When I bought my first compact machine, I honestly figured it’d be a “light duty” thing and I’d still be calling contractors for anything real. A season in, I was wrong about a lot of that. Here are five jobs I assumed I’d hire out that the little machine knocked out no problem.
1. Digging footings for a small addition. I was sure this needed a “real” excavator. Nope. The compact reached plenty deep for the footings, dug clean, and fit in the backyard where a full-size machine couldn’t have gotten in anyway.
2. Running a drainage line. Water was pooling near the house and I’d gotten quotes to trench and pipe it. Did it myself in an afternoon. A narrow trenching bucket made clean, straight work of it, and I backfilled with the same machine.
3. Pulling stumps and clearing brush. Figured this was a hire-out or a rental-a-bigger-machine job. With a thumb, the compact ripped out small and medium stumps and cleared a fence line I’d been dreading.
4. Setting fence posts. Quoted a small fortune to have a fence crew do the whole run. Put an auger on, drilled the holes myself in a fraction of the time, and set the posts on my own schedule.
5. Regrading a lumpy backyard. I assumed leveling needed a skid steer or a pro. Took some patience, but the compact graded it smooth enough for sod, and I didn’t tear up the rest of the yard doing it.
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