Need advice on hiring an excavator. (need a flat spot made for pole barn)

[glockngold]

I thought I'd top this thread off with an update & some photos of last falls dirty work.
I hired a guy that brought a Deere 605C.
I had a hard time finding someone at first & finally had this fella answer a craigslist add.
He scheduled about 2 weeks after our handshake & once he started he truly hauled a$$.
I kept coming up with "as long as you are here projects" that added about a day to the time charged.
I paid him $100/ hour in greenbacks.
He was pleased & so was I.

Shot from my Kitchen door looking up at barn site:



Another view looking in at site:



Top soil aside & making the cut.



The hill to carry down the dirt & stumps to come out.



Where the dirt is going below house:



hauling down the hill, lots of fast trips!



The new flat spot below my house about half done.



I'll be starting a new thread this spring as I hope to have a contractor hired soon.


Original post:

I want to put up a pole building in a spot that needs to be graded.
Rather than just flatten it, I want to have the dirt scooped up & moved about 200 feet down a hill & placed below my house to increase the size of the terrace my house sits on.

While here I also need some tree stumps pushed over so I can drag them away.

I am assuming a large scoop tracked loader will have to make lots of trips up & down because of how steep the ground is where I want the dirt dumped.

How do I find the guy to do this job. (located in south central PA)
How much per hour on site does this cost?
I can pay cash if that gets me a better rate.

[<===Foolsgold]

Find a local guy with a good reputation.

Tell him exactly what you want, maybe even write it down.

Pay him in cash and tell him up front you will pay him in cash.

Agree to pay 50% a few days into the job and the other 50% when the jobs done.

[ErrosionOfAccord]

How steep are the hills, and how much dirt are we talking?

[Irons]

Find a local guy with a good reputation.

Tell him exactly what you want, maybe even write it down.

Pay him in cash and tell him up front you will pay him in cash.

Agree to pay 50% a few days into the job and the other 50% when the jobs done.

+1 have done this when building a cabin, amazing how much cheaper a 4 inch well is when the guy finds out he can drive it on a Sunday and pocket the cash.

Same with clearing stumps, making a driveway or getting cement poured etc.

[glockngold]

How steep are the hills, and how much dirt are we talking?

Guestimates follow:

Grade to be traveled with the dirt is 40% more or less at some spots.
flat area to be made about 60' x 80' for a 40 x 60' building.
Dirt to be moved?
From one corner which is to be grade, cut into a hill that is maybe 20% grade.

[TnAndy]

Track loader and a dump truck is what you need. Definitely want a truck to move the dirt if that distance.....way faster and cheaper to have both working than using the digging machine to move dirt that far.
Most dirt guys will have both.

And yes, cash speaks wonders.

[hoarder]

I usually pay about $100 an hour for an excavator that weighs 28,000 pounds. When dealing with trees and stumps, a "thumb" on the excavator helps. Use it to massage the stumps thus removing dirt and making them burnable. Sometimes I just rent a smaller excavator from Cat and operate it myself.

Track loaders are good for digging basements, not leveling ground. They are known as pretty useless machines.

A dozer with a 6-way blade would be good for leveling ground.

200 feet is not enough to justify a dump truck. If there is a loader he can simply make 200 foot trips with a full bucket. If he uses a dump truck to haul the machine in, then use it.

Is it really a 40% grade? A dozer is the only machine that will handle anything that steep. Maybe a track loader with grouser tracks rather than street tracks. A 40% grade means 40 feet uphill in 100 feet distance.

[glockngold]

Is it really a 40% grade? A 40% grade means 40 feet uphill in 100 feet distance.

Yes, I believe so.
This house was built on a hill where the only spring on the property told them that a hand dug well would be possible. (125 years ago or so).
All the flat land was saved for tilling.

I usually pay about $100 an hour for an excavator that weighs 28,000 pounds.

Do you mean to rent the equipment to operate yourself?, Or is that to hire a guy with equipment?

I really need some idea what these guys are worth an hour.

[<===Foolsgold]

When I built my house the excavator wanted to nogotiate a flat fee. Don't paint yourself into a corner thinking you can get an hourly quote. I would ask for a flat fee and a time frame to have the work done. This way you will get a realistic price and you'll know if it's worth it or not.

[ErrosionOfAccord]

Your grade numbers are almost certainly way out of whack. have a look at this. http://www.1728.com/gradient.htm

[hoarder]

Yes, I believe so.
This house was built on a hill where the only spring on the property told them that a hand dug well would be possible. (125 years ago or so).
All the flat land was saved for tilling.

Is the route that the dump truck or loader will follow 40%??

Do you mean to rent the equipment to operate yourself?, Or is that to hire a guy with equipment?

I really need some idea what these guys are worth an hour.

$100 with good operator. I rent smaller, 10,000 lbs rubber track excavators for about $1000 a week 40 hours plus diesel. It comes with a straight blade and thumb.

[glockngold]

Your grade numbers are almost certainly way out of whack. have a look at this. http://www.1728.com/gradient.htm

Ok, I'm wrong, you're right. After looking at the graph at your link, then looking out the window, I guess the hill to be traveled with the dirt is 20-25% grade.
It's enough to make me nervous with a full load of firewood going sideways on the hill.

[Irons]

When I built my house the excavator wanted to nogotiate a flat fee. Don't paint yourself into a corner thinking you can get an hourly quote. I would ask for a flat fee and a time frame to have the work done. This way you will get a realistic price and you'll know if it's worth it or not.

Yep, did the same. They came with 3 trucks w/ equipment on trailers and bashed the **** out of everything and were gone in less than 3 hours.~

[luluxiu]

Amazing how much cheaper a 4-inch wells and found his guy can drive on Sunday and pocket the cash. And remove stumps, Tera Items making access to the same lane or pouring cement....

[silverwood]

I used to own CAT 613 elevating scrapers, They can dig up 10 yards of dirt deliver to where you want it and they can somewhat grade the fill they bring(rough grade it). I would finish up with my JD 450 dozer for building pads or use my motorgrader to finish roads, berms, etc.

[glockngold]

Shameless Bump

[Goldhedge]

It's been almost a year...what progress has been made??

[glockngold]

It's been almost a year...what progress has been made??

Ha! Did my wife tell you to ask me that !

Actually my plan was to let the dust settle over the winter & begin work this summer.
I had the zoning officer here to discuss how to satisfy the "storm water control ordinance".
I was initially told I'd have to dig a pit & fill it with 3 triaxles of #4 stone & pipe the downspouts over to that.
I am relieved to find the zoning dude will accept grading away from the building toward several 3' deep pits of field stone covered with a little dirt.
One side will need a 2' swale to hold runoff as it seeps.

I plan on starting a fresh thread on the building with some decisions I have to make, but I wanted to cap this one off with some excavation photos.
I am pleased I did not have any legal problems about not filing a plan before moving the dirt.
I just did it.