How To Use a Mini Digger for Garden Landscaping
Thinking about transforming your home’s outdoor space into a tranquil, peaceful setting to unwind and share those unforgettable memories? One thing is for sure – if you plan on tackling any type of garden landscaping yourself, you’ll need the right tools to get the job done. A mini digger is often used for garden landscaping to accelerate results.
In this resource, we’ll help guide you through how to use micro and mini diggers for common landscaping tasks. We’ll also share some tips on trenching, how to choose the right machine and how to save money on your home renovation.
If you are looking for mini digger hire in Gloucestershire or garden digger rental near you, then this article is for you.
Why Use A Mini Or Micro Digger For Landscaping?
Hiring a small excavator for a DIY landscaping project isn’t something that all homeowners consider. But if you are looking to maximise your time, effort and results, the efficiency these machines offer is sure to boost your progress.
Landscaping your garden by hand can be extremely demanding, difficult and time-consuming. Especially if you are digging foundations, clearing turf or removing heavy soil.
Using a mini digger gives you the power and precision to tackle a wide range of tasks with minimal effort, while remaining small enough to manoeuvre around most garden sizes. For the smallest of properties, which have limited access, a micro, or doorway digger, is the ideal solution. Perfect for those homes within inner city areas such as Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Nevertheless, hiring a mini digger can seem like a huge step for many homeowners. But with WHC Hire’s expert support and easy to operate equipment, it’s more accessible than you might just think.
What other DIY tasks can you use a mini digger for?
How To Choose A Digger For DIY Landscaping?
For many people, choosing the right digger for a landscaping project can feel like a whirlwind. Micro, mini, 1.5 tonne, mini excavator, compact excavator, 360’s — the list of machine slang goes on. This can quickly become confusing and overwhelming for DIY users.
To help cut through the jargon, mini diggers can generally be broken down into three main categories:
Micro Digger
Also known as compact excavators, doorway diggers, 0.8T machines, or simply micro diggers, these compact units are designed for tight-access spaces. They’re purpose-built to operate in awkward areas with restricted access, such as side gates or narrow paths. Perfect for trench digging, turf removal, and installing ducting or piping in smaller gardens.
Mini Digger
Ideal for medium to large gardens, mini diggers are commonly referred to as 1.5 tonne diggers, compact excavators, small excavators, or even “mini ex’s.” These machines provide plenty of power for tasks such as:
- Building shed bases
- Digging footings for extensions
- Removing small trees or stumps
- General garden re-grading or reshaping
Overall, they’re a great all-rounder for landscaping projects where space allows.
3 Tonne Digger
The largest option in the “mini” category, a 3-tonne digger offers superior digging depth, reach, and breakout force. Sometimes also labelled as compact or small excavators, these machines are suitable for the biggest domestic garden projects. However, they do require more space for safe operation.
Before you decide, consider these factors:
- What tasks are you planning to complete?
- How deep do you need to dig?
- Are there any access restrictions?
- What’s your timescale to complete the work?
If you’re unsure which excavator is right for your DIY landscaping project, the team at WHC Hire is always happy to help. We’ll guide you to the best choice based on your garden, goals, and budget.
Alternatiovely, you can check out this supporting article, Micro vs Mini Digger For Garden Projects.
How To Dig A Trench With A Mini Digger?
Using a mini excavator to dig a trench is a common application for many DIY landscaping projects. After becoming comfortable with the machine’s controls and safety systems, you can move on to preparing your working area. Mini diggers can save you a huge amount of hours of back-breaking work; however, without proper preparation, you could run in to some unwanted delays along the way.
Whether you are laying cables, digging foundations or installing drainage, follow this guide to get the job done right.
1. Mark Out Your Trench
Start by marking out your trench on the surface of the ground. Use spray paint, string lines or wooden stakes to assist you. This will give you a visual reference point to work from when operating the digger.
2. Check For Underground Services
Before jumping straight into excavating, you must always identify any existing underground services. How? This can be done either with a Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) or by contacting a local utilities company to check for buried pipes and cables.
Accidentally striking either one of these services could cause serious injury and be extremely costly.
3. Preparing & Positioning The Digger
Before you start excavating, you should be sure that you are familiar with the machine’s controls. Never rush straight into the work. Where possible, take your time to practise before starting on your marked-out trench.
Once you feel confident, position your excavator on flat, stable ground with the dozer blade lowered behind you. For smaller diggers, this setup helps improve stability and digging force.
4. Begin Digging
Now that you have positioned your excavator correctly, begin at one end of your trench, working down in layers. Use the boom and dipper arm to control the length and depth of each scoop. At the same time, avoid overfilling your bucket as this can increase the risk of damaging the machinery.
Keep the trench sides even along your working line and avoid rushing the process.
5. Removing Spoil
When excavating your trench with a mini digger, you’ll need a place to put your spoil. For foundation trenches, this should be into a dumper so it can be removed from the working area. However, for utility installation, it is best practice to line the spoil parallel alongside the trench to assist with burial after the services have been installed.
