I have to agree with this. As much as I like operating equipment and all, when it comes to prepairng the soil & surfaces for my house's foundation - I want it done right! If the foundation & footings are compromised - everything else won't matter.

Just FYI - it's hard enough to get this right on a LEVEL lot, let alone a hillside. My sister bought a house last summer a few hours south of me, and during thier home inspeciton they were alerted that there was signifigant foundation/structural compromise, especially under the kitchen & garage. Had it have been me, I would have turned tail on it - they went ahead with the house and are having fits trying to get the work done properly. Oops...

 

Ron, one of my neighbors is a great source for this type of equipment if you decide you would like to get one. He buys and sells this type of thing on a daily basis both locally and international. He has a ton of contacts and is a guy I would back up personally for character and honesty.

 

Great!!
Thanks for the tip, I'll keep you in mind.

 

Your idea is fine if you can hire an experienced operator by the day to run the machine. If you are not fully experienced working on hills is the hardest and most dangerous, not worth the risk. Operating Engineers Local 15, almost 30 years operating, please take advise and be safe.

 

You have to watch out on the D57's we had one years ago good machine!!!! But if it has the 4 cyl in them stay away you can't buy parts, they told us it was one of the worst enigne komatsu made... Course I have to disagree cause we got over 13,000 hours out of ours before it went. They said we got lucky!!! Most don't get a few thousand out of them, you can not buy parts though for that enigne.

The newer one's had a 6 cyl in them, but I bet that one has the 4 cyl in it make sure to check that out!! We had to repower ours with a different motor.
Chris