I am building an extension to my patio, the extension is about 7' x
14'. I had started to dig out to about 6" below grade when it
poured with rain. The soil is very clayey and it has left me with a
mess which is almost too liquid to lift out and too thick to drain.
It seems that not matter how much I scrape off, it remains a sticky
gooey mess.
I was going to put down 2" of pea gravel and then 4" of
concrete on top of that. I am reluctant to go any further given that
the soil is so unstable.
Does anyone have recommendations ?.

TIA

wait for dry weather

"Keeswijn" wrote in message
. ..
Does anyone have recommendations ?.

Wait for the dry season?

i think you're looking at letting things dry up a bit first. you
would at minimum have to dig out the goo down to good undisturbed clay.
then add your gravel or whatever. what you do from there depends on
where you live. where i live in the frozen north, wet clay is prone to
serious frost heaving, so you are best off with at least 12" of sand,
rock, or clean gravel below your slab. 2" of foam can also be added to
limit the frost penetration. you probably know this now, but when you
are working with clay, you want to get done what you need to get done
and get it covered up, cause it's no fun when it rains!

if more rain is expected tarp it to hasten drying.....

if frost heaving is a concern install at least a 6 inch gravel bed and
bury some perforated pipe draining to a lower area so excess water has
a place to go

Thanks all,

I am in Houston TX so frost is not a concern. It is already 88 here so
I guess I'll let it dry for a week. Then I'll put down the gravel and
compact it a bit.

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 23:02:10 GMT, lid (Keeswijn) wrote:

Thanks all,

I am in Houston TX so frost is not a concern. It is already 88 here so
I guess I'll let it dry for a week. Then I'll put down the gravel and
compact it a bit.

Be sure to scrape off any mud. Pitch the base and make it smooth to
avoid any puddling under the gravel. Put landscape cloth between
the clay and the gravel. Compact with a machine.

Jim