How much to excavate & clear back garden patio?

itm

I'm looking for someone to dig up and take away old patio stones from my back garden. It's about 30 sq.metres, with access via a side alleyway. Some of the stones are 4-5 inches deep, so some sort of mechanical digger would probably be appropriate for the job.

Does anyone have any experience of getting this sort of work done, and can give me an idea of the sort of cost involved? I'm based in Richmond, Surrey (and would also welcome any recommendations for decent local tradesmen who would undertake this work!).

TIA

horizon

Hi

The cheapest way is DIY.

Hire yourself a mini-digger. You can get ones that are small enough to fit through the front door of your house these days !
A weekends hire will cost around £200.

Hire a skip, cost about £150 for a 6 yard one.

Buy or borrow a wheelbarrow, and away you go !!

You do not need any training, qualifications or certificates to use plant and machinery on your own property.

Get the delivery driver to put the machine in the middle of the garden, away from all things breakable, and practice with the controls, until you are used to them. Should take about 10 mins or so.

Tip. Make sure you put the blade down before starting work.

If I lived a bit closer I'd recommend myself !!

Good Luck

horizon

By the way.

If some of these stones you described are 4 or 5 inches thick, they maybe York stone or similair.
These types of stone are worth a lot of money, don't skip them !!
Take them to your nearest reclamation yard and sell them.
You might make enough to cover the costs of the machine and skip hire ?

Try these links for some local reclamation yards.


http://www.salvoweb.com/dealers/woodlands-farm/

http://www.salvo.co.uk/Surrey/directory.html

itm

These things are only about 4-5 inches square, and only cover about a quarter of the total area, so may not be of much value. The rest of the stuff isn't quite so heavy duty.

I want to "outsource" the work to avoid wear and tear on my back (herniated disc)!

Mr_Skint_2

£444000000000.00 If you except I can start tomorrow.

Rex_Mundi

Hi itm

Check your private messages. I've sent you the number of a decent builder that works in your area.