 
J_stone
Member
Username: J_stone
Post Number: 425
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 2:08 pm: |    |
Dear Forum -
Anyone have a recommendation for someone/company to dig out a path from my house to my garage and from the garage door around the side to the alley, a standard 3 foot width and 2x4 depth for a sidewalk. I would need most of the dirt taken away. Shoveling by hand isn't much fun. (I already started it) I wonder if a landscaper would have a machine that could do it faster.
I will be pouring the cement with friends once the prep is done. The distance is aprox 55 feet in total.
Thanks. |
Crew
Member
Username: Crew
Post Number: 1424
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 2:12 pm: | |
rent a bobcat and go nuts...it's a lot of fun  |
J_stone
Member
Username: J_stone
Post Number: 426
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 3:30 pm: | |
I could I suppose. Where can I rent equip like that? |
Johnnny5
Member
Username: Johnnny5
Post Number: 732
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 9:53 pm: | |
If you're digging in decent grass try a gas powered sod cutter instead. You can set most of them to take out a bit of the soil as well. They're a lot smaller, easier to use(Like using a push mover), cleaner and cheaper to rent than a bobcat. Once the sod is cut it's easy to roll up and move by hand. Depending on your soil conditions it'll probably be at the perfect height (after tamping) with just the sod removed. I'm not sure where you're located, but Angelo's Landscape Supplies on Middlebelt in Farmington carries sod cutters and power tampers and their hourly rental rates are very reasonable.
Using a Bobcat will likely disturb more soil than necessary and disturbed soil is often what leads to failing concrete. That and even if you're careful a Bobcat will make a huge mess of the surrounding lawn.
(Message edited by Johnnny5 on April 22, 2008) |
J_stone
Member
Username: J_stone
Post Number: 427
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - 5:19 pm: | |
Thanks for all of the tips Johnny5, but I have a hard clay, rock and brick laden, soon to be weed infested back yard at the moment. I still need to transport the dirt away so...
I've used a sod cutter before. They're awesome for digging up existing grass. |
Gnome
Member
Username: Gnome
Post Number: 1123
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 8:06 am: | |
Have you called 1 800 MISS DIG? I think it is a free service, they come out and run a Mine detector looking thing across your lawn and then they mark pesky things like gas lines, buried electric or cable lines.
It might just save your life. |
Jtw
Member
Username: Jtw
Post Number: 212
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 8:51 am: | |
i was going to say the same thing Gnome - call Miss Dig!
i was digging a hole at the side of my parents' house with my brother about 10 years ago and we struck the natural gas line with the shovel, and we had to evacuate (along with the neighbors) until Consumer's Energy could come out and fix it.
better safe than sorry - we were lucky. |