What Two Skid Steers Make Possible on a Landscaping Job
Owning heavy equipment in-house changes what's possible on a job site. Here's a look at what our skid steers actually do — and why it matters for your project.
Most residential landscaping companies work with shovels, wheelbarrows, and maybe a small tractor. When a job requires heavy equipment, they rent it — and they're at the mercy of rental availability, equipment condition, and operator experience.
Lebanon Scapes & Construction owns and operates two skid steers. That single fact changes the scope of what we can accomplish on any job site.
What Is a Skid Steer?
A skid steer is a compact, maneuverable piece of heavy equipment with a front-mounted bucket that can be swapped for a wide range of attachments. The machine's small footprint and zero-turn-radius capability allow it to work in confined spaces — backyard gates, narrow side yards, areas between structures — that larger equipment can't reach.
With the right operator, a skid steer is extraordinarily versatile. With the wrong operator or poorly maintained rental equipment, it's a liability.
Land Clearing
Before a landscape can be installed, the site has to be cleared. For new construction lots with brush, construction debris, rough grading, and stumps, hand clearing is impractical. Our skid steers equipped with brush cutter and bucket attachments can clear and move material in hours that would take a crew days by hand.
This matters enormously for builder clients working against closing dates.
Grading and Leveling
Proper grade — the slope and elevation relationship across your entire property — determines where water flows, where it ponds, and how every other element of your landscape performs. Achieving correct grade requires moving significant amounts of soil.
Skid steers allow us to make precise grade corrections quickly. We can build up low areas, cut down high spots, and establish the positive drainage slope away from your foundation that protects your home's structural integrity.
Drainage Excavation
Installing French drains, surface drains, and subsurface drainage systems requires trenching and excavation. This work is physically demanding and slow by hand, but efficient with mechanized equipment. Our skid steers with trenching attachments open drainage trenches cleanly and precisely.
Topsoil and Material Spreading
After grading, we spread premium topsoil to establish the planting medium for your new landscape. A skid steer can move and spread topsoil across a large property efficiently, achieving consistent depth for optimal plant establishment.
The same capability applies to mulch delivery and spreading, base gravel for hardscape projects, and aggregate material for drainage systems.
The Scheduling Advantage
When we need equipment, we use our equipment. No waiting for a rental yard to have availability. No driving across town to pick up a machine that may not be properly maintained. No additional daily rental costs that get passed to the client.
For custom home builders especially, this reliability is critical. When the site is ready and the timeline is tight, we mobilize immediately.