Grab Hire in Manchester
No skip parked on the road and no permit to organise – a grab lorry reaches over fences and walls and takes heavy, bulky waste directly off your site.
When a Manchester site has a large volume of heavy waste to lose, grab hire is the fastest route. The lorry arrives, its hydraulic arm scoops the material off your pile, and it leaves fully loaded – one visit is usually enough. No container stays behind, which means nothing to secure overnight and nothing obstructing a busy street in Chorlton or the Northern Quarter.
Skips Manchester arranges grab hire across the city and the towns around it. We match each job to a suitable vehicle, whether that is green waste from a large Altrincham garden, rubble from a strip-out in Ancoats or spoil from a driveway dig in Didsbury.
In a single load, a typical 8-wheel grab lorry takes roughly what several builders’ skips would hold. Let us know what you are clearing and where it is, and we will reply with a quote and availability.
Grab hire, muck away and haulage services
Grab lorry or skip – which is the better choice?
If the material is already heaped up and you simply want it removed, a grab lorry is the better fit; a skip makes more sense when waste accumulates over several days or weeks. The lorry loads itself and drives off, so there is no skip permit to obtain from Manchester City Council or your borough council, no lights and cones to put round a skip on the road, and no charge for a container standing on site.
Then there is weight. Rubble, soil and other heavy waste is normally limited to an 8-yard skip or smaller, which on a sizeable excavation can mean one skip exchange after another. A single grab load will often carry that same material away in one go, sparing narrow residential streets repeat deliveries and saving time.
Getting to hard-to-reach Manchester sites
Garden walls, low fences and railings are no real obstacle to a grab lorry’s hydraulic arm, so a pile behind a driveway gate or in a back garden can frequently be loaded without anyone barrowing it out to the kerb. That helps on red-brick terraced streets in Stretford or Chorlton, in yards backing on to ginnels, and on new-build plots with tight access.
While it loads, the lorry does still need a safe place to stand – firm ground under its stabilisers and no overhead cables in the way. Not sure about yours? Attach a few photos to your enquiry, and we can tell you where the vehicle should park and whether the arm will reach.
Grab hire services we can arrange
General clearance is only part of what grab lorries do. Around Manchester, Stockport, Bolton and the wider area, typical jobs include:
- Taking away brick, hardcore and broken concrete
- Muck away of spoil dug out for foundations and groundworks
- Grab lorry day hire for phased or larger projects
- Bulk landscaping and garden waste
If the next stage of your job needs sand or sub-base, ask about aggregate delivery – we can often bring aggregates in on the return journey. Unsure which service is right? Tell us about the job and we will steer you to the best option.
What can be loaded by grab lorry
- Rubble and brick
- Clay and soil
- Broken concrete and hardcore
- Gravel and stone
- Green and garden waste
- Bulky inert waste from construction
What must stay out
- Gas bottles
- Asbestos
- Tyres
- Plasterboard (unless agreed on its own terms)
- Chemicals, solvents and paint
- Contaminated soil (requires testing and its own quote)
Not sure? See what can go in a skip or ask us when you book.
Well suited to
- Digging out driveways
- Landscaping gardens
- Groundworks for extensions
- Rubble from demolition
- Clearing sites
- Excavating footings
Grab Hire – your questions answered
Can’t see your question? Call 0333 121 1056 or send us a message.
Is a permit needed for a grab lorry in Manchester?
Not as a rule. Council skip permits apply when a skip is left standing on a public road, whereas a grab lorry only stops for as long as it takes to load. It does need somewhere legal and safe to stand, though, and a little planning may be called for on restricted streets or in controlled parking areas.
How much can a grab lorry carry?
Depending on the material, expect around 12–15 cubic yards or up to roughly 16 tonnes from a typical 8-wheel grab lorry – broadly what several builders’ skips would take. With dense material such as wet clay, the weight limit is reached before the body is full.
What is the reach of the grab arm?
It differs from one vehicle to the next, but from the driveway or road the arm can generally lift material over hedges, fences and walls. Soft ground, trees and overhead cables can restrict it, so send photos and we will confirm before you book.
Can a grab load be mixed waste?
Single-material or inert loads such as rubble or soil are what grab hire handles best. Mixed loads can be taken, although processing them costs more. Plasterboard, asbestos and hazardous items must be left out. When you request a quote, tell us exactly what the pile contains.
Is grab hire available outside the city itself?
It is. Subject to availability, our licensed team works throughout Manchester and nearby towns such as Salford, Stockport, Oldham, Bury and Bolton. Enter your postcode in the quote form and we will check coverage for you.
Skip hire and waste management reviews
All reviews →“Sam was great! Very helpful answered all of my questions about size of skip I would need and managed to get the skip delivered quickly for me. I would highly recommend! Thank you!”
“Responsive company and easy to deal with. Cheerful people who did the collection. Would reccommend!”
“I required disposal of some small hazardous items. I call around and enlisted the services of a two advertised waste removal business. It was a waste of time as neither could provide the required service. I can tell you what was not a wate of time; going to Waste Cloud. They were attentive and professional. They assessed the situation and the request and acted quickly, scheduling a pick up at site. Waste Cloud adheres to all Waste Regulations and produced the appropriate Waste Transfer Note for our records. They are now on the company books as a preferred supplier. If you want the job done to a high standard when others have or will fail; call on Waste Cloud to simply get the job done!”
“Asked for support from this company with very short notice after other national organisations were unable to assist. Their experience with the management of waste was exceptional and they followed all policy and regulation around waste management which was of massive importance to a company like ours. Quick Reliable and would recommend them to any organisation looking for any sort of waste removal.”
“Good communication and efficient collection from 2 separate sites. The two men who collected the waste were professional and courteous—they arrived within the booked timeframe and assisted with the heavier items. Email communication during the booking process was speedy, efficient, and polite. I would recommend this company, easy to use and arrange collection.”
“Enquiry placed with Ross and Craig, Prompt response and competitive price, we needed reliability with regards to our Contracts in and around Nine Elms, London. Order placed and reliable service on time, and worked into our schedule superbly. Thank you guys.”
“Very quick and efficient online contact enquiry service which led to a friendly member of staff with a reassuring understanding of the process and a huge amount of patience with me as someone not used to dealing with this type of collection. Very friendly customer service and collections personnel. Would highly recommend.”
Request your free quote – no obligation
Tell us what you need, where and when. Photos, data sheets or site plans help us price accurately – and we’ll get back to you with a competitive quote.
Skips Manchester provides skip hire, grab hire, concrete delivery, waste collection, recycling and construction support across Manchester on a same-day, next-day or wait-and-load basis.