial building.

Condition of Your Site

The condition of your site will help you get the ideal type of excavator. For instance, there may be need to remove unwanted soil, big trees, and heavy rocks from your site. If you are demolishing your old house to build a new one on the same site, pavements may also have to be broken and removed. For such site conditions, choose an excavator with a breaker.

If the excavator has to manoeuvre tight or constricted spaces, choose one with the shortest tail swing to allow for easy movement. A zero swing excavator is usually the best because it can only swing the arm within the track width's constraints. A knuckle boom excavator can also work perfectly in cramped spaces although it is more suitable for working around large obstacles. Compared to the standard excavator, it comes with an additional joint on the arm. When in operation, the joint swings left rift to offer more flexibility in movement.

Procedure in Case of a Mechanical Breakdown

Mechanical breakdowns will slow down your project. Delays mean there are high chances you will go over your budget. To avoid such outcomes, find out the breakdown procedure from the excavator hire company before you hire the equipment. While most companies will find a replacement for you, the delivery procedure is usually different. Always hire from a company that has same-day delivery options in case of a breakdown.