tips for digging foundation

[skata]

i was going to be digging a home foundation(full basement) next week.i got a 200 size excavator to use.

any tips on digging most efficiently? plan of action?
tips for scraping the bottom level? obviuosly i'll have a guy with laser.

my only excavator experience is loading trucks from a dirt pile. got to start somewhere, right?

 

[CascadeScaper]

Make as few moves as possible. Plan your moves carefully so you don't have to finish up in a weird spot. Hard to say, I haven't seen the site. Are you on a slope? Flat ground? Just remember to make the cut count, once it's done, it's done. Cutting corners or jogs clean is sometimes tricky to do, just think things through and you'll be fine.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Start with the farthest back corner and move yourself backwards. Make sure you don't dig too deep have your grade checker keep checking. Usually get a corner started at the proper depth and work from that.

Make sure you throw your spoils in a spot that is easy to deal with and out of the way.

Take your time make sure you have your measurements right and things square you should be good to go.

A 200 with a clean up bucket should give you a clean bottom. I would also have the builder on site to set up the batter boards etc and advice on how he wants things.

Again can't say it enough don't over dig or you will be compacting with a compactor or have a deeper basement than you orginally wanted.

If the material your digging out of the hole is poor quality stuff have a dump truck on site to load it up and get rid of it.

Good Luck

 

[Electra_Glide]

Lots of good info in this post from a few months back:

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3758

Pay particular attention to this post:

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/showpost.php?p=41108&postcount=8

That guy seems to know what he's talkin' about...:wink2

Joe

 

[digger242j]

That guy seems to know what he's talkin' about...

That guy's clueless, but he does have a good line of BS...

 

[skata]

typically, how much bigger do you dig a hole from the stakes? 2.5 feet ?

 

[mtb345]

:cool2 1 strip top soil 2 throw in your off sets 3 and stay a good bucket wide or 3ft when your diggin 8ft or better youl see why

 

[RonG]

That guy's clueless, but he does have a good line of BS...

I don't remember reading that post digger242 but you are right on the money there!!I sometimes go back later for the chimney or hatchway after the main hole is done unless I know that I won't have the room.If on a hillside I will sometimes cast the material to the lowside to sit on while I dig to help level my machine even if I have to handle it twice.I generally mark my offsets but I don't go crazy with the lime or markout paint as you waste too much time trying to protect the lines you laid out.You can walk the excavator back and forth between the offsets and use the resulting track marks on the ground as a straight line to dig outside of instead of painting them.If you have a jog you can mark that with a rock or little squirt of paint once you get close to where it needs to go.As you mentioned,digging the outside perimeter first allows you to control the dimensions and you can make a pretty cellar hole with a little practice.If you are real lazy like I am these things come to you faster!!!Ron G

 

[skata]

i went and checked out the lot today with a laser. looks like i wont have to dig too much. the lot has a partial rear exposure.

i only have to dig about 2' in the back, while transitioning to about 7' in the front.

2000 square foot ranch. it shouldn't take me more than a day, right?:beatsme probably a couple hours for the pros.

 

[Dirtman2007]

I would plan on a good day for a 2000 sq foot basement. It takes time to get it perfect

 

[fhdesign]

All good advise, I'll only add that when you get to the proper level/depth try to keep the excavator level when finish grading.

 

[tylermckee]

I just paint out the whole house, except i run my sides long so if/when i mess up my paint marks i still have some offsets to go off of. sounds like you're going to want to start at the top and work down. I situate the machine so that the inside of the inside track is right on my paint line and take a full bucket width outside the line. If i were digging i would probably start off by digging a trench at grade, starting from the top and working down one side so i have a clean cut along that side, and i know where grade is when i start hogging material. I would just throw the spoils from that to that side, it should be enough to backfill, unless you are changing from the original grade. Then i would go back up top and make my first pass across the front, throwing some material up top to backfill and the rest down below. then i would hop down onto the spoil pile from my first pass and do it again. repeat untill you cut the downhill side. Always keep yourself as level as possible, front to back and side to side.

One thing i do is as i get close to the end of one pass i stop ~5 feet short of the side wall and move onto the next pass. i cut out that ~5 feet at the end of the next pass so i have a nice straight vertical wall on all sides. Here is a rough picture if i dont make sense.

Thats hoe do it anyways, always worked well for me. Give yourself two days for your first time.

 

[cummins05]

I stick a magnectic level on the front window frame of my hoe that way i know if my hoe is level the bottom is flat. Dont know if its Right but it works for me and the cribber's like my basement's

 

[joispoi]

Plan ahead when placing your spoil piles. Remember that there´s going to be a foundation in the way when it´s time to back fill.

 

[qball]

well, wormkiller and his dad taught me how to dig basements about 12 years ago. worm has it down to a science. the biggest mistakes you can make are to layout wrong, to under dig so the concreter can't fit his forms, and leaving a high spot out of reach. don't over think it and if is an attached garage, do it's interior, shared walls first.
oh, be sure to listen to ac/dc while digging. it will make you dig faster and flatter.

 

[T_S_S]

Be very carefull if its your first time. Lots of builders will back charge you the cost of extra concrete if you dig to deep. This could be all of your profit gone and make the job cost you money to do. Strategically (sp?) placing the spoil is another thing to keep in mind. And be very carefull when backfilling, i have seen quite a few people take walls out.
Good luck , and take some pictures for us!

 

[Colorado Digger]

yeah, we use liitle bullseye levels in the machines. it helps. remember over dig your walls so you have room for your walk behind. minimum 3 feet. it's always eeasier to overdig it- not depth. and do more compaction then to have to remob b/c you missed a pin. and p.s. leave the hoe on site until the footers are pinned- if possible- good luck