Plan your dig.
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Will it fit, what you need, and the full cost with delivery, in 2 minutes.
Snap your job. Get the price.
Take one photo of the area to dig, with a door, fence panel or slab in shot for scale. We'll suggest the machines, size and days, and fill in the planner below for you.
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Patio or shed base: dig out 150–200 mm, then 100 mm of MOT type 1 in two layers, compacted. The micro is enough up to about 30 m²; the mini digs faster on bigger areas.
Fits a 125 cm gap: micro digger, mini digger, dumper.
Micro needs more than 75 cm · Mini 105 cm · Dumper 121 cm (standard tyres) · Roller 134 cm.
We deliver and collect Mon–Sat, so a hire that would end on a Sunday ends on Monday (Friday to Monday counts as 3 days).
Self-drive: you work the machine. We show you the controls at hand-over.
Your job in numbers
Dug lawn or soil swells, so 3.6 m³ in the ground is about 4.5 m³ in a skip, or about 1 grab-lorry load.
Before you start
- Before you dig, get free plans from linesearchbeforeudig.co.uk. It covers many utilities but not all, so also ask your water company and BT Openreach. On the day, sweep the area with a cable locator (CAT; tool-hire shops hire them) and hand-dig near anything found.
- Keep the finished surface at least 150 mm below the damp-proof course, with a fall of about 1 in 80 away from the house.
- Book the skip (or a grab lorry) for delivery day so the muck has somewhere to go. Skips on the road need a council permit.
- Order about 4.6 t of MOT type 1 for the base; have it tipped where you can reach it.
- A common first-time job with our machines. We show you the controls at hand-over.
On the day
- Two forms of ID (e.g. driving licence + a bill) and the card you pay with
- Someone at home to meet the driver and have the hand-over
- Space at the kerb for our van and trailer
- A locked place to keep the machine overnight
- Boards or mats if you want to protect the lawn or paving
Included: a full tank of diesel (bring it back full or we charge the diesel used), the standard bucket (the micro and mini come with 3), kerbside delivery and a hand-over. Not included: a driver (self-drive only), a plate compactor, damage cover unless you add it.
Will it fit through my gate?
Measure the narrowest point (gate, path or gap between house and fence). Drag to look around.
3D models are to scale on width; the fit rule is the same one our price box and drivers use.
No tape measure? Measure your gate with a bank card.
Hold any bank card flat against one gate post, take a photo straight on, then tap 4 points. The photo stays on your phone.
See your garden finished before you dig.
Snap the area, pick the job, and AI shows you an idea of the result. Your photo is sent to Google's AI to make the picture and is not stored by us.
Muck & stone calculator
Work out how much muck comes out and how much stone goes in.
Work out my muck ↓
What each machine does
New to this? Here's what each of our machines is for. The planner above picks the right ones for your job.
Micro digger
Digs patios, shed bases, trenches and ponds where access is tight. Digs to 1.72 m.
Mini digger
Bigger digs: driveways, footings and deeper drains. Digs to 2.29 m.
Dumper
Carries the muck from the digger and tips it straight into your skip. Saves hours of barrowing.
Roller
Packs down the stone base under a patio or drive so it doesn't sink later. Open areas only.
Breaker
Fits on the micro digger to break up old concrete and tarmac. Travels free with the micro.
Digger, dumper and roller hire: common questions
The questions our Hire Desk is asked most. The planner above works these out for your job; here are the rules of thumb.
What width gate does a micro digger need?
Our micro digger (Kubota K008-5) is 70 cm wide with its tracks pulled in, so it needs a gap of more than 75 cm. The mini digger (Kubota U17-5) needs more than 105 cm, the 1-tonne dumper more than 121 cm on standard tyres, and the BOMAG roller more than 134 cm. Taking out a fence panel often makes the difference.
How much muck comes out of a 5 × 4 m patio?
Dug 18 cm deep, a 5 × 4 m patio is about 3.6 m³ of soil in the ground, roughly 5.4 tonnes. Dug soil swells, so plan for about 4.5 m³ loose: one 6-yard skip.
How much MOT type 1 do I need for a patio or driveway base?
For a 100 mm compacted base, allow about 0.23 tonnes per square metre (area × depth × 1.3 for compaction × 1.1 spare × 1.6 t/m³). A 20 m² patio needs about 4.6 tonnes; a driveway base of 150 mm needs about half as much again per square metre.
How much is delivery from Wolverhampton?
Delivery is £40 each way (+ VAT) for the first 10 road miles from our yard at WV4 6JN, then £1.80 a mile, up to 35 road miles. Each machine has its own delivery charge; the breaker travels free with the micro. The planner prices your exact postcode.
Can I hire a digger for the weekend?
Yes. We deliver and collect Monday to Saturday, so a Friday delivery collected on Monday counts as 3 days.
I've never used a digger. Can I still hire one?
Yes, our machines are self-drive. We show you the controls at hand-over, and the planner allows extra time if you tick "first time". If you'd rather not dig yourself, choose "I'd like the whole job done" and we'll introduce a local groundworks firm.
Prices from aiplanthire.co.uk, 3 Oct 2026. Estimates only: dig rates, days, soil weights and stone tonnage are planning figures (stone formula after Marshalls; services advice after HSE HSG47; front-garden paving rule from the Planning Portal). Delivery is priced from our checkout's road miles.