The scale of your model excavator brings up a point - the size of your machine relative to the job makes a difference in dig pattern, as does the type/stability of the material being dug. How much room you have to pile spoil, whether the concrete work is truck-poured or pumped, and how many corners you have to deal with. Lots to think about before taking that first scratch along the offset.
Other points to consider/ add to. spoil placement for backfill. soil placement for grading out or trucking out. Last cornered you may have room to dig a ramp for concrete guys to carry concrete shoreing panels into the basement. They really appreciate it.
Very good explanation. We do a lot of walkout basements here in Missouri basically the same approach but normally some of the material has to be moved farther than I can reach on the walk out portion. We use and excavator and track loader in tandem most of the time depending on how far it is to daylight with the walkout. Occasionally we will throw it in the truck and move it. Thanks for the video!
I really enjoyed this video, brother. I've got about 2.5 years of excavator experience and I'm starting to watch different videos about different things I can do with that experience. I feel fairly confident that I could do a basement dig after watching this video. Thanks for the great content.
The "plan view" explanation coupled with the model size excavator is SO helpful. Excellent education you're providing the trades world. Your video & audio production details are first class as well. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for a great basement dig video. I’ve been wondering how to prepare for it. I hope to do one in the future. I’ve been operating for two years. I love it.
I appreciate the feedback! I've been trying to do more die cast model videos since it let's you see things from a unique angle you don't get on the job.
Yehh Buddy!! Lol!! Merry New Years to you & your family mate. Loving the Beard brother!! Suits yah! Lol!! 2021-22 was really challenging and definately tuff..but recovering really well and really Looking forward to 2023 and all its shenanigans!! Lol!! Feels good to be back.. ne.ways..you Take it easy and Stay Safe out there big FellA! Catch you on the next video!
I've been wondering what happened to you my man! Just the other night I was curious where you had been. Hope all is well with you and good to hear from you again Phil!
You explained this perfectly! Might i suggest you use different colored markers for different positions, it makes it easier for people like me to understand. Lol😊
Finally a simple answer to a simple question many times asked but never answered. If I may suggest, next time use a bigger paper so your excavator is to scale.
Thank you for taking that one on Brian. if Rick had done that presentation, half way in, he'd have been making engine noises with tire squealing sounds and forgot what he was trying to explain. All joking aside, that was very insightful, if only you had some tape.
I would love to see you do a video on digging a basement on a slope, I'm buying ten acres in Idaho soon and I will be digging my basement for a mountain style chalet. I have an idea of what I need to do but any tips would be appreciated
Speaking of winter, would be interested in a video on how to open up a tight pile of dirt with a loaded. Am having to load my own truck, but the material is so dense I am having trouble getting full buckets. Also interested in how to tidy up a muddy lot in preparation for it to freeze over when I am done; not too good at back dragging mud smoothly so it's not a corduroy road when it freezes. Thanks!
Let me see what I can put together. For getting into your pile I would recommend a couple things. First, take the time to actually work the pile with your bucket. Instead of getting focused on getting a bucket to put into the truck, work the pile and soften up the material so you can make your time count. The added weight in your bucket will give you increased traction to get further into the pile. The second tip is to work the pile with the corners of your bucket. The less surface area you have pushing into the pile, the more force you will have to penetrate the hard pack. As for back dragging muddy lots, this is a horseshoes and hand grenades scenario. Get it as close as you can while realizing close is good enough. You can only do so much with soup.
As much as I would love to give you a good trick, the real answer here is practice. Before I start a basement dig I get out and paint lines on the ground. As you setup to dig make sure your track is lined up along the line so you can continue to track back using your line on the ground as a guide.
Also keep in mind with over dig that depending on the depth of the basement dig you may have to account for slope and working room if its over 4 feet of a basement dig or shitty material.
I'm curious how your approach would differ for footings and crawlspace, or if you would use the same approach and just deal with bouncing between the two different elevations?
Most likely you would go about it with the same approach. You want to stay pretty inline with your dig area to give you the straightest lines possible. Elevation differences are pretty easy to handle assuming you've sprayed your lines out ahead of time and have references to work off of.
I have done some haul trucking years ago, but wanted to learn some more as I'm going to make a career change. Your videos are very well done friend. Keep up the great work bud, and Thank you from Central Texas .
If you want to get technical I would respond it depends on the size of machine you have. I would say for a standard 15 ton machine you could dig around a 3500 square foot basement in a day
I'm planning to dig my walkout basement with a Takeuchi TB135. It will probably take a week or more. I'm planning to put tarps on the ground to protect from rain washing out the basement bottom - do you think this is overkill or how should I handle it? Thanks.
