Learn Me - Renting Excavation Equipment

I've got a small job requiring the removal of about 35 yds or 320 sq ft of material. Basically, 10'x8'x4' deep. I have mostly removed a 3.5' block retaining wall and started digging into the area behind it. It is downslope, so no risks of collapse. 

I will keep the material, hopefully sifting it for usable topsoil. 

This is to expand my current parking area by a few feet to allow me to park my truck more parallel with the house, allowing easier access to the garage. I had originally thought I might extend a culvert, but the additional cost of that has me rethinking.

I would probably do it by hand, but a large piece of soft sandstone impedes progress. The sandstone is brittle enough to bust up with a pick or a sledge, so I'm not sure if I'd need a jackhammer attachment or not. 

Because I've got a paver driveway, I'll need to go a bit lower than the current grade.  I may have a contractor do some finishing details, including extending the paver parking area to fill the area I clear. 

So here's my question:

For a small job like this, is it cheaper/easier to just rent from Home Depot, or could local equipment rental places beat those prices?

I know this is gonna sound dumb, but why  not call HD and the local rental supply and ask their rental rates?

Not dumb.

I know Home Depot's rental rates. 

I haven't yet talked with local equipment companies. Was hoping someone might know from experience.

Just looking for as much info as possible before heading down the road.

In reply to pheller :

15 years ago I had to rent some equipment to replace the septic system in the house we were selling. Through that process I ended up with a mini backhoe, a mini excavator, and then a bobcat. The reason for all this equipment was because each one broke & the rental place didn’t have any other like models available. It may have just been that our local rental place sucked, or that because I’m not a contractor I got stuck with the leftover junk. 

Also, even a mini backhoe on a trailer is too much for the hitch on a late-90’s F150. 

None of this may be relevant to your situation, but that’s how it worked out for me. 

With local rent-alls, check weekend return times. Some places will let you return first thing Monday morning if you pick it up late Saturday afternoon. Day and a half rental for the price of one full day.

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to pheller :

Also, even a mini backhoe on a trailer is too much for the hitch on a late-90’s F150. 

When you say mini-backhoe, you mean something like this:

I would hope that my 06 Tundra Crew Cab can tow the equivalent of a larger sedan, which is a Bobcat or a Mini-Ex.

Towing a big Bobcat and trailer was all my F150 wanted to do.  F250 just laughs at it.

How good are you at running equipment?  I spent 8 years as an equipment operator (16-24) and its not that easy if you have not done it before.  Add in a residential area and stuff can go sideways with a quickness.  Don't forget to call Diggers Hotline first.

If you are bringing in a contractor to finish I would consider bringing a contractor in to start, since they will be better equipped to get it done faster and safer.

I've got a buddy with experience on a weekly basis. 

Contractors are a rip. I'm not happy at all with the rates I've been getting. $6000 to do this project is stupid when I can rent a piece of equipment for $200/day and get the pavers and material for a few hundred bucks. The contractors even tell me "oh we can have this excavated in a few hours, no problem." Then where the hell are all these costs coming from?

pheller said:

The contractors even tell me "oh we can have this excavated in a few hours, no problem." Then where the hell are all these costs coming from?

If they own their equipment, they could easily have over $100k tied up in tow vehicle, trailer, and mini excavator and they only do that if they know those items will pay for themselves and then some. That doesn't include hourly wages for employees, insurance costs, fuel, etc.

They're banking on you not having the willingness, skill level or time to do it yourself.

pheller said:

 

Then where the hell are all these costs coming from?

A few places....

1. insurance/wages/ license fees/permits

2. Experience...  People charge for it

3. They need to make it worth their while to fit it in with all their other work.

4. incidentals..  Jobs always overrun.

5. Usually contractors, like mechanics, don't screw around with bottom of the barrel materials.  Sure you can get your stuff cheaper, but will it hold up?

6. Profit.. they're not doing this for fun.

And what's funny is that I've talked to a few contractors who say "you're a handy dude, you should do this yourself." 

They are basically saying: "it's not worth it for us to do this job if we can't bill you more than $3000." 

Rent a mini backhoe so you also have the bucket to use. I use the local rental place because they have more to chose from than HD. Not sure about pricing. Go to town, its fun and will only cost you a couple hundred bucks.

pheller said:

They are basically saying: "it's not worth it for us to do this job if we can't bill you more than $3000." 

Yeah, they are.  And for a crew of a couple guys, a small dump truck, a heavy equipment trailer, and an excavator of some kind, that's true.

Duke said:

pheller said:

They are basically saying: "it's not worth it for us to do this job if we can't bill you more than $3000." 

Yeah, they are.  And for a crew of a couple guys, a small dump truck, a heavy equipment trailer, and an excavator of some kind, that's true.

yes... thats right.

Next step is to call the local equipment companies and price them against Home Depot. It sounds like a backhoe will be a better option than Bobcat or Mini-Ex individually. 

