I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Smitty Two wrote:

I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Rent a vacuum excavator trailer from United, Nations, etc. Suck the dirt
out in short order, tow it off to where you will dispose of it, use the
convenient dump feature and return. Probably can do in a half day rental
if you plan well, certainly not more than a day.

In article m,
David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 3/21/2009 2:00 PM Smitty Two spake thus:

I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Rent a copy of "The Great Escape". Pretend you're Charles Bronson.

Yeah, that was a good one.

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:32:39 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Smitty Two wrote:

I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

If she isn't too strong, you may want to put a pully somewhere, tie it
around a tree, so you can do the pulling from inside. Or you can
share the pulling. Tell her to wear gloves** Put out a big tarp,
pull the toboggan on to that and let her dump it.


**I needed to lift a cement square from my sidewalk and asked my
neighbor to help. He came back with rubber dishwashing gloves!! I
gave him leather work gloves. He always said yes when I asked him to
help me put the slab back, but never showed up.

Rent a vacuum excavator trailer from United, Nations, etc. Suck the dirt

The United Nations is unreliable, too many votes by a bunch of
dictators including those that support terrorism.

Other than that, your suggestion may be a good one.

out in short order, tow it off to where you will dispose of it, use the
convenient dump feature and return. Probably can do in a half day rental
if you plan well, certainly not more than a day.

In article .com,
"Pete C." wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Rent a vacuum excavator trailer from United, Nations, etc. Suck the dirt
out in short order, tow it off to where you will dispose of it, use the
convenient dump feature and return. Probably can do in a half day rental
if you plan well, certainly not more than a day.

Well, that sounds like a damn fine idea. I'll look into the price.

On 3/21/2009 2:00 PM Smitty Two spake thus:

I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Rent a copy of "The Great Escape". Pretend you're Charles Bronson.


--
Made From Pears: Pretty good chance that the product is at least
mostly pears.
Made With Pears: Pretty good chance that pears will be detectable in
the product.
Contains Pears: One pear seed per multiple tons of product.

(with apologies to Dorothy L. Sayers)

Smitty Two wrote:
I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

I've been doing a similar project at my house, but not actually
*underneath* it. PO's were mulching fiends, and unfortunately they
overdid it. I've been using large plastic containers about 30 gal. or
so to transport the stuff.

If it's only 12 wheelbarrow loads, though, I'm thinking it might be
easier to use something like drywall mud buckets and just hand them up
to a helper, rather than go to the trouble of building something.

I hope that your project is easier than mine; I've been here two years
and I'm still not done! I have made several local gardening aficionados
very happy however. I'm not one myself but am sympathetic enough that I
just couldn't cart this stuff off to the dump, although that would be
easier - I built a screen of hardware cloth and sifted it all to get out
the rocks and wood chips, and whenever I got a full truckload I'd
deliver it to the happy recipient. Hope I get karma points for that...
(don't worry, there's enough still here that if anyone ever wants to
plant a conventional grass yard it will grow quite happily. My
neighbors all have nasty red clay...)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

In article ,
Nate Nagel wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

I've been doing a similar project at my house, but not actually
*underneath* it. PO's were mulching fiends, and unfortunately they
overdid it. I've been using large plastic containers about 30 gal. or
so to transport the stuff.

If it's only 12 wheelbarrow loads, though, I'm thinking it might be
easier to use something like drywall mud buckets and just hand them up
to a helper, rather than go to the trouble of building something.


The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

That's really the reason I want to get the dirt out, so I can do some
things down there with a bit more comfort and ease of movement. Much of
the area is high enough to crawl in, but there are those two big piles
of dirt over which I can only slither.

And even the otherwise clear areas are cluttered with all manner of
construction debris, and abandoned runs of wire and pipe.

Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
Nate Nagel wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

I've been doing a similar project at my house, but not actually
*underneath* it. PO's were mulching fiends, and unfortunately they
overdid it. I've been using large plastic containers about 30 gal. or
so to transport the stuff.

If it's only 12 wheelbarrow loads, though, I'm thinking it might be
easier to use something like drywall mud buckets and just hand them up
to a helper, rather than go to the trouble of building something.