Unless you are expecting some pretty torrential rains I wouldn't worry about covering the dig with tarps. The rest of your plan is solid, it will just take a hot minute!
Would I get paid more if I had a degree in diesel tech as well as an operating certificate, I'm currently finishing out my cert and people keep telling me to add on a diesel tech degree now because it will be much easier than going back later in life. Is it actually useful to have?
Good information. My question is when do you bench back your over dig. Let's assume it's a standard basement your what 9'10" or closer to 10' deep depending on Benchmark and plans. How do you mitigate that caving in on the concrete crew. It's technically it falls under trench safety osha?
If you start going over 4 feet deep then yes, I would bench the hole back. Don't start your bench until you are deep enough that you can keep your line. If you bench down too early you lose your slot that keeps your bucket exactly where it needs to be. Treat the bench the same way you treat the main area of the dig.
if it’s an 8’ foundation, dig should be less than that so you have 12-18” of concrete above grade. So if footing is 10” you would only dig between 7-8 feet?
While I agree with the theory and appreciate the example...let's say the garage is 16', by the time we're at the first corner, ima going to need to sling the dirt ~30'+ to keep from double handling it on my close- out. My Ho ain't that big! Informative to a guy that's never dug a foundation, thanks.
There are certainly times where you will have no other option but to double touch material. The key is to think ahead so you do this as little as possible.
Call a dirt company in your area. There are a lot of factors that play into that number. Is the dirt staying onsite or being trucked off? Is there a possibility of water infiltration? What kind of material?
@@DieselandIron right, I do know there are factors at play. I’m speaking just the hole itself. Let’s exclude factors such as hauling or spread backfill things like that. I’m just trying to figure out more so is it best to be figured on a per cubic yard bid or is it likely better let’s say to do a estimated one/two day trackhoe hourly charge. Then anything on top of that and the other outside factors can be implemented. I’m a framing contractor and most of my jobs are GC related for the full scope of project and I have discussed it a couple times but it seems the bid process gets wonky when I ask the simple basic question to get that answer. Let’s just say for argument sake how does one guy price it 10k per the plans on a flat piece of land and the next is 3k. My understanding is one priced it per sf or cubic yard high and the other priced according to a 1 or 2 day dig with basement footing also dugout and porch footing. Main question here is example project 36x60 w 36x30 garage at end of it. Without holding you to your charging rate. What would you figure something like that to be. I’m in NE Ohio. Pretty fair soil. Middle of a corn field. Nothing likely to obstruct. Most digs I’ve seen first hand maybe a shale rock layer. Pretty solid not much soft soils falling in or hard rock layers. Just simple basic hole dig. Prime time kinda easy cake job with no necessary requirement where to slap the piles at for a final grade and backfill. I’d like to know what range you’d price something like that. If you’re willing to explain the way I can bid such said project along with all of my sf or per scope jobs. Most always in the country and minimal extra and always stays on site.
@@nickjames7704 I plan on sitting down a recording some Down & Dirties this afternoon. I'll go over my logic when bidding a basement dig and how I throw together pricing. By showing you my process you should be able to calculate this out for your own setup (aka - factoring in machine rental etc)
Great video and explanation. But, tell me that you don't dig in rock without.... Meh. That theory of of shear straight wall goes out the window in our soil conditions. You get +- 2' accuracy on a trench out here with the rock we have.
Obviously you have to take into account soil conditions and what you are working with. The key is to be as accurate as the conditions allow. If you dig your initial slot first and keep it deeper than the soil around it, that will help with the push you get as you encounter rocks. Instead of keeping the slot a foot or so deeper than the surrounding area, in rocky conditions I might keep it 2 or 3 feet deeper so my bucket stays wedged in place as I hit rocks. Now instead of getting a 2 foot wide push you can keep it closer to 10 inches. Again, it all depends on your conditions.
Just a question from someone who hasn’t dug a basement, why wouldn’t you dig it in a L shape coming from the camera right side throwing it behind eventually to where to need it, you could essentially grab all your material in one shot also.
A large part of a basement dig is planning on where the material will need to end up for the backfill. You could dig the majority of this basement and throw the material to one side out of convenience. When it comes to the backfill you are now forced to push all of that dirt around the house to backfill the other 2 or 3 sides (depending on where you left the dirt). Dozers drink fuel and are expensive to run so you wan the dirt as close to home as you can get it when you do the initial dig. Hope that answers your questions!
