Homebuilding / Residential Construction
The right residential construction equipment helps crews prepare foundations and build safe, lasting homes. High-quality machines ensure you can complete construction jobs precisely and deliver the results your clients expect. Taking time to understand the types of home construction equipment you need helps you maintain a well-equipped fleet.
Types of Residential Construction Equipment
Specific types of Cat® trucks and machines are perfect for residential construction. Homebuilding requires the ability to dig, reach, move, lift and compact. Determining which types of equipment you need for each job and how frequently you will need to utilize it is essential to maintain a dependable fleet. The following types of equipment help construction teams complete residential construction jobs efficiently:
Aerial Lifts
Aerial lifts are mobile elevating platforms that lift workers and tools, letting them reach various heights. You can use an aerial lift to reach any part of a home’s structure during the building process.
Aerial lifts are generally safer and more efficient than some methods of reaching heights, such as lift trucks and scaffolds. They have safety features like emergency backup systems and advanced control systems and are more stable than traditional lift trucks.
Telehandlers
Telehandlers are multitasking hydraulic lifting machines, also known as boom lifts. They lift, carry and place heavy objects and materials with a boom. Telehandlers have a greater range of motion than forklifts and can move across rough terrain. They can move across construction sites easily, transport materials diagonally, access confined spaces and deliver loads to higher elevations than forklifts.
Workers can place different attachments on the end of a boom to lift, carry and place various materials. For example, a bucket attachment can carry materials such as soil, and forks can carry pallets or lumber.
A telehandler also offers the following benefits:
- Steering options that let workers optimize steering for specific materials
- Adjustable forks that can tilt materials backward or forward for increased balance
- Frame leveling for stability on unstable surfaces
- Flexible booms that retract, extend and move around obstacles
- Load stabilizers for optimal carrying capacity
Excavators
Excavators are powerful earthmoving machines perfect for residential construction jobs. Different types of excavators operate on tracks or wheels. Crawler excavators are powerful machines that operate on tracks, ideal for residential construction sites with steep slopes and uneven terrain. They move with balance and stability, helping them scale hills. Wheeled excavators are also powerful and offer additional speed and maneuverability on flat surfaces.
You can depend on a crawler or wheeled excavator to:
- Dig rock and soil
- Demolish
- Create trenches
- Dig foundations
- Handle materials
Skid Steer Loader
A skid steer operates on wheels and has a standard bucket attachment for digging and moving heavy materials. It features interlocked control systems and rollover protective structures for enhanced safety. Operators can also replace the bucket with various attachments to move different materials. Skid steers can perform excavation tasks and move materials on a construction site.
Compact Track Loaders
You can use a compact track loader to complete earthmoving tasks like debris removal and digging. A compact track loader differs from a skid steer because it operates on two rubber tracks instead of wheels. Compact track loaders are ideal for residential construction sites because they can travel over rough terrain and softer ground without damaging surfaces.
Bulldozers
Residential construction companies rely on bulldozers to push significant amounts of raw materials and debris on construction sites. Bulldozer tracks rotate, helping the machine move heavy loads across rough terrain.
The blade — also called the plate — is the large structure on the front of a bulldozer. It has strong pushing capabilities. The bulldozer’s ripper on the back of the machine produces a shearing effect that turns tightly compacted soil into more workable soil.
Backhoes
Backhoes are similar to excavators because of their earthmoving and digging capabilities. A backhoe also contains a loader and hydraulic system in the front, allowing it to lift and carry materials.
You can use a backhoe on a residential construction site to dig, perform minor demolitions and move materials. They operate on various surfaces, including inclines, flat surfaces and rough terrain.
Light Compactors
Light compactors let workers build stable structures on compact soil. Soil compaction ensures homes are level and well-supported. Properly compacted soil also eliminates pore spaces. This increases ground stability and prevents pests and moisture from damaging a home’s foundation.
Light compactors are ideal for residential construction because they are easy to maneuver. You can reach confined and narrow spaces and prevent over-compaction with a light compactor.
Generators
Generators provide consistent equipment power to ensure operations run smoothly. They also supply backup power in remote areas or during a power outage. Single-home residential construction jobs typically require a medium-powered generator, but a large residential construction job involving multiple home builds requires a high-powered generator.
Key Attachments
Consider these key attachments for residential construction jobs:
- Brooms
- Concrete claws
- Dozer blades
- Pallet forks
- Box scrapers
- Buckets
- Grapples
- Augers
- Stump grinders
- Couplers
- Hydraulic hammers
- Lift booms
- Post drivers
- Laser grading boxes
- Mulchers
- Rakes
- Rippers
- Skid hoes
- Tree shovels and spades
- Thumbs
Rent and Purchase High-Quality Construction Equipment
Construction rental equipment is convenient because it eliminates the need for an initial investment and regular maintenance. Purchasing construction equipment lets you use machines frequently without rental fees.
Determining if your company should rent or purchase depends on your equipment usage. Purchasing a Cat machine from a reputable construction equipment supplier is ideal if you plan to use it frequently or for every homebuilding job.
Find High-Quality Residential Construction Equipment From H.O. Penn Machinery
H.O. Penn Machinery offers Cat construction equipment for sale if you want to purchase dependable machinery for your residential construction jobs. We also offer Cat construction equipment for rent if you need to use specific types of machinery temporarily.
We sell, rent and service high-quality machinery, so you can complete homebuilding jobs with precision. Contact H.O. Penn to learn more about how Cat construction equipment and service for residential construction.