Q. What do I need to check before hiring a digger?

A. The first thing to check is your access, 9 times out of 10 - your job will have a restriction of some sort such as width or height. You need to check what restrictions you may have carefully – remember if the ground is not level where you need to get a machine through a gap, it will tilt to one side. Also remember to include drainpipes or outside taps.

You then need to work out what size machine you need, once you have determined your access work out what you have to achieve, for example how deep you have to dig or how much soil needs to be excavated. Do you need to move the excavated soil, if so would a dumper be the best method.

If you are not sure contact us and ask.

Q. What do I need to check before digging?

A. You need to check for underground obstructions and services such as gas, electricity, water and telephone before starting any excavation. Even a small mini digger will damage these services.

Q. I need to dig a trench along a wall, is this possible?

A. All our excavators except the 13 ton have boom offset which will fold the boom up to 80 degrees left and 60 to the right - this reduces the slew radius in diameter, and allows parallel digging with fences and walls

Q. Will the tracks damage my drive?

A. All our mini diggers (1 to 5 ton) are on rubber tracks to save damage on block paving on tarmac. However in hot weather tarmac can become soft so it may be advisable to put boarding down to protect it.

Q. I have a concrete drive, will a mini digger break this up?

A. If the concrete is very thin you might get away with it however it is probably advisable to speak to us about hiring a hydraulic breaker. We can supply hydraulic breakers to fit all our machines, the thickness and area of the concrete will determine what size machine you would need.

Q.     Am I responsible for the machine whilst it is on hire?

A.     Yes, you are responsible for any damage or the theft of any excavator or machinery on hire to you. You can often add this to your household insurance for the hire period. Alternatively we can offer insurance against theft, please contact us for details.

Q.     Do you supply skips or muck away?

A. No but we can usually put you in touch with a local company.

Q.  Do I need a license to operate a machine?

A.  No, there is no legal requirement for an operator to hold a license, however most construction sites will require an operator to have certificate such as the CPCS or CMPE before they are allowed to work on that site. All our operators hold the CPCS certificate for the excavators they operate, this is fast becoming the industry standard certificate.

Q. I have no experience driving a mini digger is this a problem?

A. No, we will run through all the controls and the safe operation of the machine when it is delivered.

Q. I cannot find the answer to my question? 

A. Then contact us

All Hires are subject to our Terms and Conditions and compliance with our Excavator Safety Instructions & Dumper Safety instructions.