I am planning on building a new home and plan to be my own GC. I have
already done it once and I want to do it again. This time around I want
to go one step further and do the following myself:

1. Cut the trees on the lot (All of them are 4-6" in dia)
2. Stack the logs neatly using the backhoe loader for future use in
fireplace
3. Excavate the top soil and save it for final landscaping
4. Excavate for the foundation 28'x38'+24'x24' using a backhoe loader
5. Backfill against the foundation walls
6. Rough grade the lot (using the leftover spoils after backfilling)
7. Dig a trench for the water line
8. Dig a hole for the septic system

when this is all done
9. Dig a 24'x24' hole/trench for the garage for the home I currently
live in
10. Back fill/fill the hole for the garage

One thing working in my favor is that the lot is perfectly flat and
there are no buildings and/or underground utilities to worry about. (I
am going to call dig safe anyways). I need to dig to a depth of
4'-5'(Exact number yet to be decided).
I am being offered the Bobcat B200 machine (32 HP with 12" backhoe
bucket). I am thinking of buying the machine and selling it off when I
am done, as a better idea than renting, as I would taking my own sweet
time. My experience so far is using a bobcat skidsteer to backfill a
foundation.

Will the backhoe loader do the trick or do I really need an excavator?

Why do I want to do this? For the fun of it and save money at the same
time.

"unconventional" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am planning on building a new home and plan to be my own GC. I have
already done it once and I want to do it again. This time around I want
to go one step further and do the following myself:
(snip)
..

Will the backhoe loader do the trick or do I really need an excavator?

Why do I want to do this? For the fun of it and save money at the same
time.

Well, a common garden spade will do the job, but it'll take awhile. Seems
pretty ambitious for a small unit like a bobcat. What is the reach (out and
down) on the backhoe on those things? I'd take your list to the dealer, and
compare it against the diagrams he has. If your lot is big enough to bank
the removed material, and the neighbors and PTB won't bitch about piles
sitting for a long time, you could probably do all the cuts trench-style.
But that makes backfilling (and curing settling problems) a long and
drawn-out process.

If you are heart-set on doing the digging yourself, I'd look at larger
units, like an old Case 580 or something. Used ones are out there at decent
prices, and they hold their value well. Lotsa young bucks think they can
become excavating contractors, go into hock, and end up getting repo'd. I'd
crunch the numbers, including hiring out the initial big digs, and maybe
using the bobcat for doing the backfill after the house and garage are
framed. (You do know to not backfill an empty foundation, right?) A good
driver on an appropriate-sized rig can knock out a basement hole in a day or
two, and if he doesn't have to haul dirt off the lot, it may not be as
expensive as you think.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who misses playing in the sandbox ! :^)

aem sends...

In article . com,
"unconventional" wrote:

I am being offered the Bobcat B200 machine (32 HP with 12" backhoe
bucket). I am thinking of buying the machine and selling it off when I
am done, as a better idea than renting, as I would taking my own sweet
time. My experience so far is using a bobcat skidsteer to backfill a
foundation.

Will the backhoe loader do the trick or do I really need an excavator?

That is a little light for the job. You don't have the
reach that you need to avoid having to haul your spoil
or restack several times. You also don't have the reach
to the center of the house from the edge. Get something
bigger, and get the job done. A bobcat is still nice to
have for finish grading, odd jobs, and the such.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

The maximum dig depth is 10'-11' and I need to find out about the reach
and the diagrams. The lot is big enough to store the piles. I looked at
some sample prices on old Case 580's and they are around 35-40 grand,
twice as much as the bobcat. I understand your point about the problem
of backfilling before framing the house, but all the houses I have seen
being built in the subdivision where I live were all backfilled before
the framing started. I was even told by the neighbouring builder that
the framer will not start until the foundation has been backfilled.

Since the lot if flat to start with, I am assuming most of the spoils
do not go back into the hole, but rather spread out for rough grading
establishing a slight slope for rain water to drain away from the
foundation. This means I need to haul the spoils away from the
foundation anyways. On my existing house one of the excavator's
estimate was three days using a 35HP mini excavator. Since the
excavator has the advantage of a 360 degrees rotation and the backhoe
has the handicap of 180 degrees (correct me if I am wrong on this one),
I am estimating at-least twice as much time with the bobcat. Is that a
good estimate? I can afford to spend even more time, if I own the
machine :-)

On 27 Feb 2005 14:28:58 -0800, someone wrote:


I am being offered the Bobcat B200 machine (32 HP with 12" backhoe
bucket). I am thinking of buying the machine and selling it off when I
am done, as a better idea than renting, as I would taking my own sweet
time. My experience so far is using a bobcat skidsteer to backfill a
foundation.

Will the backhoe loader do the trick or do I really need an excavator?

If you don't care how much of your time this would take, I expect that
you will find a way to accomplish it, but your are underpowered for
the job.

Are you letting the tail wag the dog? What do you mean "being
offered"? Is the offer what is driving your plan? My suggestion is
to look around and see if you can get someone to offer you a more
capable backhoe. You don't need a 360 degree pivot tracked excavator
to dig a fdn, but if you're gonna use a loader/hoe, a Bobcat seems to
be round peg in a square hole.

Most "builders" around here, hire a big excavator from a sub. Some
small builders will use their own backhoe. But I have never seen a
pro do a house fdn with a Bobcat. Of course, here we have basements
or at least crawls. If it was just a perimeter for a slab, a Bobcat
would seem to be enough.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

v wrote:
On 27 Feb 2005 14:28:58 -0800, someone wrote:


I am being offered the Bobcat B200 machine (32 HP with 12" backhoe
bucket). I am thinking of buying the machine and selling it off when
I
am done, as a better idea than renting, as I would taking my own
sweet
time. My experience so far is using a bobcat skidsteer to backfill a
foundation.

Will the backhoe loader do the trick or do I really need an
excavator?

If you don't care how much of your time this would take, I expect
that
you will find a way to accomplish it, but your are underpowered for
the job.

Are you letting the tail wag the dog? What do you mean "being
offered"? Is the offer what is driving your plan? My suggestion is
to look around and see if you can get someone to offer you a more
capable backhoe. You don't need a 360 degree pivot tracked excavator
to dig a fdn, but if you're gonna use a loader/hoe, a Bobcat seems to
be round peg in a square hole.

Most "builders" around here, hire a big excavator from a sub. Some
small builders will use their own backhoe. But I have never seen a
pro do a house fdn with a Bobcat. Of course, here we have basements
or at least crawls. If it was just a perimeter for a slab, a Bobcat
would seem to be enough.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

The backhoe is on sale nearby where I want to build and it can be
serviced nearby where I live, eliminating the need for a trailer. It
has low hours (250 hours) on it and I am guessing that there will be
less problems to take care of compared to the older ones. It is also in
the price range that I can afford. I further rationalize, that it is
easier to sell a backhoe with low hours on it compared to one with a
lot of hours on it. If I rent a bigger one just for digging the hole,
it reduces the attractiveness of the investment in the bobcat. The
soil on the lot is resembles gravel. Is 6 days a reasonable estimate?
Depending on the soil conditions, if the machine can take it, I could
even put a bigger bucket on it.