“We’re trying to decide the best approach for labor, transport for removal, and where to put it”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

This spring we’re considering replacing our entire backyard (presently a grave parking spotl and a small patio) with new vehicular rated patio pavers. To save money, we’re thinking of doing the work ourselves, but that means removing approx. a foot deep of dirt and gravel for the entire yard so we can lay the appropriate foundation — that means digging out a 13′ x 45′ area, so nearly 600sf.

Does anyone have any solid recommendations on removing the dirt/gravel? The DC dump claim they won’t take it, and if we used a dumpster we’d wind up covering 1/3 of the yard we’re trying to clear out. We’ve also looked at Bagster, but that seems like it will get expensive given the number of bags and pickups we’d require.

Does anyone have any experience doing something similar, preferably in a creative way that won’t break the bank? We’re trying to be cost conscious on how we approach this so we can re-invest that money into materials and the landscaping once it’s finished. We’re trying to decide the best approach for labor, transport for removal, and where to put it leading up to removal, depending on how we approach the project.

For anyone that’s used third party services, I’d be curious about costs as well.”