Whether you have just bought a new property and you want to make it your own, you have been in your home for some time and you would like to spruce it up, or even if you are thinking of selling and you want to make your home a more attractive proposition, updating and renovating your garden is always a great idea.
First of all, having a beautiful garden you can share with your housemates or family can improve your health and quality of life. No matter whether you’ve got a huge garden or a tiny one, having a quality space you can share with the kids or enjoy with your friends during the summer can make all the difference.
Not only that but having a landscaped garden can even increase the value of your home by a whopping 77%! New data from Post Office Money suggests that landscaping your garden can add more percentage value than even an extension, which means that it’s certainly worth considering as this comes at just a fraction of the cost of an extension.
For most homeowners, you should always consult a professional landscaper rather than attempting this work by yourself, however, if you have a little experience in the industry, completing the work DIY can save you even more money! If you decide to take this route, you’ll almost certainly need to hire some equipment. Here we provide a few things to consider before hiring a mini digger.
As the name suggests, a ‘mini digger’ is a compact excavator which is perfectly suited to projects that require tighter manoeuvering in smaller spaces. For this reason, they’re a popular choice amongst seasoned DIYers. This style of machinery can often access areas that others simply can’t, so they’re perfect for landscaping projects in even the smallest of gardens.
When digging up turf manually would take too much time and effort, but the job isn’t big enough for a commercial excavator, a mini digger is a perfect solution. Is this the right machine for your project?
As mentioned above, diggers are highly suitable pieces of equipment for working in small spaces without sacrificing digging power. These pieces of machinery can also be adapted with a number of different attachments for different jobs. Similarly, different diggers come with either tracks or wheels. Tracks are more suitable when faced with difficult terrain and wheels are better on smoother surfaces.
Mini diggers can be used effectively for any of the below jobs and many more:
So, from start to finish – whether you need to clear space for a patio, excavate for a water feature, level out a landscape, create leveled tiers, or remove structural blemishes from your garden – a mini digger will be able to take on most jobs without taking up too much room.
Understanding the scale of your project will allow you to judge what equipment and machinery will be the most effective to use to ensure the work is completed on time and to a suitable standard. If you’re lucky enough to live on a large estate with acres of land and you want to revamp the entire area, then the project is likely to take months rather than weeks and will require some very heavy lifting.
In these circumstances, it may be better to hire a larger excavator or consult with a team of professionals with a track record in this area. However, if you’re only working on a small section of your land, then a mini digger might be just right.
Similarly, if your project is on the other end of the spectrum – like creating some vegetable patches – then a digger might be slightly overboard. A happy medium in between these two circumstances creates the perfect environment for a digger.
Even if you just want to excavate a hole for a new pond, but you don’t want to dig it manually, you could hire a digger for just one day and get the job done in no time at all. If your project is slightly bigger than that but is taking place on a small patch of land, then you might want to hire a mini digger for a few days to a week to ensure all the digging and landscaping is done before you move on to the next phase.
As mentioned previously, the type of conditions you are working in and with will determine the style of mini digger you go with. Mini diggers can come anywhere between 750mm and 1m wide, so it’s essential that you measure your entrances and pathways to ensure the digger you choose will fit where it needs to go.
Similarly, if you’re working on rough terrain, you should choose a digger that uses tracks to maneuver around, and if you are using the digger on smooth terrain you can afford to work with a wheeled digger. Depending on the conditions, this will inform the machine you decide to use.
Before you hire your digger and start work, it’s imperative you check out whether you’ll need insurance. It’s almost certain that you will need to secure an insurance policy for the machinery, however, you can often do this on a short-term basis for the period of time you’ll be using the digger.
The premium will depend on whether you’re using the digger on the road, the type of digger, where you’ll be leaving it, and how long you are using it. Ensure that you fill out the correct information to get an accurate quote and so as not to risk nullifying your policy.
Again, before work starts, you’ll need to check with your local authority on the planning permission rules and regulations to ensure you’re legally allowed to carry out the work. For the most part, small projects rarely require planning permission. However, if you’re planning wholesale changes to your garden, you should check in with your local authority as early as possible and share your plans with them. Regulations change from area to area and you don’t want to find yourself in hot water once you’ve already started work and paid for everything!
If you’re looking for mini digger hire services in East Kent, then we have some of the best services in the area at affordable prices. Rates are dependent on the length of the machinery hire and range between £85 to £475 for a single day and a week.
Considering landscape gardening projects can cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds, depending on the scale of the project, completing the project yourself can save you money. Once you’ve sourced all the relevant materials you’ll need for the work, hiring a mini digger and completing the excavation and flattening the landscape yourself can save you money and allow you to extract the maximum value on your home possible. Of course, this requires some elbow grease, but if you’re not work-shy, it’s a great option.
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN BOSS PLANT HIRE LTD
Founded two decades ago, Boss Plant Hire is family-owned machinery and equipment hire business providing professional equipment to the residents and businesses of the South East. As well as providing digger hire and small digger hire services, we also stock a wide range of other machines and equipment from Rollers and Dumpers to Telescopic forklifts.
We are consistently investing in our stock of equipment and ensure that all of our machines are kept in the best condition possible so that you won’t be met with any unexpected breakdowns. Our priority is providing you with plant and equipment in a timely manner and in perfect working condition to help you complete whatever project you’re working on.
