DarkSeas101
New Member
I am doing some improvements in my slightly sloped backyard which includes retaining walls, installing a concrete patio, and building a single car garage. I am not a heavy equipment operator, but am in the commercial concrete construction industry. I had to regrade the yard because the previous owner backfield against the back fence. During this process I uses a skid steer and mini excavator and discovered that my entire lot is clay. It had rained a few weeks before and the clay was deeply saturated but dry on the surface. Needless to say grading was sloppy due to pumping soil. So I got everything as close as I could and let it sit to dry for a few weeks.
I had someone come and haul off some extra spoils and the soil still pumped a little, but not as bad after drying. I cannot dig my backyard down to suitable soil and then backfill. It just isn't feasible for me. What are some methods to improve the soil for a patio slab and garage slab/footing?
I have heard of some people compacting rip rap into the soil with a jumping jack. Any thoughts or ideas that would improve the soil enough without breaking the bank? I do plan on putting base rock under the slabs. The garage slab will be 6" thick with a 12" thickened edge at the perimeter. I do overthink things a bit as I am used to building very large commercial structures where any pumping would be absolutely unacceptable. My gut says I can have some pumping for this home project, as the loads are low. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. Also when the soil is dry on top and I probe it with a simple T handle solid pointed probe, it gets pretty hard at the surface.
Thanks.
I had someone come and haul off some extra spoils and the soil still pumped a little, but not as bad after drying. I cannot dig my backyard down to suitable soil and then backfill. It just isn't feasible for me. What are some methods to improve the soil for a patio slab and garage slab/footing?
I have heard of some people compacting rip rap into the soil with a jumping jack. Any thoughts or ideas that would improve the soil enough without breaking the bank? I do plan on putting base rock under the slabs. The garage slab will be 6" thick with a 12" thickened edge at the perimeter. I do overthink things a bit as I am used to building very large commercial structures where any pumping would be absolutely unacceptable. My gut says I can have some pumping for this home project, as the loads are low. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. Also when the soil is dry on top and I probe it with a simple T handle solid pointed probe, it gets pretty hard at the surface.
Thanks.