SB: Re: Question about Excavations

[Dion Hollenbeck <hollen@woodsprite.com>]

I have looked at renting a Bobcat before, even had one onsite and used it
myself.  In my area (4 Corners in Colorado) I can get a local excavator
for about $70 per hour for Bobcat and small trackhoe.  If he has to bring
the large trackhoe (3 foot wide bucket) he charges me about $85 per hour.
If I rent a Bobcat, it will cost me about $65 per hour.  Plus, an
experienced operator can do about 10 times the amount in an hour that I
can.  Don't kid yourself, a Bobcat is NOT easy to run efficiently.  Anyone
can get in one and push a lot of dirt around, but to do precise work
efficiently, takes years of experience.

IMHO, you are much better off hiring a professional, because in the long
run, you will get much more for your money.

If you look at the pictures of my strawbale workshop building closely
(see website below), you will see that we had to cut the 30x40 pad
into the hill at the top corner to a depth of about 7 feet.  Moving all that
dirt over to the house site and building it up in small lifts with sheepsfoot
roller while separating out the large rocks, with two people working, one
in Bobcat, one in large trackhoe, cost me about $1500 and was done in
one day's time.

Do it yourself excavation work is deceptive and I doubt if you can save
any money over a pro because it will take you so much longer to do it.

Then again, I have an excellent excavator right here in the canyon.  No,
he does not give me any discount because we are neighbors.

  dion



--
Dion Hollenbeck  Email:  hollen@woodsprite.com
Home Page:       http://www.woodsprite.com
Brewing Page:    http://hbd.org/hollen


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