It sounds as if you are trying to dig to a string line. There are
good operators who can do this, but it is too easy to deflect the
string.

If you have not completed the excavation, it would be much better
to set your string lines on the batter boards to establish the
building, plumb down to stretch a tight dry line just clearing
the dirt surface. Buy a bag of lime, use a paper cup or similar
to shake a bright white line along the string. Remove strings
during the excavation. Reset strings on batters to set and
control anchor bolts, steel placement, etc.

Some excavators prefer the line in the center of their bucket.
With the line established, the time can be spent controlling
depth. You do know that it is your responsibility to shoot grade
if you are functioning as the GC. This is typically done by
shooting the depth of excavation about every 10 feet. True, a
good operator will get within inches with very little babysitting,
especially if the building pad has been well leveled.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing. . . .
DanG


"John Moorhead" wrote in
message m...
Folks -

Well, I am back at it with the foundation layout and cutting of
the
footings. Wif and I restrung the foundation lines and make our
cut lines
for the backhoe guy again... He wanted the line 3" OUTSIDE of
where the cut
was to be.... So he showed up this morning and got started. Lo
and behold -
he didn't make his cut 3" inside the chalkline, he SPLIT the
chalkline and
dug 30" deep instead of 20". Goddamn it! I needed a trench 1
foot wide,
now the trenches vary between 18" and a bit over 24". So now
I'll end up A)
buying appx 1 acre more fill sand than I was planning; or B)
renting a
compactor and tamping the soil to get my depth right, building
my forms, and
backfilling the sides and compacting that; or C) Both.

I perhaps should have gotten some other backhoe service, but
this was the
only guy to return repeated calls. Sometimes I just *ucking
***HATE***
contractors. Nothing personal, to those of you who are, I was
just hoping
to at least have the footings dug out before someone ****ed me
off....

John