Backhoe DID show up, accuracy did not...

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

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

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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.
Reply to
Old Nick

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.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

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

Been there, done that, hang in there.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

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

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

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Reply to
J T

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

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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!

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

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.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

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

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

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 bastard acting like one!

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

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