Folks -

Okay, well the pad is scraped and the backhoe fellow has started on the
trenching. Only problem is that on the first long wall, he kinda veered off
of the marked line and now needs to trench over about a FOOT for about 15 of
the 36 feet. This afternoon I ended up putting the batterboards back up and
re-marking all of my cutlines and checking things for square. rrrrrrrr.....

He spent most of the morning pulling out a vexing stump that blocked the
backyard. The tree was rotten through, but you'd never know it from the
stump. Lawdy! I ended up pulling out a section of fence so that he could
dig around it. Ended up with a pit more than a yard square and deep. I
don't feel so bad about 1) busting my shovel handle in my puny attempt at
digging it out and 2) my bro- in-law not being able to pull it with his
truck and a tow strap.

Anyway, the yard is secure, and I have posted a couple of pics of the day's
progress in ABPW. I hope things go better tomorrow.


John

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 04:41:06 GMT, "John Moorhead"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Folks -

Okay, well the pad is scraped and the backhoe fellow has started on the
trenching. Only problem is that on the first long wall, he kinda veered off
of the marked line and now needs to trench over about a FOOT for about 15 of
the 36 feet. This afternoon I ended up putting the batterboards back up and
re-marking all of my cutlines and checking things for square. rrrrrrrr.....

Sorry, but is this a trench for the engineered foundation of a
structural wall? As in house..brick etc?

If so, it might be worth checking the ramifications of the trench not
being in "native soil" any more, because it's being dug right
alongside and into a recently filled trench. A lot depends on soil
type, but this can matter a lot. Even in nice yellow sand soil, I
would be considering compaction of the errant trench.

I could be wrong, but "they" are pretty serious on that one.

************************************************** ***
It's not the milk and honey we hate. It's having it
rammed down our throats.

"Old Nick" wrote in message
...

Sorry, but is this a trench for the engineered foundation of a
structural wall? As in house..brick etc?

If so, it might be worth checking the ramifications of the trench not
being in "native soil" any more, because it's being dug right
alongside and into a recently filled trench. A lot depends on soil
type, but this can matter a lot. Even in nice yellow sand soil, I
would be considering compaction of the errant trench.

I could be wrong, but "they" are pretty serious on that one.


You're not really wrong, but it may not be a concern. If the operator
simply veered off course and then had to go back and re-dig a stretch
properly along the line, then he's still in naturally compacted virgin
soils. He's wider at that point than he needs or wants to be, but as long
as he didn't horribly screw up his depth of cut either on the errant pass or
on the correction pass, he's fine. If not - that's what tampers are for.
Bring it back up and compact it.
--

-Mike-

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 04:41:06 GMT, John Moorhead wrote:
Folks -

Okay, well the pad is scraped and the backhoe fellow has started on the
trenching. Only problem is that on the first long wall, he kinda veered off
of the marked line and now needs to trench over about a FOOT for about 15 of
the 36 feet. This afternoon I ended up putting the batterboards back up and
re-marking all of my cutlines and checking things for square. rrrrrrrr.....

Well, look at the good news - that 3/4" error no longer matters much...

Anyway, the yard is secure, and I have posted a couple of pics of the day's
progress in ABPW. I hope things go better tomorrow.

Been there, done that, hang in there.

Thu, Jul 29, 2004, 4:41am (EDT+4)
(John=A0Moorhead) says:
snip he kinda veered off of the marked line and now needs to trench
over about a FOOT for about 15 of the 36 feet. snip

See, I told you your marks being 3/4" off was dritical. If
you'd've changed them, this wouldn't have happened. It's all your
faullt.



JOAT
The highway of fear is the road to defeat.
- Bazooka Joe
JERUSALEM RIDGE http://www.banjer.com/midi/jerridge.mid

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 13:55:48 GMT, "Mike Marlow"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

hmmm.. I would check, and defintely compact the backfill. There are
sideways forces on this stuff as well.

From what I've read later, I would compact the hoe operator as well. I
have a hoe, for my own use. I reckon _I_ could do better than that!

You're not really wrong, but it may not be a concern. If the operator
simply veered off course and then had to go back and re-dig a stretch
properly along the line, then he's still in naturally compacted virgin
soils. He's wider at that point than he needs or wants to be, but as long
as he didn't horribly screw up his depth of cut either on the errant pass or
on the correction pass, he's fine. If not - that's what tampers are for.
Bring it back up and compact it.

************************************************** ***
It's not the milk and honey we hate. It's having it
rammed down our throats.

"Old Nick" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 13:55:48 GMT, "Mike Marlow"
vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

hmmm.. I would check, and defintely compact the backfill. There are
sideways forces on this stuff as well.


Typical construction practices are to compact backfill only where paving
will be place right up to the building. For lawn strips etc., compaction is
not necessary.
--

-Mike-

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 02:10:56 GMT, "Mike Marlow"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

OK. You at least _sound_ as if you have knowledge hereGG.

I was basing only on my attempts at shed and house building over the
years. I know that if you go too deep, you can be in real trouble. I
can see where the paving would have loose dirt under it. But I am sure
that I remember where somebody dug a trench wrong (to one side of the
trench location, instead of in it, if you get my meaning) and had to
do a lot of mucking about. It was on a hillside with very heavy soil
IIRC.

Anyway. It was a long time ago. I bow out, saying only "better safe
than sorry" as far as my warning goes. In other words better to open
my mouth and sound like a fool than risk some other poor *******
acting like one! G

Typical construction practices are to compact backfill only where paving
will be place right up to the building. For lawn strips etc., compaction is
not necessary.

************************************************** ***
It's not the milk and honey we hate. It's having it
rammed down our throats.