One of the most useful things I’ve figured out in this business is that a lot of projects need more than one service — but customers don’t realize it until they’ve already booked one contractor and are stuck coordinating with another.
Bin rental. Mini excavation. Material delivery. Sometimes utility locating. On Mid Vancouver Island, we do all of these under one roof. And when you book them together as a single job, you save money three ways: on delivery fees, on scheduling, and on the sequence of work.
This is the playbook. If you’re doing any of these types of projects, ask us about combining services — the savings are real.
Why Combined Jobs Save Money
Every service call has a fixed cost baked in:
- Delivery/pickup fee
- Travel time
- Scheduling/dispatch overhead
When you book a bin and an excavator and material delivery separately over the course of a project, you pay these fixed costs 3 times. When you book them as a combined project, you pay them once. That’s the core of the savings.
But it’s not just money. It’s also:
- Scheduling — one contractor’s calendar instead of three
- Site sequence — we know when the bin should arrive (usually after excavation, not before)
- Access — we plan the yard access route once, not three times
- Cleanup — we haul out the debris from the excavation directly, no double-handling
The 6 Project Types Where Combining Wins
Here are the specific project types where I always recommend booking bin + excavation (or bin + material delivery) as a combined job:
1. Driveway rebuild or refresh
- Excavation: old gravel/base removal, subgrade prep, drainage improvements
- Bin: hauls out the old driveway material, sod, and any concrete
- Material delivery: new gravel base and top course delivered fresh
- Bonus: we can spread and grade the new gravel with the E10 or E35
This is the classic combined job. Doing it in one visit vs. three saves 2–3x on delivery fees alone. Full breakdown here: driveway gravel refresh — Mid Vancouver Island.
2. Backyard drainage / French drain install
- Excavation: trench for perimeter drain or French drain (E10 or E35)
- Bin: old soil + landscape material that comes out
- Material delivery: drain rock and gravel for the trench base
The bin sits nearby, the excavated soil goes directly in, drain rock gets placed by the excavator, and the trench closes up. One day, one crew, one set of delivery fees.
3. Deck removal + patio prep
- Bin: old deck lumber and framing (heavy — plan bin size accordingly)
- Excavation: removing old footings, leveling ground for the patio base
- Material delivery: compacted gravel base for the new patio pad
We start the demo, load the bin, then switch to the excavator work in the same visit. If we brought a second crew back on a different day, you’d pay a full second delivery fee.
Related read: how to prep your yard for a deck or patio.
4. Rental property turnover — landscaping + interior cleanout
- Bin: tenant belongings, damaged carpet, appliances, yard debris
- Excavation: if landscaping needs a reset (retaining wall, drainage, or yard grading)
- Material delivery: topsoil, mulch, or gravel to refresh the property
Landlords doing a full property turnover — Nanaimo VIU-area rentals, Parksville long-term rentals, Nanoose Bay vacation homes — often need both the cleanout AND some landscaping work between tenants. Combining saves the property owner meaningful money. See the full playbook here: Nanaimo VIU rental property cleanouts and move-out cleanouts in Parksville.
5. Post-storm cleanup + drainage fix
- Bin: downed branches, damaged fencing, roof debris
- Excavation: grading the low spot in your yard so the next storm doesn’t do it again
- Material delivery: fill for the low spot or drainage bed
Vancouver Island fall storms cause damage AND reveal drainage issues. Fix both in one visit. Related read: fall storm cleanup on Vancouver Island.
6. Small commercial site prep
- Excavation: site leveling, trenching for utilities
- Bin: any demo debris and topsoil that has to go
- Material delivery: base material, gravel, or sand
Small commercial projects (renovations, retail refits, restaurant patios) often need all three. Combining them lets us plan the whole site prep as one job.
What the Math Looks Like
Let me give you a rough example. These are ballpark numbers to illustrate the pattern — actual quotes depend on your specific project.
Booking separately (three trips):
- Bin delivery + pickup: $75 delivery, plus rental
- Excavation dispatch: $75 delivery, plus hourly
- Material delivery: $50–$75 delivery, plus material cost
~$200 in delivery/dispatch fees alone.
Booking as a combined job:
- One coordinated dispatch: $75 or bundled
- Bin cost: same
- Excavation cost: same
- Material cost: same
~$75 in delivery fees. Save ~$125.
On top of that:
- You save 1–2 days of your time coordinating vs. having everything happen in one window
- You save the risk of scheduling delays cascading
For a job under $2,000, that’s a meaningful percentage savings. For a job under $1,000, it can be 10–15% off just from combining services.
When Combining DOESN’T Save Money
To be honest — there are projects where combining doesn’t help:
- If you only need one service (just a bin, no excavation)
- If your excavation is happening months before or after your cleanup (schedule mismatch)
- If your project involves specialty work we don’t do (electrical, plumbing, roofing installation)
For those, combining is either impossible or doesn’t apply. But for the 6 project types above, it almost always wins.
How to Book a Combined Job
Call 778-909-9874 and describe the whole project — not just the piece you initially thought about.
Instead of “I need a 20-yard bin for Saturday,” say:
“I’m doing a driveway rebuild. I need to remove the old base, haul it out, and bring in new gravel. When can you come look at it?”
That one sentence changes the whole conversation. We can:
- Come look at the site (free, no commitment)
- Quote the whole job as one bundle
- Sequence it so it’s done in the fewest visits
- Save you money
Or request a quote through the website and mention “combined job” in the message. I’ll follow up personally.
Related Reading
- 5 things every homeowner should know before booking a bin
- Bobcat E10 vs a full-size excavator for backyard jobs
- Driveway gravel refresh — Mid Vancouver Island
- How to prep your yard for a deck or patio
- Nanaimo VIU rental property cleanouts
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really do bin rental and mini excavation in the same visit? Yes — as long as the site allows it. We plan the sequence (usually excavation first, bin arrives after the messy dig work is done) so we’re not tripping over ourselves. This is our normal way of doing bigger projects.
How much does combining services save? Depends on the project, but typically $100–$200 in delivery/dispatch fees, plus scheduling time. For jobs under $2,000, it’s often a meaningful percentage.
Do I get one invoice or three when I book combined? One invoice. Combined jobs are quoted and billed as a single project.
What if my excavation reveals a problem — do you handle change orders? Yes. We come look at the site first, quote what we can see, and if something unexpected comes up mid-job we talk about it before doing extra work. No surprise charges.
Do you deliver materials (gravel, topsoil, drain rock)? Yes. We deliver clean fill, topsoil, gravel, and drain rock across Mid Vancouver Island. Combined with excavation, we can also place and spread the material.
Can you do commercial combined jobs too? Yes. Small commercial site prep is one of our regular jobs — retail refits, restaurant patios, small parking area work.