Go Bottomclay tennis court removal
 | melsfav
Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5 Louisiana 
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2004-06-01 87480
I need to remove an old clay tennis court, fencing, net posts, and cover with enough topsoil to repair drainage and allow sod placement. First, will a compact tractor such as a small Kubota or Kioti CK20 be large enough to do this job? Will I need a backhoe to remove the fence posts and cement, or will the FEL and three point hitch be enough to get these out of the ground? Anyone know if the FEL will dig enough to scrape the top 6 inches or so of the clay surface away? Thanks in advance for any advice -
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 | grinder
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 677 central Maine 
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2004-06-02 87484
Rent a mini excavator,clean up and finish with cut.
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 | drcjv.
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 334 southeastern pa
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2004-06-02 87487
If you want to scrape the top 6" with a FEL you will need a tooth bar. ....
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| melsfav
Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5 Louisiana
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2004-06-02 87503
How does a toothbar help, what is this, and how does it fit onto the FEL? Also, what does a mini excavator do that the tractor won't do? Thanks for the replies - ....
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| drcjv.
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 334 southeastern pa
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2004-06-02 87512
A tooth bar bolts onto the cutting edge of your loader bucket and has teeth on it similar to what you would see on a backhoe bucket. It allows the bucket to cut through the soil much easier. They usuall cost around $300.00. I would think a 20hp tractor might be a little light for the job you describe. It might work but take alot longer than a midsize CUT. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada 
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2004-06-02 87516
Just the physics of how an excavator works means that it is simply able to dig harder and faster than you could with a FEL.
The only digging force that a FEL on a CUT can create is the mass of the machine plus the tractive force it's tires can develop to push the FEL bucket forward and into the earth.
An excavator on the other hand uses the mechanical advantage of hydraulics and it's own design tosort of pinch the earth between its base and the bucket. When you apply force with the bucket, either the bucket digs in or the machine moves. Generally the small, toothed bucket cuts into the soil with little effort.
The other advantage an excavator has over a FEL, or even a B/H is the ability to continously rotate. This means it can dig a scoop of dirt and place it on the opposite side of the machine from where it was dug. This is particularly handy in a situation like this where you can dig and swivel around to dump the dirt into a container for removal such as a roll-off bin, dump truck, trailer, or even the bucket of a FEL. Since you don't have to move the ntire machine each time you take a scoop of dirt the work goes a lot faster because there is little wasted motion.
Best of luck. ....
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| melsfav
Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5 Louisiana
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2004-06-02 87532
This is all very helpful. Sounds like I might be better off hiring someone with some better equipment. I was hoping the cost I could save would offset the cost of a CUT that I need for a number of other smaller landscaping projects (does anyone see a wife's input on a CUT purchase seeping in here?). Thanks - ....
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-06-03 87615
If the excavated material has to be moved very far a CUT will still be needed unless there is somewhere to get a truck in with out causing too much collateral damage.
For a tennis court you could have it dug in a day provided you could get the excavated material out of the area fast enough.
A mini-ex rents for about $200 a day and they are a blast to run. A weekend rental would probably get you done even with the learning curve.
A dump trailer behind a CUT is how we deal with material al the time, it is actually very fast when you compare how much time it takes to restore the area if you were to drive across much turf or landscaping with dump trucks.
Best of luck. ....
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| melsfav
Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 5 Louisiana
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2004-06-03 87623
Thanks again for all of the help. I think I'm going to buy the CUT with FEL and box blade, and rent the mini excavator per your advice. That saves me nearly 5 grand on the backhoe attachment that I'll likely never need again. If the excavator is that much fun, I might have the whole yard dug up by Monday. Thanks again - ....
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