I rented a Bobcat from the local Bobcat dealer a few years ago to do a bunch of landscaping projects around the yard. One project was a roll ditch to control rain water.

I got it delivered Friday afternoon with 16 hours on the clock and a full tank of diesel for less than $250. I only used 12 hours and a 1.5 tanks of diesel, but I got stuff DONE! Absolutely worth the money. I reconfigured drainage lines, built a terraced flower bed, laid absolute waste to ALL the brushy areas of the yard, and smoothed out a bunch of rough spots.

pheller said

They are basically saying: "it's not worth it for us to do this job if we can't bill you more than $3000." 

Yup. 

Don't bitch because you have the skill to do something without the attached overhead costs that they have. Enjoy your gifts, and get to work. 

There's no way I would rent that from Home Depot. 

Call the rental company and have them deliver. 

pheller said:

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to pheller :

Also, even a mini backhoe on a trailer is too much for the hitch on a late-90’s F150. 

When you say mini-backhoe, you mean something like this:

 

 

I would hope that my 06 Tundra Crew Cab can tow the equivalent of a larger sedan, which is a Bobcat or a Mini-Ex.

Yep, one of those. Keep in mind it was actually on a true equipment trailer too(that the rental place supplied), so the combined weight of the two were enough to bend the hitch(of a coworker’s truck I’d borrowed) down about 10-degrees. 

Pete Gossett said:

pheller said:

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to pheller :

Also, even a mini backhoe on a trailer is too much for the hitch on a late-90’s F150. 

When you say mini-backhoe, you mean something like this:

 

 

I would hope that my 06 Tundra Crew Cab can tow the equivalent of a larger sedan, which is a Bobcat or a Mini-Ex.

Yep, one of those. Keep in mind it was actually on a true equipment trailer too(that the rental place supplied), so the combined weight of the two were enough to bend the hitch(of a coworker’s truck I’d borrowed) down about 10-degrees. 

How much could the combo possibly weigh? That really sounds like a poor loading job, or else a hitch that wasn't Class III or better.

EDIT: Holy cow. I did not think they'd be weighing 7k lbs. Nevermind what I just said.

mtn said:

Pete Gossett said:

pheller said:

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to pheller :

Also, even a mini backhoe on a trailer is too much for the hitch on a late-90’s F150. 

When you say mini-backhoe, you mean something like this:

 

 

I would hope that my 06 Tundra Crew Cab can tow the equivalent of a larger sedan, which is a Bobcat or a Mini-Ex.

Yep, one of those. Keep in mind it was actually on a true equipment trailer too(that the rental place supplied), so the combined weight of the two were enough to bend the hitch(of a coworker’s truck I’d borrowed) down about 10-degrees. 

How much could the combo possibly weigh? That really sounds like a poor loading job, or else a hitch that wasn't Class III or better.

Construction equipment is surprisingly dense. This mini excavator is almost 8k by itself. IIRC, a full size backhoe is something like 15k lbs.

Rent the mini excavator, but if you've never run one, realize it takes a bit to get used to the controls and actually get work done.

I had a drainage project a few years back where I rented one, it took me half of the day that I rented it for to get proficient enough with it to be useful, and I was still slow. Useful, but slow.

I will also second that things can go sideways real quick, so if you can, practice for a bit away from the house.

It was great fun to run that thing, even if I didn't get done everything I wanted to. That alone was almost worth the price of admission.

Call more than one rental place about timing of the rental, too. I rented a tracked skid steer to do some major landscape regrading, and one local place wanted $500/day * 3 for Friday - Sunday. Another one wanted $500 total for Thursday night through Monday morning. Delivery is worth it, the skid steer plus trailer was pushing 18k pounds. He tried hooking it up to my truck first and it was a no-go.

I had the benefit of lots of room to play around to get used to it. They're pretty intense to operate. If that bucket hits something when you're moving, it's not going to stop without doing some damage, so don't hit anything that you don't want torn up!!

Also, wear the seat belt. Our 853 Bobcat had the harness bar, which was good enough for jumping in and out  all day, but hit something like a paver brick while snowplowing, and 8,000 lbs will stop-dead. You won't. I bonked my head into the cab at speed, twice. I learned my lesson.

dculberson said:

Call more than one rental place about timing of the rental, too. I rented a tracked skid steer to do some major landscape regrading, and one local place wanted $500/day * 3 for Friday - Sunday. Another one wanted $500 total for Thursday night through Monday morning. Delivery is worth it, the skid steer plus trailer was pushing 18k pounds. He tried hooking it up to my truck first and it was a no-go.

I had the benefit of lots of room to play around to get used to it. They're pretty intense to operate. If that bucket hits something when you're moving, it's not going to stop without doing some damage, so don't hit anything that you don't want torn up!!

Who did you end up going with and what size of skidsteer? I am renting one soon and have been looking at a couple places but haven't called yet.