Crofter Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Another factor could be if you have anything that will need unloading from a lorry- e.g. a treatment plant. Very handy to have a digger on site for that, and obviously the bigger the better when it comes to that sort of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 5 minutes ago, Crofter said: Another factor could be if you have anything that will need unloading from a lorry- e.g. a treatment plant. Very handy to have a digger on site for that, and obviously the bigger the better when it comes to that sort of work. On that note, I would not have wanted to dig the hole for mine with anything smaller than my 3 ton machine. That was at almost full reach down into the hole. My machine would have been too small to have enough height to lift it off a truck, but luckily I ordered it from TP (who actually gave the best price) and their own truck offloaded it with a hiab. On the other hand we still have a lot of trees and I often find I have been working under them and then wished my machine was not as tall...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 19 minutes ago, Crofter said: Another factor could be if you have anything that will need unloading from a lorry- e.g. a treatment plant. Very handy to have a digger on site for that, and obviously the bigger the better when it comes to that sort of work. My mate also showed me that you can get pallet forks for them which would also be extremely handy on site to unload (Dave reminded me of that in his post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 16 minutes ago, Vijay said: My mate also showed me that you can get pallet forks for them which would also be extremely handy on site to unload (Dave reminded me of that in his post) You have to be very skilled to use pallet tines on an excavator as they do not have any of the grace of a 2D front loader or telehandler...! I'd also struggle to find a machine under 5 tonne that could hold a pallet of bricks level at anything past 3ft off the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 Good point Peter, after reading your thoughts, I can imagine it would be very jerky trying to unload a pallet. (Best leave that to delivery guys then). A big job I will need doing is lifting the beams for the B&B ground floor into place and am hoping a digger would be fine with that? (especially one around 5t) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Watch for lifting big loads at full reach, and then turning sideways and whoops the digger falls over. I was impressed with the 13t digger our builders used. A 360 degree digger but on wheels not tracks so it is road legal (but more prone to getting bogged down on site) As well as loading forks, it also had a long "boom extension" that just fitted to the quick hitch. It was just a long bar with a hook on the end. They use if for lifting timber panels and beams into place. In spite of it's length, and only being attached to the quick hitch in place of a bucket, it did seem very smooth, which is both a complimet to the mechanics of the digger, and the skill of the driver. Here it is lifting our big ridge beam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 OK - problem with lifting anything is reach, and a digger no matter how big has a finite ability to reach and place as your lifting point is the bucket. On a B&B floor you will need to pick up a beam at mid point and lift it to mid point of the floor - unless you have a full side run, you need to get the machine swing over the site from a single point and it just won't work. The other issue is loading on the arm - at full stretch, a 5 tonne machine will struggle with over a couple of hundred KG - an offroad telehandler would be ok at 12m with the same load but its designed to do a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 Access all around is no problem as I have a 3.5m no build zone at the sides of the house. But can a digger lift a 5m beam when the digger is straight with the arm at 90 degrees (so the arm is reaching into the house from the side but the digger itself is facing forward). Looking at the specs of the 5t digger, full reach is 6m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) With the bucket of it might but def not side on or you will tip. You will end up setting them on the walls at the start, maybe 2/3m in and walking them to where they need to be. Lifting with forks is not easy and when it goes wrong it goes tits up very quickly. You will blow a check valve or end up on tipped over before you have a chance to do anything. Edited June 24, 2016 by Declan52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 I'd be happy with even setting them on the wall and getting mates to help me for the day in moving them into place. Plus I've got a pallet lifter Roger440 generously let me have which I'm sure will help (or even trolley jacks on wood running boards) Lifting with forks is off the cards, last thing I need is any stupid accidents What's the score with tracks and how long they typically last? How long would tracks with 40-50% left last? A quick check at replacements and they are £800 a side Are they DIY fitting or specialist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 They will slide easy enough on a scaffold pole or plank. Tracks wear away quicker if on hardcore so it will depend on what you are driving on. Easy enough to replace a track. Grease gun, crow bar and a set of spanners is all you need . But for that size of digger it will be a 2/3 man job lifting it into position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Cheers Declan. Feeling a little more optimistic about getting the beams in place now, use a digger to lift them onto floor height and then slide/walk/pallet truck/trolley jack/brute force There will be a mix of clay/earth around the plot but there will be some sort of hardcore working surface at the front of the plot, so as you said, they will wear down quicker on that. Any idea what sort of life span tracks would have on mixed ground? Or even just on hardcore (so I can look at worst scenario)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 All I can add to this is if you can, BUY A DIGGER. I'd have been lost this weekend without my BiL's assistance with his digger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 The boss, initially reluctant to spend a good chunk of our budget on our digger, commented that it is much more useful than she had expected. @Vijay In relation to track-life - if it needs new tracks budget for them (by using that argument to reduce the purchase price) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 2 hours ago, Onoff said: All I can add to this is if you can, BUY A DIGGER. I'd have been lost this weekend without my BiL's assistance with his digger. One guy working,digger driver, one guy looking for worms and 2 supervisors keeping a close eye on them. Standard site practice in operation there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Not a hard hat or high viz in sight. You are domed, terrible things will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 3 hours ago, recoveringacademic said: The boss, initially reluctant to spend a good chunk of our budget on our digger, commented that it is much more useful than she had expected. @Vijay In relation to track-life - if it needs new tracks budget for them (by using that argument to reduce the purchase price) Are you about to be asked to plant 6 million daffodils and a mulberry tree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 3 hours ago, recoveringacademic said: The boss, initially reluctant to spend a good chunk of our budget on our digger, commented that it is much more useful than she had expected. @Vijay In relation to track-life - if it needs new tracks budget for them (by using that argument to reduce the purchase price) I've tried but he wouldn't budge much They're £800 a side for tracks for the 5t machine, it's making me think a 3t might be the way to go as the tracks are half the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 1 hour ago, Vijay said: I've tried but he wouldn't budge much They're £800 a side for tracks for the 5t machine, it's making me think a 3t might be the way to go as the tracks are half the price And half the weight esp if they are rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 2 hours ago, Ferdinand said: Are you about to be asked to plant 6 million daffodils and a mulberry tree? Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............. (she's not like that really ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 17 minutes ago, Declan52 said: And half the weight esp if they are rubber. That's logical, didn't think of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MrsRA Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 6 hours ago, recoveringacademic said: The boss, initially reluctant to spend a good chunk of our budget on our digger, commented that it is much more useful than she had expected. @Vijay Agreed. I have found nothing so effective in keeping RA out from under my feet! ? I was a sceptic initially. How many holes could there be to dig? Now I'm starting to see,plus it's much more multipurpose than I envisaged. Even features in our daughter''s wedding photos; pity to let a professional photographer go to waste ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Surely once you have a digger you want (need?) a dumper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Yes I wanted to buy a dumper but never found one close enough for sale. I was offered the loan of one, but when I went to see if the offer was still available I found it had broken it's gearbox. Lucky escape there as if it had broken the box while on loan I am sure I would have had to foot the bill. I found you can move stuff around surprisingly well by putting a pile in front of the digger and pushing it with the dozer blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Construction Channel Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Issue with a dumper is you either need another person or you have to keep getting out of the cab. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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