6. Moving Along The Trench
Once you have reached your target depth from your first position, you will be ready to reposition the excavator. First, remove the arm of the machine from the trench, lift up the dozer blade from behind you, and then reverse backwards along your line. Be sure not to travel too far. In a micro or mini digger, this may only be a couple of metres, depending on the machine’s reach and dig depth.
Once you’ve repositioned your machine, remember to set your dozer blade down behind you again before restarting.
7. Repeat
Repeat sections 4, 5 and 6 until you have excavated your trench. Once you have finished, be sure to make any small adjustments by hand. This will ensure that you will have a clean even trench for your pipework, ducting or concrete for foundations.
Safety Reminder
Always adhere to the safety information and PPE which is outlined in the operator’s manual. Additionally, take great care when working next to buildings and avoid working close to other people. If you are ever in doubt. Stop working and reassess.
Tips to Save Money on Home Renovation Equipment
Tackling your home renovation project yourself can be a highly rewarding experience and a great way to add value to your property. However, hiring the wrong equipment or mismanaging your project can quickly eat into your budget.
To get you started, here are some simple tips to help you save on your next mini digger hire.
Plan In Advance
Planning any type of home renovation is essential. You may well need permission before you start, so be sure to speak to your local authority ahead of time. You’ll also need to consider timelines, waste removal and hire periods. This will ensure that you have all bases covered before starting.
Weekend Rates
Hiring a mini digger for a single day can be highly beneficial for a wide range of home renovation tasks. Nevertheless, where possible, you can save more money with longer hire periods, such as weekend and weekly hire. Speak to your supplier directly to receive the latest mini digger hire rates in your area.
Hire From One Supplier
Hiring all your equipment from a single supplier is one of the easiest ways to save money on your project. It reduces delivery fees and simplifies the process. If your project also requires additional machinery like a tracked barrow or mini dumper to move debris, a single supplier can ensure everything arrives together and works seamlessly on site.
Rent Local Where Possible
Supporting local hire companies is a great way to save even more money on your project. This can reduce your delivery and collection fees if you are unable to transport the machinery yourself. Just search, mini digger hire near me or DIY rental equipment in Gloucestershire.
Ask About Support
If you’ve not hired or used a mini digger before, having the right level of service behind you is essential. You can save by just having the right support behind you. Most quality rental companies will be able to walk you through the equipment and provide on-site support should an issue occur.
Insurance
Whether it’s your first or hundredth time renting a mini digger, having insurance is crucial. Remember that you are completely liable when the equipment is in your possession. Taking a small temporary policy can save thousands should an unexpected event occur. For more on this and for some recommendations, check out our other article, “Plant insurance explained.”
Getting Started With Digger Hire Near You
If you feel ready to make the leap and kick-start your transformation, hiring a mini digger is much easier than you think.
Start by searching for mini digger hire near me or checking out what local digger hire options there are in Gloucestershire. Look for reputable suppliers that offer a wide range of mini diggers, transparency and favourable reviews. Alternatively, get recommendations from friends, family or even neighbours who might have used a local service before.
As we’ve mentioned before, choosing a local hire centre can have some money-saving benefits and access to quick support should you need it.
Before approaching a rental company, it is useful to:
Measure Access Points- This will assist with machine selection.
Projected Timeline- Understand how long you need the equipment for.
Speak To A Supplier- Discuss your equipment needs and site conditions.
At WHC Hire Services, we’ve helped thousands of DIYers over nearly 30 years by providing reliable and affordable mini digger hire in Gloucestershire. Our expert team offers free, impartial advice on equipment selection, flexible hire durations, and award-winning support throughout your hire—ensuring you feel confident and prepared to tackle the task at hand.
Why Choose WHC Hire For Mini Digger Hire In Gloucestershire?
When it comes to taking on a garden or home renovation project, choosing the right hire partner can make all the difference. At WHC Hire Services, we’re proud to be one of Gloucestershire’s most trusted names in plant and tool hire—serving DIYers, tradespeople, and businesses for nearly three decades.
Here’s why so many people across Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Cirencester, and beyond choose us for their mini digger hire:
Local Enterprise
With years of local knowledge and experience, our local depot based in Tewkesbury understands the challenges of working in and around the different types of properties and terrain in the area.
Reliable Equipment
Our modern, state-of-the-art equipment provides reliability and ease of use, while being supported by the latest operator safety systems.
Flexible Hire Options
WHC offers flexible hire durations to support any size of home renovation project. Whether it is for a single day or a week’s hire, we’re able to support all schedules and most budgets.
DIY Support
Never used a mini digger before? Not to worry, our teams will walk you through all of the controls of the equipment as part of our handover process. We also provide free access to our online vault of video tutorials for each mini digger. These include how to change a bucket, machine controls, daily checks and more.
Get In Touch
Ready to transform your garden? Contact WHC Hire Services today for expert advice and affordable mini digger hire in Gloucestershire today.
Call our Tewkesbury depot or browse our range of mini diggers available for fast delivery.