Wet hire or dry hire?
Wet hire means the machine comes with an operator. Dry hire means you get the machine and supply your own.
In Brisbane, demolition robots are almost always wet hired, and for good reason. Operating one well takes experience: positioning the outriggers, choosing between breaker and crusher, working an arm with three sections and a slewing turret from a remote, managing the exclusion zone. An inexperienced operator is slow at best and dangerous at worst. Wet hire also puts the responsibility for the machine, its maintenance and its safe operation with the contractor who owns it.
At Robo Demo we supply machines wet hired only, with our own ticketed operators. See our hire service for the detail.
What’s in the rate
A wet-hire day rate normally covers the machine, the standard attachments (breaker, crusher, shear, bucket), the operator, water-mist dust suppression, leads and consumables. Things typically quoted separately are:
- Mobilisation — transport to and from site; more if the machine has to be craned in.
- Generator — if the site can’t provide three-phase power.
- Waste removal — bins, loading and disposal, unless you’re using your own contractor.
- Out-of-hours loadings — nights, weekends and 24-hour shutdown coverage.
- Extras — saw-cutting, vibration monitoring, engineering input.
Ask for these to be itemised so you can compare quotes properly. See how robotic demolition is priced for the full breakdown.
What your site needs to provide
An access route
A path from the truck to the work area that the machine can track along: doorways of at least 780 mm, a goods or passenger lift if it’s going up or down, ramps no steeper than about 30°, and no steps it can’t climb. Confirm the lift’s rated load. The contractor will usually walk the route before quoting.
Power
Three-phase power near the work area is ideal. If it’s not there, the contractor brings a generator, which has to sit somewhere outside the enclosed space with a lead run in.
Water
A hose connection for dust suppression. Not much flow is needed, but it needs to reach the work area.
A place for the rubble
A bin at the door is the dream. If rubble has to travel through the building, plan the route and who’s moving it, because it affects the day’s productivity more than almost anything else.
Site induction and permits
The operator needs to be inducted, and any permits (hot work, confined space, isolation) sorted before the machine arrives. On a live site, an hour lost to paperwork in the morning is an hour of breaking gone.
Engineering and services
Know what’s in and under the concrete. Structural drawings, a services scan, and the engineer’s sign-off on what can be removed and in what sequence. Propping, if required, is in place before the robot starts.
Lead times in south-east Queensland
For Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich and Logan, same-week mobilisation is common for jobs of a few days. Multi-week programs, regional Queensland and shutdown work benefit from a few weeks’ notice so machines and operators can be locked in. If a program has stalled and you need a machine tomorrow, ask; it’s often possible.
Questions worth asking
- Which machine, and does it fit my access? Ask for the machine’s width, weight and lift requirements and check them against your route.
- What attachments come with it? Breaker, crusher and shear should all be available; the crusher matters on noise-limited sites.
- Who is the operator and what are they ticketed for? Experience on this class of machine is what you’re paying for.
- How is dust controlled? Water-mist at the tool as a minimum, plus screening and extraction where the site needs it.
- What’s the exclusion zone plan? Who sets it, who controls it, and how does it interact with other trades.
- What’s itemised and what isn’t? Mobilisation, generator, waste, loadings.
- What happens if the concrete is harder than expected? Understand who carries the program risk under a day rate versus a fixed price.
Making the day productive
The contractors who get the most out of a hired robot do a few simple things: the route is clear and confirmed before the truck arrives, the induction is booked for first thing, the power and water are ready, the rubble route and bins are sorted, and the scope is marked on the concrete. Do those and the machine is breaking within an hour of arriving and doesn’t stop until knock-off.
Ready to book, or want a budget figure first? Send us the job or call 0487 523 022.