Excavation and site clearance, dug by me.
Excavation, reduced-level digs, site clearance and muck away in Doncaster. Old patios and drives out, overgrown plots cleared, levels reduced for new builds and garden rooms. Owner-operated excavator.
Jack operating the excavator on site/img/jack-driving-digger-no-face.jpg · 1800×1012
Sometimes the job is just the dig. An old concrete patio that needs to come out. A drive down to sub-base. A garden that's been let go for ten years. A plot that needs levelling before a garden room goes on it. Or you've got a builder for the build but nobody to do the groundworks first.
I run a 1.5 tonne excavator that goes through a 780mm gate with the tracks pulled in, and I can bring in a 3 tonne machine or a bigger one for a day when the job wants it. Grab lorries for muck away, because they're cheaper than skips for anything over four or five tonnes, and I'll separate clean hardcore from soil so you're not paying landfill rates on the lot.
I price this on request rather than publishing a figure, because "dig a hole" covers everything from an afternoon to a fortnight. Send me photos and a rough size and I'll give you a fixed price for the job, not a day rate with an open end.
quote on request
Typically 1–2 days on site
What moves the price:
- Volume: what's coming out and where it's going. Muck away is the biggest cost on most digs
- Material: soil is easy, reinforced concrete isn't
- Access: side gate, through a garage, or craning a machine over a wall
- Whether the dig is the whole job or the start of a patio, drive or footings I'm doing anyway (cheaper)
Look, measure, scan
Photos are enough for a rough price; a visit for a firm one. Utility check and CAT scan before any dig near the house.
Break out
Breaker on the machine for concrete and tarmac; the old material goes in a separate pile for recycling.
Dig and load
Reduce levels to a datum, dig out to the depth the next job needs (150mm sub-base for paving, 250mm for a drive, deeper for footings).
Muck away and tidy
Grab lorries or skips, driveway swept, boards down so the neighbours' path isn't a mess.
Ground reduced and prepared ready for a new concrete slab/img/groundworks-prep-for-new-concrete-slab.jpg · 1600×1067
How much does it cost to dig out an old patio or driveway?
Depends on the size and the muck away. A 40m² concrete patio is typically £900 to £1,400 to break out and remove. A 60m² tarmac drive to 250mm is around £1,500 to £2,200. If I'm laying the new one, the dig is built into the m² price.
Do you do site clearance for garden rooms and garden offices?
Yes. Strip the vegetation, reduce and level the base area, take it away and leave a compacted Type 1 pad or a concrete slab ready for the installer.
Can you get a digger into a terraced back garden?
Usually. The 1.5 tonne machine fits through most side gates and passages. Where it really can't, I've walked machines through houses on ply boards, and I'll tell you honestly if hand-digging is the sensible option.
Do you hire the machine out on its own?
No. I'm an operator, not a plant hire firm. What you get is me and the machine, priced for the job.
One person accountable, start to finish.
I'm Jack. I price it, I'm on the tools for it, and it's my name on it. Twelve years on site, a first-class degree in construction management, SMSTS and First Aid, and I operate the excavator myself. Where a job wants more hands I bring in people I've worked with for years and I run them. I cover Doncaster and everywhere within about half an hour of it: Bessacarr, Bawtry, Tickhill, Armthorpe, Thorne, Sprotbrough, Mexborough and over into Rotherham. More about me.
- 5.0 stars on Google6 reviews from real customers
- Fully insuredPublic liability
- SMSTS and First AidLegally qualified to run a UK construction site under CDM
- BSc (Hons) Construction Project Management, First ClassSheffield Hallam University, degree apprenticeship
- CIOB Certificate of ExcellenceChartered Institute of Building
- Twelve years on siteUK and Australia, £10m+ delivered as project manager
- Three full back to brick house renovationsTwo in Scawsby, one in Sprotbrough
- All aspects of groundworksAnd I operate the plant myself
Want a price for excavation & site clearance?
Send a few photos and your postcode. I'll usually come back the same day.