The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

Yep, and a vac trailer will minimize that back breaking work. The cost
of the rental should be modest and the effort of maneuvering a vac hose
is minimal vs. trying to shovel it, load a wagon, drag to the hatch, get
out through the hatch, unload somewhere, reload for trip to the dump,
etc.


That's really the reason I want to get the dirt out, so I can do some
things down there with a bit more comfort and ease of movement. Much of
the area is high enough to crawl in, but there are those two big piles
of dirt over which I can only slither.

And even the otherwise clear areas are cluttered with all manner of
construction debris, and abandoned runs of wire and pipe.

Smitty Two wrote:

The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

That's really the reason I want to get the dirt out, so I can do some
things down there with a bit more comfort and ease of movement. Much
of the area is high enough to crawl in, but there are those two big
piles of dirt over which I can only slither.

And even the otherwise clear areas are cluttered with all manner of
construction debris, and abandoned runs of wire and pipe.

Be forewarned: The two big piles may be covering something you'd rather not
know about.

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

That's really the reason I want to get the dirt out, so I can do some
things down there with a bit more comfort and ease of movement. Much
of the area is high enough to crawl in, but there are those two big
piles of dirt over which I can only slither.

And even the otherwise clear areas are cluttered with all manner of
construction debris, and abandoned runs of wire and pipe.

Be forewarned: The two big piles may be covering something you'd rather not
know about.

I'm more worried about that than you might think. This was an REO that
the previous owner tried to flip, but got caught in the downturn. He
scampered off to another city.

The neighbor lady told me that a widow had lived there, and all of a
sudden this younger couple showed up and started remodeling. The
neighbor never could get a peep out of them about who they were, or how
they knew or were related to the old woman. Eventually she stopped
seeing the widow at all ...

I was under there last weekend replacing an irrigation supply pipe that
had been cluster-****ed together and leaking. I saw that one of the dirt
piles was covering a concrete footer and the bottom of the wood post, so
I cleared it away from the post with a hoe. No bones yet, but we'll see.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

I like to use an old hot water tank cut in half length wise. The top has a
rounded end so it pulls well. I use a riding mower or pickup to pull it.
It dumps by turning the mower sharply.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I
want to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being
under there, and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving
around down there.

That's really the reason I want to get the dirt out, so I can do
some things down there with a bit more comfort and ease of
movement. Much of the area is high enough to crawl in, but there
are those two big piles of dirt over which I can only slither.

And even the otherwise clear areas are cluttered with all manner of
construction debris, and abandoned runs of wire and pipe.

Be forewarned: The two big piles may be covering something you'd
rather not know about.

I'm more worried about that than you might think. This was an REO that
the previous owner tried to flip, but got caught in the downturn. He
scampered off to another city.

The neighbor lady told me that a widow had lived there, and all of a
sudden this younger couple showed up and started remodeling. The
neighbor never could get a peep out of them about who they were, or
how they knew or were related to the old woman. Eventually she stopped
seeing the widow at all ...

I was under there last weekend replacing an irrigation supply pipe
that had been cluster-****ed together and leaking. I saw that one of
the dirt piles was covering a concrete footer and the bottom of the
wood post, so I cleared it away from the post with a hoe. No bones
yet, but we'll see.

Okay. Give some thought to your response if, say, you uncover $10 million in
counterfeit bills, Jimmy Hoffa, a round cylinder with the international
symbol for radioactivity, several machine guns packed in cosmoline, twelve
goat heads, a '55 Nash, a parakeet last used as a pot-holder, etc.

I can't advise you on what to do; I can tell you what NOT to do first. Don't
call the authorities as your initial reaction. There's almost always
somebody better to call - Geraldo, for example.

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:



Okay. Give some thought to your response if, say, you uncover $10 million in
counterfeit bills, Jimmy Hoffa, a round cylinder with the international
symbol for radioactivity, several machine guns packed in cosmoline, twelve
goat heads, a '55 Nash, a parakeet last used as a pot-holder, etc.

I can't advise you on what to do; I can tell you what NOT to do first. Don't
call the authorities as your initial reaction. There's almost always
somebody better to call - Geraldo, for example.

