Will a mini digger damage my garden?

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mjd

mjd

mjd

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Quick question for those that may have some experience of this.

My father in law has bought the house adjacent to us and needs to bring a mini digger in to dig out footings amongst other things.
He has planned to hire a digger and driver, and apparently said digger wont fit up the garden path (which is fairly generous width wise) so I am assuming this is a bit more than a true doorway digger.
The upshot of this - he has asked if can bring it through our garden.
This will entail driving over a low (one block) wall to get to garden level, and then travelling around 100ft up the garden before turning through the boundary hedge into next door.

As much as it may put me in the dog house, I am tempted to tell him to find a driver with a doorway digger as I don't really fancy the idea of the garden being carved up. He seems to think it will be OK, but I am not convinced.

Any opinions/experiences that may sway my decision?
 
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My only experience of them is when the house on the other side was extended and the builders got the digger stuck, half toppled in the garden.
 
I used a small digger to create a new 20ft long flower bed in our garden a few summers back, it ripped up the grass under the tracks and made a bit of a mess. Its fine now, but depending on your soil conditions you might find the tracks will tear the soil out (especially when turning).
 
I am *really* looking forward to trying to explain this to the man that knows everything :D
 
That sounds like a fun conversation!
How much do you like your garden? this could be a chance to get your father in law to redo your garden for nothing ;)
Does he have no other way of getting it through his own garden, do you really have much more room than him or is his garden nicer than yours?
 
We have a fair bit more room at the side of our house as we have a narrow driveway leading to a double gate (approx. 2m wide) into the back yard. The area outside our back door is a bit of a mess, lots of cracked concrete that will eventually be paved. beyond this we have around 140ft of garden. Its nothing more than grass, but I keep it tidy and don't really relish the idea of having to mend what could essentially be 100ft of damage.
He has offered to get the digger driver to excavate an old concrete slab at the back of the house, but we cant currently afford to put any monies towards a patio etc.... as we need a new bathroom and kitchen. My first instinct was 'no thanks', but thought perhaps I should try and get some first hand experiences before writing it off altogether.
'No thanks' still seems to be the appropriate response :)
 
Derek W said:
Take your pick at what size a 'mini' digger is https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...Oo0QWpkIHYAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=898

EDIT

I did see one pic with a mini digger going over some chipboard / plywood on top of the grass to maybe reduce the wear on it. Something that you may try?
Click to expand...

I did read elsewhere that some plywood boards may be enough to avoid damage, though given our garden isn't exactly level I'm not sure this would work.

I'm sure there are smaller diggers than the one he was planning on bringing in as the builders on the other side used a mini digger last year and got that through a considerably tighter gap.

If I can find a suitable alternative locally then hopefully I can avoid him getting the hump :)
 
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Maybe I've got the layout of the houses wrong but once the digger is round the back of your house can it not go straight across into the in laws garden, does it have to go all the way up your garden?
Anyway I would suggest that if any damage is caused it would be upto him to fix at his cost. You are doing him a favour and should not end up any worse - or out of pocket - for helping out.
 
Difficult to put the exact layout into words, but if nothing else there is a 6ft fence of 30metres between the two rear gardens made up of concrete posts and boards.
I'm going to sound like a real git now, but the long term plan is for us to inherit the adjacent property so perhaps quibbling over some damaged grass seems petty, but its unlikely we will inherit for at least 20 years so its of little immediate comfort.
 
Get him to supply some 10mm plywood for it to track along and it'll be fine.
Might flatten a few flowers but that will be all if you are careful.
 
Well wish me luck, not only for the impending conversation, but for having my father in law renovating next door for the next year!
 
I drive mini diggers all the time.
It will be fine, just get a 1 1/2 tonner instead of something bigger and as others have said get some ply or even a couple of scaffolding boards.
Even these won't be needed if the grounds dry enough.
 
If the fence is post and boards could you not take one of the panels out?
Round the back of your house, along the dodgy patio, through removed fence panel. Job done.
Or hope for some dry weather and go with fishguts experience
 
I say the same thing every time, if fitting a mini digger is going to be a pain in the arse - grab a shovel and quit your bitching.

Or enlist some child labour at £20 a day to help, and by child labour I mean if you've got any teenage nephews wanting to earn themselves a few quid.
 
Bunka said:
Good luck having the wife's parents living next door to you! :eek::p
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Its only my father in law. Mother in law and he parted ways many moons ago.
He is unlikely to be living there for at least 10 years, so I'm not really that concerned at this stage.
 
pitchfork said:
I say the same thing every time, if fitting a mini digger is going to be a pain in the arse - grab a shovel and quit your bitching.

Or enlist some child labour at £20 a day to help, and by child labour I mean if you've got any teenage nephews wanting to earn themselves a few quid.
Click to expand...

After gentle persuasion FIL has realised that perhaps hiring someone or owns a true 'doorway' digger may be a better idea, so I wont need to exploit the services of my 5 and 7 year old nieces! :)
 
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