Dig It Civil has been helping Sydney homeowners achieve their dream of having their very own swimming pool for over 7 years through skillful ground excavation. Having completed hundreds of swimming pool excavations across the Greater Sydney Region, Scott and the team have put together the top 5 questions you need to ask your potential swimming pool excavator!
1. What machines do they have and will they be available for your excavation?
While this may seem like an obvious question, the access to your site, the size of the pool and the type of ground material (i.e. soil, rock or sand) you need removed will impact the type of machines needed. Therefore you need to check if they have the right machines for the job and also if they will be available when you need them.
How accessible is your site? Think about how the machines will be able to get to your site. Narrow site access will most likely require small machines (like a mini excavator or mini bobcat) and in some cases, excavation may even need to be done by hand! Don’t worry, not your hands; Dig It specialises in tight access areas, respecting your property and investments. Alternatively, if the site has easy access for trucks, bigger machines, like the 5T Excavator, or alternatively a Bobcat could cart materials to and from the site.
What type of ground material do you have? If you don’t know, don’t worry! We can guide you on the type of equipment needed for your location. If you have a sandy backyard, it is usually quite a straightforward job. Where as if you have a rocky site, it can take a lot longer and require specialised machinery like Dig It’s Rock Saw and Hammer.
2. How long will it take?
To help your potential contractor answer this question, it will help if you know:
- your swimming pool dimensions or at least the anticipated pool size
- the shape of the swimming pool you need excavated, for example; rectangular, square, oval or round. Take into consideration that more intricate shapes and details will take longer to excavate
- the type of ground material and site access as mentioned above.
With those things in mind, Dig It has found that for a straightforward ‘easy digging’ site, which is generally defined as having good access, sandy soil and a standard shape, the excavation will take approximately 2 days.
For a larger swimming pool that requires rock excavation or has difficult access, or an unusual shape, it could take up to 2 weeks for the excavation and waste disposal.
3. What licences and insurances do you have?
This is vital information and should be happily supplied within your written contract, if not displayed on their website!
Dig It Civil is comprehensively insured with $10million of Broadform Liability and is fully licenced for demolition, excavation and Asbestos removal. The team is also fully qualified and highly experienced to ensure successful completion of your project.
4. Who looks after the dirt that has been dug up?
You need to ask this as it will impact your final costs.
Dig It can easily remove the excavated waste for you or we can help you relocate it within your property to an area you plan to fill in with the excavated waste.
5. Do you need to see my DA?
The correct response to this question is YES! We can achieve better outcomes by understanding the restrictions and requirements of your DA. Depending on your council and location, there factors to consider like: work hours, noise restrictions, street access and parking for excavators, trucks, bobcats and other machines. We can create a plan to ensure you have everything arranged and in place, prior to work commencing.
Did you know? Work Health and Safety regulations say, that once a swimming pool has been excavated (even if there is no water in it yet), it must be fenced. Dig It Civil can supply the swimming pool fencing if you need.
What else should you know?
Obviously every swimming pool excavation is unique, so these questions are the top 5 you should ask, but of course there could be more. To help get you prepared for your phone call with your potential excavators, here are some questions they might ask you!
- Have you chosen a swimming pool contractor to work with once the site preparation is completed?
- What type of in ground swimming pools would you like us to excavate for: concrete or fibreglass?
- Do you require landscaping after the pool excavation work has been done?
Ready to have a chat with an experienced swimming pool excavator? Call us on 1800 344 448 to arrange a free site visit so we can review your plans and provide an obligation free quote.
We’re always available and ready to go at short notice, so if you’re ready to dig, so are we!