Geraldo. Perfecting the art of turning buffoonery into fame and wealth.
I'll definitely call him if I find the pot-holder parakeet.

Don't worry, I might not be as lawless as, say, a Texan, but my respect
for and trust in "authorities" is pretty low. Besides, they'd want to
saw big holes in my bamboo floor so as to avoid crawling in dirt with
flashlights. I don't want that.

So I'll deal with the contents of the dirt quietly. Would Hoffa go in
the recycle bin, or straight to garbage?

On Mar 21, 7:54*pm, Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,

*"HeyBub" wrote:

Okay. Give some thought to your response if, say, you uncover $10 million in
counterfeit bills, Jimmy Hoffa, a round cylinder with the international
symbol for radioactivity, several machine guns packed in cosmoline, twelve
goat heads, a '55 Nash, a parakeet last used as a pot-holder, etc.

I can't advise you on what to do; I can tell you what NOT to do first. Don't
call the authorities as your initial reaction. There's almost always
somebody better to call - Geraldo, for example.

Geraldo. Perfecting the art of turning buffoonery into fame and wealth.
I'll definitely call him if I find the pot-holder parakeet.

Don't worry, I might not be as lawless as, say, a Texan, but my respect
for and trust in "authorities" is pretty low. Besides, they'd want to
saw big holes in my bamboo floor so as to avoid crawling in dirt with
flashlights. I don't want that.

So I'll deal with the contents of the dirt quietly. Would Hoffa go in
the recycle bin, or straight to garbage?

Would Hoffa go in the recycle bin, or straight to garbage?

I'd vote for yard waste bin...compost.

But as to your first question as to how to move the dirt.....since
you've only got one helper & you have the greater horsepower, this job
is going to come to a halt when oyur helper gets tired.

I would suggest a kid's plastic snow saucer or toboggan like you
mentioned.
Set up a pulley system so you can pull the full one & return it empty.

A spring close chain link attachment, so the helper can detach the
sled & dump the dirt.

A tarp (a few sheets of plywood / OSB or patio nearby?) for your
helper to dump onto. Yeah, it means having to more / shovel the dirt
twice. But the job is gonna stop when the helper gets tired and doing
the job alone will be very inefficient. Re-shoveling off plywood or
patio is way eaiser than off a tarp.

A while back I offered some numbers for dirt removal by hand & using a
shop vac. Without looking for my calcs or searching the group
archive.... my recollection is about 1 gallon of soft dirt per
minute, about 8 cubic feet per hour. Ten wheel barrows (@ ~3.5
cuft) that would be about 4 or 5 hours of straight vacuuming.

If rental of a vacuum excavator is possible in your area, that would
be a good alternative to hand hauling or a wimpy shop vac solution.



cheers
Bob

Smitty Two wrote:
I'd like to remove a couple of largish size piles of dirt from under the
house. Maybe 10 good wheelbarrow loads or more, I'm not sure. Hatch is
in the back wall and is about 12" high by 24" wide and there's a drop
down from there of about 12".

I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan for
transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to ground level. So
I'd be down in the hole loading, and she'd be hauling out. Not sure
where'd she'd be dumping, because it'll have to be hauled offsite
eventually. I think I could just put another rope on my end to pull the
empty sled back to me.

Any suggested refinements to this method, or alternatives could be
helpful.

Set up a ramp - plywood, scrap lumber or ?. Long, heavy-duty plastic
tarp. Dump soil onto tarp under the house, fold it over and haul out by
the corners. Smaller loads, more often, would seem easier to handle.
Put a sign in the front yard: "Free top soil" (or fill dirt?).

Smitty Two wrote:

-snip-

The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

Probably the reason my cellar excavation project has stretched over 20
yrs, but my instincts would be to start at the hatch and make a path
back to the piles.

I've tried sleds and settled on buckets. I'm 20 yrs older than I was
when I started, but I can almost see the end of it now. It's been
good winter exercise and a constant source of amusement for my friends
and family.

Jim

Smitty Two wrote in message
news
"Dirt removal from under house"
I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan
for transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to
ground level.

