Removing soil from a garden when the only access is through the house.

[Tetrarch]

2 hours ago, Claire O said:

Yes, this was the isssue the builder raised - corner into the kitchen, another corner into the hall, another corner into the entrance way, and another corner out into the garden...   

 

That sounds like an.. erm sub-optimal situation

 

A crane would be extremely expensive. It would be probably cheaper to hire a couple of labourers to carry gorilla buckets through the house than pay the time-cost of filling bags and doing the same

 

Regards

 

Tet

[Claire O]

4 hours ago, Conor said:

 

The ultimate method would be a crane. Crane to lift in a small excavator, a skip bucket then fitted to the crane to lift material out and dump it in to waiting tipper trucks. You'd probably be done in two days, including the footings and concrete for the extension. And the crane could lift in all your materials for the extension while it was there. 

 

Other than that, a micro excavator might be able to make it's way through the house to dig and load up into barrows. But going the the description of the layout, I don't think that would be possible.

 

I'd rethink your whole approach and hold off any internal renovations until you've a full plan, and attack it in the right sequence. Speak to an architect. 

Im starting to lean towards this because a crane would need to reach over a neighbours garage at the very least so that sounds expensive..  And the doorways would be difficult for the digger and we certainly dont want that going through a new renovated house

 

[Claire O]

3 hours ago, Gone West said:

You can get a 700mm wide electric micro excavator which can be driven through a house.

This measurment is very helpful...  I will measure all the doors next time I am there.

 

[Pocster]

Maybe ?

Literally last week saw something like this . The guy was able to stand on a platform at the back and the bucket could be raised to empty into a skip . Depends on width and what turning space you need to get through your house .

 

[Tetrarch]

1 hour ago, Claire O said:

This measurment is very helpful...  I will measure all the doors next time I am there.

 

 

It's not just the width, the excavator tracks may do a huge amount of damage to the floor and the length will determine whether it can navigate your maze (and how long it takes)

 

Regards

 

Tet

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Tetrarch said:

 

It's not just the width, the excavator tracks may do a huge amount of damage to the floor and the length will determine whether it can navigate your maze (and how long it takes)

 

Regards

 

Tet

True . Could put osb down I.e make a nice path for it protecting the floor . More of an issue would be any turns required and indeed how narrow passages are … 

[Mr Punter]

If we assume that you have 30m3 of soil to excavate and remove, a micro excavator will make the digging easy.  A week with a decent operator plus a labourer may do it.  If you have space at the front, make up a large 4 sided enclosure from 18mm OSB and 4 x 2 to store the spoil ready for a grab lorry, or just pile it up.  Wheelbarrow through the house.  I would budget max £8k but you may get it done for half that.

[Claire O]

18 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

If we assume that you have 30m3 of soil to excavate and remove, a micro excavator will make the digging easy.  A week with a decent operator plus a labourer may do it.  If you have space at the front, make up a large 4 sided enclosure from 18mm OSB and 4 x 2 to store the spoil ready for a grab lorry, or just pile it up.  Wheelbarrow through the house.  I would budget max £8k but you may get it done for half that.

Really helpful...  I will use this language when i speak to the builder.  Thanks!

[ProDave]

On 13/07/2025 at 12:42, Claire O said:

We’re buying an old Georgian house, and because of budget constraints, we can’t do everything at once. We're prioritising the inside first—rewiring, plumbing, new kitchen and bathrooms. The garden has no side or back access (only through the house), and there’s an old conservatory out the back. We’ve decided to keep it for now as a teen hangout—just clean it up a bit with some paint, lino flooring, and remove the old cupboards.

You are not buying the right house for you.  You are planning to buy a house that needs alteration and know access for tha alteration is going to be difficult.

 

Can you not find a semi detached house with side access or at least a terrace house with access to the back garden other than through the house.

 

Direct access to the rear garden was always one of my non negotiable requirements, for simple practicalities like I don't want to have to transport the lawnmower through the house and back again every week in the summer.

[Claire O]

5 minutes ago, ProDave said:

You are not buying the right house for you.  You are planning to buy a house that needs alteration and know access for tha alteration is going to be difficult.

 

Can you not find a semi detached house with side access or at least a terrace house with access to the back garden other than through the house.

