Hi,
We dug a trench to lay some wires in a 2" conduit a foot deep and a foot wide. After we refill and put sod back on it, how much settlement can we expect? In other words, how far above level should we leave it?
Thanks!
Aaron
It depends on how you back fill it. If you put the soil back 3" at a time and tamp it or walk on it to compact it....you might be about to go with only an inch or so extra.
It all depends on how compacted or loose your back fill is "as placed".
You could need to leave as much ass 4 to 6"...
how about just piling all the soil you took out back onto the trench?
cheers Bob
It depends on the phase of the moon. A waning moon requires less soil than a waxing moon. . . .. or is it the other way around?
Jim
Wax on-Wax off. Take out dirt- put all dirt back. in sec 101 of Rocket Science.
*If these are electrical wires the conduit should be at least 18" deep unless the circuit is GFI protected. If this is for an electrical service the conduit should be deeper.
Our power company requires 42" depth and 3" conduit for electrical service. Best check relevant codes to be sure you are compliant in other respects.
Joe
Assuming the eventual same soil compression as before you dug the trench and lack of air voids, eliminate the volume of the conduit in terms of soil. Place the remainder of the soil over the trenched area. Tamp down and stomp on as required. Pile the rest for oops factor.
I did this in a 300' trench from pole to the detached garage. Soil was primarily gray clay, gravel, and rock. I eliminated the majority of the rocks when backfilling. Dug trench with a rocksaw. The meter loop is on the pole, not the house.
The depth of the electrical conduit is a local municipality code requrement in this State, TX. There is no statewide requirement as its delegated to the local municipalities by TX state law. Other States have their own requirements, along with their corresponding local municipalities.
Refer to NEC and IRC for help if you live in an area with no real requirements. There's less chance of settling and damage from heavy traffic in "soil" that is very rocky and if the rocks/gravel/soil tend to interlock horizontally. Just be sure to avoid air voids when filling. Use some common sense if determining depth of the trench in that case.
Compact the fill while you're backfilling and you will not have much settling. Otherwise you're just guessing, and it is as likely to be too high as too low - at least for a while.
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