Anytime there is a need to reform land, recreate an outdoor
environment, or build an elaborate hardscape, compact excavators
with clamps provide the grasp.
www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation January/February 2016 19
3. Trail development — Constructing and
maintaining the trail systems and golf cart paths
that are popular with recreational enthusiasts
is tough to do with most machines, but is easi-
er with a compact excavator equipped with a
trenching bucket and grading blade. Excavators
are ideal for clearing and prepping paths mea-
suring approximately 5 feet wide with minimal
disruption. These machines increase their value
exponentially by eliminating the alternative of
hand labor and shovels. They also provide the
precision to chisel and sculpt into sloped land.
4. Landscaping/hardscaping — Anytime
there is a need to reform land, recreate an out-
door environment, or build an elaborate hard-
scape, compact excavators with clamps provide
the grasp. The precision of a clamp allows opera-
tors to load/unload and sort material, move vege-
tation, and place landscape boulders and timbers.
Tined grapples, paired with a clamp attachment,
are perfect solutions for handling timbers and
other dimensional lumber for a hardscape proj-
ect such as construction of waterfalls and ponds.
5. Site prep/grading — Prepping a site for pav-
ing or planting could be done with your excavator
fitted with a ripper to penetrate and scarify frost
and hard ground. An appropriate bucket will haul
in aggregate base material. Some manufacturers of-
fer a tilt swing accessory that mounts between the
excavator's bucket and the arm to help create slopes,
cut drainage ditches or contour soil. A grading blade
can turn an excavator into a rough or finish grader,
as well as a backfilling and leveling machine.
6. Compaction — An excavator can be fit-
ted with a plate compactor that is designed to
compress soil from the top down, while a packer
wheel attachment can compact the fill from the
bottom up. These two attachments can minimize
hand-operated compaction or manage a walk-
behind unit above ground to close up a trench.
7. Tree planting/installing fence posts — Fast
and accurate digging with an auger provides op-
erators a quick method for installing fence posts,
piers and poles, or planting trees and other vegetation.
8. Reshaping earthen walls — With a growing emphasis on
climate change and wet weather patterns, many urban and rural
areas are seeing increased stress on dike and levee walls. With a
grading bucket and an extendable-arm option, available on select
compact excavators, walls can be reshaped by pulling fallen dirt
up to a levee's top edge to reform the shelf. The soil can then be
rolled downhill and sloped with a swing accessory for improved
mowing and spraying.
Allison McNeal is a technical writer with Two Rivers Marketing
in Des Moines, Iowa.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
LI