 

Direct access to the rear garden was always one of my non negotiable requirements, for simple practicalities like I don't want to have to transport the lawnmower through the house and back again every week in the summer.

For us, we love the home and the price is right - that is why the house is good for us.  We are just trying to work with the layout as you have to with any home... if money wasnt a problem I would sort this issue out first...  So this thread is really about - CAN THIS SOIL PROBLEM BE PUT OFF UNTIL LATER OR MUST IT BE SOLVED BEFORE THE RENOVATION.  After all the help from these amazing people, I am leaning towards the latter and that I am best to solve it first....  . PS I hope to get a shed in the back garden if we need a lawnmover etc.

[Mr Punter]

I have an investment property where access to the back garden can only be gained via a basement flat.  It is a right pain at times.

[Pocster]

@Claire O no potential access via neighbor gardens ? Assuming they’d allow it of course . Maybe reimburse for the hassle …

[Onoff]

Here's an off the wall idea, vacuum excavation. Spendy I bet but if you don't ask etc. You could be their poster girl for domestic work and get a discount! 😀 

 

https://vacukltd.co.uk/news/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-vacuum-excavation-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

 

 

[Dave Jones]

whats behind that wall to rear, looks to be a unit/shed there . Any access for a grab wagon ?

[MPH243]

I like @Onoff idea they are pricing just under £50 a m3 plus hose extensions( that's what came back on Google). They can bring the tube through the house with hopefully little damage? 

 

It would be worth a call for a guide price as no labourers or digger required. You will still need a grab lorry to get rid of the soil. 

[Claire O]

14 hours ago, Onoff said:

Here's an off the wall idea, vacuum excavation. Spendy I bet but if you don't ask etc. You could be their poster girl for domestic work and get a discount! 😀 

 

https://vacukltd.co.uk/news/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-vacuum-excavation-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

 

 

Haha!  I love this idea and will check it out with them, but I fear they probably arent overly interested in domestic jobs?  And...  there is no way that vehicle is getting anywhere near my backyard...  

[Claire O]

15 hours ago, Pocster said:

@Claire O no potential access via neighbor gardens ? Assuming they’d allow it of course . Maybe reimburse for the hassle …

We have 3 very high rock walls surrounding our garden - on one side a halfway house, a workshop at the back and an expensive home on the other...  I will definitely be speaking to the workshop guys but I dont imagine they want any down time whilst I use their workplace as a thoroughfare because I dont want to dirty my own...  We still have the wall to deal with so not sure how much that might cost to knock down and rebuild...  Still currently leaning towards finding (ie borrowing more) some extra cash to do this before the renovation... 

[Dave Jones]

if a grab can reach over that wall it would be gone in 20 mins if you had the soil in a heap ready, could drop a digger over the wall using same. 

[Marko]

I genuinely think this is being made more complicated than it needs to be. We fully renovated ours before sorting the garden. It was originally on a slope, which we completely levelled (by hand). Since ours is split across two levels, we also had the extra job of carrying the soil up 8 or 9 steps and through the house to get it out. It did take time, but by chipping away at it for an hour or two here and there, it eventually got done. In the end, the only real difference between spending a fortune and doing it cheaply is a bit of hard work and sweat. You can then spend that money on nice things 😊

Edited 21 hours ago by Marko

[Claire O]

38 minutes ago, Marko said:

I genuinely think this is being made more complicated than it needs to be. We fully renovated ours before sorting the garden. It was originally on a slope, which we completely levelled (by hand). Since ours is split across two levels, we also had the extra job of carrying the soil up 8 or 9 steps and through the house to get it out. It did take time, but by chipping away at it for an hour or two here and there, it eventually got done. In the end, the only real difference between spending a fortune and doing it cheaply is a bit of hard work and sweat. You can then spend that money on nice things 😊

I also have a 14 year old son so potentially we grab a few of his friends and move it over a weekend?

[Marko]

 

I would, make sure to knock up some sandwiches to keep them going  😄 

 

I'd even consider reaching out on Fbook for a labourer for a few days. Always someone looking for a few quid. Someone on here might be able to tell you what to offer them for a day's work. 

 

Both options are going to be so much more economical than what your builder is quoting. 

 

Good luck!

Edited 20 hours ago by Marko

[Temp]

You can hire conveyor belts for this sort of thing. Not used one myself. Perhaps they drop some?