Digging Your Own Pool? Prepare Your Garden Before the Excavator is Delivered
Home swimming pools have long been associated with class, wealth and luxury. Although prices have fallen to the point where more people can afford their own pool than ever before, they still don't come particularly cheap, and that can make them unattainable for some.
If you know what you're doing, you can save a lot of money by building your own pool and cutting out the middleman. If you're going to do that, it will involve digging a large hole, and for that, you'll need to hire an excavator. Before you get your hands on this powerful piece of equipment, you should make sure you're ready to get started. Here are the things you should do to prepare for delivery of your hired equipment.
Make sure there's a delivery route
Even mini excavators are fairly large pieces of kit, so your first step should be to make sure there's somewhere for it to go when it's delivered.
In addition to storing the excavator itself, you'll need a clear path for the delivery vehicle to get through. Move any vehicles or machinery out of the way, and check there's room for the driver to turn round safely.
Clear any large pieces of debris
Excavators make moving earth easy, even if it's full of stones and other bits of debris. However, you'll need to make sure there are no large objects that will cause you problems once you start digging.
This can be a particular problem if you've had a structure demolished, as this leaves bricks and other large chunks of building material that are difficult to shift. You should move them by hand as soon as possible.
Make room to operate the excavator
Check you have space to actually manoeuvre safely when you're operating your excavator. Although they have a fairly tight turning circle, you should still take care that your planned pool site is well away from buildings.
If you have a shed in your garden, you might need to consider dismantling it temporarily until the work is completed.
Don't leave anything fragile lying around
Put away lawnmowers and other garden equipment, and don't leave anything valuable outside when you're working.
You should also protect plants and trees that might be in the way while you dig.
Check for dangers
Once place people sometimes forget to look is straight up. Overhead cables and low-hanging tree branches can be extremely hazardous when an excavator is used. Move what you can, and work out a plan for working safely around anything you can't relocate.