The wagon will tip (regularly) as it's being pulled especially as it hits
the seams between the plywood. The toboggan's handles won't be strong enough
to support prolonged pulling. It's a better option than the wagon, though.
You'll be short-tempered enough after the second "dumping" of the wagon...

I'd stick with using the toboggan after you enhance the handles with a
couple pop-rivets or bolts and washers. How steep is that ramp up-and-out
going to be?

As far as dirt disposal, have your wheelbarrow close by and have her dump
the toboggan's load directly into it and you can use the walk to give
yourself some "breaks."

The Ranger

In article
,
fftt wrote:


I would suggest a kid's plastic snow saucer or toboggan like you
mentioned.
Set up a pulley system so you can pull the full one & return it empty.

A spring close chain link attachment, so the helper can detach the
sled & dump the dirt.

A tarp (a few sheets of plywood / OSB or patio nearby?) for your
helper to dump onto. Yeah, it means having to more / shovel the dirt
twice. But the job is gonna stop when the helper gets tired and doing
the job alone will be very inefficient. Re-shoveling off plywood or
patio is way eaiser than off a tarp.

A while back I offered some numbers for dirt removal by hand & using a
shop vac. Without looking for my calcs or searching the group
archive.... my recollection is about 1 gallon of soft dirt per
minute, about 8 cubic feet per hour. Ten wheel barrows (@ ~3.5
cuft) that would be about 4 or 5 hours of straight vacuuming.

If rental of a vacuum excavator is possible in your area, that would
be a good alternative to hand hauling or a wimpy shop vac solution.


The dog leash clip and the hard surface are good suggestions. The
driveway is near enough.

mm also suggested a pulley so I can do more of the work, but my reply to
him got lost in the ether I think. Anyway, "she" is the midwest farm
girl stock type, and while not as strong as I am she has plenty of
endurance and isn't afraid of work like some women. Of course I'll give
her the choice of loading or hauling out, but I'm assuming she'll prefer
the latter.

I'll definitely price a vacuum excavator rental, though.

In article ,
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

-snip-

The difficulty there is that the dirt isn't close to the hatch. I want
to avoid crawling as much as possible. I don't mind being under there,
and I don't mind doing the work, but I hate moving around down there.

Probably the reason my cellar excavation project has stretched over 20
yrs, but my instincts would be to start at the hatch and make a path
back to the piles.

I've tried sleds and settled on buckets. I'm 20 yrs older than I was
when I started, but I can almost see the end of it now. It's been
good winter exercise and a constant source of amusement for my friends
and family.

Jim

I'm not that ambitious. In my case I just want to remove the piles, not
go any deeper. That should make the crawl space comfortable enough to
get down there for a minor amount of electrical, plumbing, and duct work.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:



Okay. Give some thought to your response if, say, you uncover $10
million in counterfeit bills, Jimmy Hoffa, a round cylinder with the
international symbol for radioactivity, several machine guns packed
in cosmoline, twelve goat heads, a '55 Nash, a parakeet last used as
a pot-holder, etc.

I can't advise you on what to do; I can tell you what NOT to do
first. Don't call the authorities as your initial reaction. There's
almost always somebody better to call - Geraldo, for example.

Geraldo. Perfecting the art of turning buffoonery into fame and
wealth. I'll definitely call him if I find the pot-holder parakeet.

Don't worry, I might not be as lawless as, say, a Texan, but my
respect for and trust in "authorities" is pretty low. Besides, they'd
want to saw big holes in my bamboo floor so as to avoid crawling in
dirt with flashlights. I don't want that.

It could be worse, much worse, than sawing holes in your floor. You could be
on top of an Indian burial mound, a toxic waste dump, or any of dozens of
items necessitating evicting you for the good of the children.


So I'll deal with the contents of the dirt quietly. Would Hoffa go in
the recycle bin, or straight to garbage?

Dunno. If *I* found Jimmy Hoffa's remains, I think I'd find some way to
install them on the property of some public figure. For example, the sliver
of land Obama bought from Resko...

Then, before snitching out the facts, I'd want to corner the popcorn
concession...

clipped

Dunno. If *I* found Jimmy Hoffa's remains, I think I'd find some way to
install them on the property of some public figure. For example, the sliver
of land Obama bought from Resko...

