When the job needs a larger excavator
- A plot to strip, clear or reduce in level
- Drainage runs and sewer connections deeper than a mini digger reaches
- Old foundations, rubble or hardstanding to break out and load
- Muck-away lorries waiting to be loaded
- Banks, ditches or a temporary haul road to form
Excavator hire in Cardiff
The operator digs foundations, drainage runs, attenuation tanks and soakaways on Cardiff plots and loads lorries as spoil comes out. The work follows the principal contractor's drawings and levels.
Near the bay, digs pass through soft estuary mud, reclaimed fill and wet gravel. Trench support and pumping can come into these jobs, and the ground investigation logs show what to expect.
Get a quote in CardiffCardiff ground and approvals that affect excavation
Estuarine alluvium lies over glacial gravels towards the bay, and much of the area stands on reclaimed land. Trench sides cut through it can move, so the design may call for support.
Central and southern Cardiff sit on a shallow sand and gravel aquifer. A dig below the water table there takes on water and may need pumping to keep the base dry.
New building with a construction area of 100 square metres or more needs approval from Cardiff Council as SuDS Approving Body before work starts. Drainage trenches are then dug to the approved design.
Where lorries are loaded on a street in Butetown or Grangetown, agree the loading point and traffic management with the principal contractor before the excavator arrives.
Areas of Cardiff we cover
- Cardiff Bay and Butetown CF10
- Grangetown CF11
- Splott and Tremorfa CF24
- Rumney and Trowbridge CF3
- St Mellons CF3
- Pontprennau CF23
- Llanishen CF14
- Llandaff CF5
- Ely and Culverhouse Cross CF5
- Tongwynlais CF15
What the excavator is used for
Digging out large volumes for reduced levels, basements and building plots.
Drainage and service trenches dug to the depths and falls on your drawings.
Removing vegetation, rubble and old foundations ahead of a build.
Loading muck-away lorries or dumpers as the dig proceeds.
Shaping banks, ditches and temporary haul roads to your levels.
How an excavator hire is planned
- Send the drawings
Share drawings or a description of the excavation, with the depths and volumes.
- Check the route and ground
Describe the road to site, where a lorry can unload and whether the machine will sit on firm ground or a slope.
- Dig to the setting-out
The operator digs to the levels marked on site or given by your site lead.
What the price depends on in Cardiff
- The machine size the access, depth and reach call for
- The length of the hire
- Transport of the machine to and from the site
- The volume and depth of the excavation
- Any lifting planned, which needs its own planning
- Trench support and pumping on soft or wet ground near the bay
- Traffic management where lorries load on the street
Excavator with operator in Cardiff: questions
Will a deep excavation near Cardiff Bay fill with water?
It can, where the dig goes below the water table in the gravels or meets wet alluvium. The ground investigation logs for the plot are the best guide.
Do we need SAB approval before digging drainage on a Cardiff plot?
You do if the construction area is 100 square metres or more, and the approval must be in place before construction starts.
Is there any coal mining risk in Pontprennau or St Mellons?
No. Pontprennau and St Mellons are well outside the coalfield, whose edge lies near Tongwynlais in the north of the city.
Excavation on a Cardiff site?
Send the site address, the dig depths, any ground investigation logs and the status of SAB approval. Say how a low loader would reach the site and where it could unload.
This service is carried out by Copperworks Plant Hire, a Dragon Multi-Trade brand.