Home improvement projects come in numerous shapes, sizes and budgets as every home improvement project will have unique properties that will ultimately be based on the owner of the property. Some of these projects may be as simple as demolishing and clearing a specific part of the property that may have been re-designated for other purposes such as patio.

Other more complicated projects could be building a guest house on the portion of extra unused land due to the fact that a guest house would require clearing the area using an assortment of equipment that could include a standard excavator, mini excavator and perhaps even a compactor roller for hire in order to compact the ground where the guesthouse is to be built.

The mini or standard excavator that are usually taken for rental will not be only used to clear the area, but the machine will also be used for digging and trenching for plumbing and underground cable installations, the machine will also be generally be used to drill holes, grade specific parts of the project site and could also go as far as compacting the ground without the need to hire a roller compactor specifically.

Excavators in other words are the ‘kings’ or ‘magnum opus’ of the construction industry due to their power, versatility, operational flexibility and optimal practical functionality. This article focuses on a specific home improvement project which is common – building a swimming pool and how an excavator could be utilised to finish the project quickly, efficiently within the boundaries of a budget.

To start off, a mini excavator would be well suited for building a pool due to the fact that they are small (easy to move around the compound), light (minimal damage to the ground) and quite affordable if the excavator is taken for hire or rental for a daily or hourly rate.

The first step after hiring the excavator is to direct the operator to the spot where the pool is to be built. Choosing the spot is critical as the owner must ensure that the area to be dug is a safe distance from sewer, plumbing, or electrical lines to avoid unnecessary issues. After marking the area for the pool, it is also important to mark the area or dimensions for decking and landscaping – this is the excavation part where a mini excavator could accomplish the task within a day or two if the machine is operated by an experienced operator.

After the hole is dug up, graded and the deck area and area for landscaping are settled, the same excavator could be used to clear the area by removing all the dug-up earth into a dump truck and compact the earth in the pool area and the areas surrounding the pool to stabilise the ground of the project area. Once this is done, all the project manager has to do is call in the troops to start setting the gravel bed, cementing or tiling or in most cases placing a prebuilt fibre glass pool into the hole.

This will generally be followed by the installation of filters, piping and drainage. The final stage revolves around décor to give the entire pool area the aesthetics that it requires to make the property owner proud.