Digger Mats

Digger mats are a fantastic way to protect the ground and your vehicles from unnecessary damage during excavation and construction work.

While some disruption to the ground may be desirable, e.g. when installing foundations, footings, pilings and utilities, this should not expose you to avoidable making-good costs. That’s where ground protection mats can help.

As well as reducing the level of disturbance to exposed soils, excavator mats can help to distribute pressure forces, allowing heavier equipment to operate safely on sites with soft ground and/or in wet conditions.

Digger mats for all occasions

No matter the size of your equipment, digger mats can provide a working platform or access trackway, from a one-tonne mobile excavator right up to a 250-tonne crane, with outrigger pads to stabilise lifting equipment where appropriate.

We have even seen excavator mats used to enable access to waterlogged areas, so that an excavator could be used to extract a sunken vehicle trapped in mud.

Timbermat bog mats are durable and offer good traction when wet. They can even be stacked in a criss-cross pattern to elevate temporary roadways and pass clear over any waterlogged areas on challenging job sites.

What size digger mat do I need?

It can depend on the conditions you’re working in, but as a general rule of thumb, we offer several thicknesses of excavator mats that are appropriate for different sizes of digger:

• 70mm up to 35 tonnes
• 100mm up to 45 tonnes
• 150mm up to 60 tonnes
• 200/250mm over 60 tonnes

We can recommend the best size digger mat if you’re not sure, or provide you with the performance data you need to make an informed decision.

Will excavator grousers damage timber mats?

Excavator grousers – the protruding ribs on caterpillar tracks to improve traction – and similar components (e.g. aggressive chains) should be taken into account when choosing your digger mats.

Timbermat supply Emtek heavy-duty crane mats, which we’ve found time and time again are able to withstand aggressive chains and grousers to a high degree.

Many of our past customers have commented on this, which you can see on our Testimonials page:

“Emtek – it’s a highway. We run 100-tonne excavators with aggressive grousers.” – Ned Scrivner, Conestoga-Rovers, Delaware City, DE

“I run aggressive chains… this stuff is bulletproof.” – Scott Madden, Madden Timberlands, Old Town, Maine

Again, if you need to use specific equipment, get in touch and we can let you know if our hardwood bog mats are up to the challenge!

Using digger mats with confidence

We want you to be absolutely certain before you drive an excavator on to a temporary roadway or working platform built using our excavator mats.

Engineering performance data is available so that you can conduct analytical verification of your planned platforms and roadways, ensuring that your personnel do not encounter unnecessary risk once on-site.

A plate bearing test should also be carried out, especially on soft ground. This can help you to construct access roadways that correctly spread the load and avoid flooding on construction sites.

For more information about any of the above, or to make an enquiry today about digger mats to hire or buy, please contact Timbermat and we’ll be happy to help.