Then, before snitching out the facts, I'd want to corner the popcorn
concession...

Which union controls popcorn vendors? Popping machine loaders? Butter
cutters? Butter melters? Baggers? Cart mechanics? Better get the
paperwork started )

Obama was 14 years old when Hoffa disappeared and lived in Hawaii at the
time.

In article ,
"The Ranger" wrote:

Smitty Two wrote in message
news
"Dirt removal from under house"
I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic toboggan
for transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood ramp up to
ground level.

The wagon will tip (regularly) as it's being pulled especially as it hits
the seams between the plywood.

Agreed.

The toboggan's handles won't be strong enough
to support prolonged pulling. It's a better option than the wagon, though.
You'll be short-tempered enough after the second "dumping" of the wagon...

I'd stick with using the toboggan after you enhance the handles with a
couple pop-rivets or bolts and washers. How steep is that ramp up-and-out
going to be?

I don't see any reason to make the hypotenuse shorter than 4 ft. With a
rise of 1 ft. (estimated) that'd be an incline of 14 degrees or so.


As far as dirt disposal, have your wheelbarrow close by and have her dump
the toboggan's load directly into it and you can use the walk to give
yourself some "breaks."

The Ranger

Smitty Two wrote in message
news
In article ,
"The Ranger" wrote:
Smitty Two wrote in message
news
"Dirt removal from under house"
I'm thinking of either a kids' wagon, or small plastic
toboggan for transport, a long rope pull, and a plywood
ramp up to ground level.

The wagon will tip (regularly) as it's being pulled especially
as it hits the seams between the plywood.

Agreed.

Our of curiosity: How "high" is the space under your house? I find the crawl
space under my house snug. A wagon would never work, although I'd never have
to fear it tipping over, it wouldn't be able given the ground-to-beam
heights. EG

How steep is that ramp up-and-out going to be?

I don't see any reason to make the hypotenuse shorter than
4 ft. With a rise of 1 ft. (estimated) that'd be an incline of
14 degrees or so.

That ought to also keep the plywood going mushy in the middle of the job,
too.

Good luck. I like that super-vac idea. That 1/2-a-day estimate vs. a minimum
12-hours under the house is so much more appealing for some reason.

The Ranger

In article dth,
"The Ranger" wrote:


Our of curiosity: How "high" is the space under your house? I find the crawl
space under my house snug. A wagon would never work, although I'd never have
to fear it tipping over, it wouldn't be able given the ground-to-beam
heights. EG


I'm not onsite now, but I'm guessing 26" or so. I can *just* go on hands
and knees under the joists. Last weekend I smacked my head on three
joists in a row:

OUCH, duck, look up, OUCH, duck, look up, OUCH! IIRC, the cussing
started right after the third smack.

wrote:
clipped

Dunno. If *I* found Jimmy Hoffa's remains, I think I'd find some way
to install them on the property of some public figure. For example,
the sliver of land Obama bought from Resko...

Then, before snitching out the facts, I'd want to corner the popcorn
concession...

Which union controls popcorn vendors? Popping machine loaders? Butter
cutters? Butter melters? Baggers? Cart mechanics? Better
get the paperwork started )

Obama was 14 years old when Hoffa disappeared and lived in Hawaii at
the time.

In the world of the conspiracy devotees, that fact is easily explained away.
Somehow. Like: "How can we be sure? He hasn't shown us his birth
certificate!"

Smitty Two wrote:

In article dth,
"The Ranger" wrote:


Our of curiosity: How "high" is the space under your house? I find the crawl
space under my house snug. A wagon would never work, although I'd never have
to fear it tipping over, it wouldn't be able given the ground-to-beam
heights. EG


I'm not onsite now, but I'm guessing 26" or so. I can *just* go on hands
and knees under the joists. Last weekend I smacked my head on three
joists in a row:

OUCH, duck, look up, OUCH, duck, look up, OUCH! IIRC, the cussing
started right after the third smack.

A hard hat or climbing helmet with a chin strap would be highly
recommended...