When you are looking at earth moving, you might think it’s as easier as having a few friends over with wheelbarrows to help out. But that’s where the problems can begin!

The dangers of DIY earth moving

If you’ve decided that what your home needs is a new swimming pool or maybe a landscaped, Japanese-style rock garden, you may decide to dive right in and take a DIY approach to the business of excavating. But before you do that, consider this: do you have a front end loader? A backhoe? Do you have a heavy duty truck to take away excess topsoil or rocks to land fill? An earth moving contractor has the tools and experience to get the job done right. From start up, to site clean up, an excavator knows what to do – and the right way to do it.

Creating a perfect garden.

People often overlook the amount of earth that needs to be shifted around to make a garden. If you have a plot that experiences a lot of rain, you may need to think about raising that part of the garden – perhaps even terrace it so that you get the best drainage without too much of a slope. Using diggers of various types, an excavator will shift soil into the terraces for you, soil that in some cases will be extremely heavy to move by yourself. The best way to improve soil that is not draining properly is to bring in a load of organic matter. Using a backhoe and grader, the soil can be gently sloped to prevent erosion.

Putting in a swimming pool.

Hiring a bobcat and digging a big hole in the backyard may seem like a way of saving money, but what you might end up with is… a big hole in the backyard! Specialist earth moving contractors are trained to ask the right questions: are you digging over a septic system? How far away from the house is considered safe distance? What about the council regulations? A professional knows where to start and how to finish.

Cleaning up after yourself.

One thing many people don’t factor in to a landscaping or home improvement project is a satisfactory clean up. Once the pool is in or the terrace finished, there’s a tendency to push all the debris – rocks, earth, tree stumps, bits of old fence – into a corner, where they threaten to become a permanent part of landscape. This is when a call to a specialist earth moving contractor will make your property look perfect once more.

Times when you really should go with a pro

• Driveway construction
• Landscaping
• Car parks
• Ponds and pools

An excavator contractor will save you time and money, and make sure your DIY dream doesn’t turn into a DIY disaster.