This technique is common in michigan. Our footer is about 6 to 8 in deeper than the middle of the dig or what we call the crown. This saves on concrete when you go to pour the main slab of the basement
First off you mention where the dirt will be needed on that particular lot. I would like to see how you throw the dirt with an excavator. Fact is you will no doubt have a second machine on the job for moving the dirt. You use an excavator because thats what you have. But that dosent mean that its the best machine for digging a basement. As a retired builder with hundreds of basements on homes i built, we never used an excavator on any of them. An excavator is very good for digging holes, as in holes for large gas tanks for gas stations. 0
The dirt is thrown beside the hole and there is no need for a second machine onsite until you go to perform the backfill. If you've planned your dig correctly then you should have very little balancing to do with the dozer when you go to backfill. Excavators are the most efficient and cost effective tool for digging basements, hands down. There is a decent swath of the country that thinks track loaders are the go to machine for digging a basement and I can tell you factually, they have never done a operations cost calculation to compare the two. It's not a competition. Track loaders are 3 times more expensive to run per hour than an excavator. Your dirt guys were leaving a shitload of money on the table and you were overpaying to get your basements dug.
@ernieforrest7218 go re-read my comment. I'm confident you were able to dig them in a day with a track loader. I don't dispute that at all. What I dispute is the cost and that is factual and can be easily calculated.
@@DieselandIron Fact is that you can only reach so far with an excavator, and thats where you pile the dirt. Unless you have a second machine. and operator for moving it. And thats a big problem for other phases of the job. We put crushed stone in all our basements under the concrete floor, and that was just backed down the ramp and dumped right in the basement. Sitto for the block delivery for the basement as well as the concrete for the footing. We never back filled untill the framing was at least partiapa on rtiaally complete and weight was placed on the walls. So it should be easy to see why the dirt from the excavation should be piled well awway from the foundaation so that the job can progress. Im very much aware that especially today with the smaller excavators being so popular thaat that some builders enjoy pretending they are an operator. And thats BS as well.
The scale of your model excavator brings up a point - the size of your machine relative to the job makes a difference in dig pattern, as does the type/stability of the material being dug. How much room you have to pile spoil, whether the concrete work is truck-poured or pumped, and how many corners you have to deal with. Lots to think about before taking that first scratch along the offset.
Great point Jay! Thanks for the comment!
Other points to consider/ add to. spoil placement for backfill. soil placement for grading out or trucking out. Last cornered you may have room to dig a ramp for concrete guys to carry concrete shoreing panels into the basement. They really appreciate it.
Very good explanation. We do a lot of walkout basements here in Missouri basically the same approach but normally some of the material has to be moved farther than I can reach on the walk out portion. We use and excavator and track loader in tandem most of the time depending on how far it is to daylight with the walkout. Occasionally we will throw it in the truck and move it. Thanks for the video!
I love track loaders but unfortunately we just don't see them enough around here. They are really popular in the central states.
I really enjoyed this video, brother. I've got about 2.5 years of excavator experience and I'm starting to watch different videos about different things I can do with that experience. I feel fairly confident that I could do a basement dig after watching this video. Thanks for the great content.
Absolutely! Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment!
This is the content we need
Delivered with gusto!
Top quality information as usual. You are a great resource on here. Well done.
Thank you so much!
Good description. First you plan on were you want to finish and then working backwards each step you figure out were to start.
The "plan view" explanation coupled with the model size excavator is SO helpful. Excellent education you're providing the trades world. Your video & audio production details are first class as well. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for watching! Glad the videos are helpful!
Very useful lesson. Keep them coming.
You got it brother, every Monday!
thanks so much dude ill be digging my first basement this Tuesday this really helped me mentally prep
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for a great basement dig video. I’ve been wondering how to prepare for it. I hope to do one in the future. I’ve been operating for two years. I love it.
Thanks for watching!
The video I needed. That excavator is massive... More paper layouts and models that shits cool.
I appreciate the feedback! I've been trying to do more die cast model videos since it let's you see things from a unique angle you don't get on the job.
Excellent explanation. Tremendous value here. Thank you sir.
Thanks for watching Dave!
Good video & giving a good presentation with your diecast model & overhead view, hope you can do more down & dirty topics in the the future 🦾
Thanks Jay! I'm working through some of the topics that make sense to do with the diecast models since it is wintertime here.
This was a very nice way to explain the process! Very helpful! Thanks!
I'm glad it was helpful, thanks for watching!
Yehh Buddy!! Lol!! Merry New Years to you & your family mate. Loving the Beard brother!! Suits yah! Lol!! 2021-22 was really challenging and definately tuff..but recovering really well and really Looking forward to 2023 and all its shenanigans!! Lol!! Feels good to be back.. ne.ways..you Take it easy and Stay Safe out there big FellA! Catch you on the next video!
I've been wondering what happened to you my man! Just the other night I was curious where you had been. Hope all is well with you and good to hear from you again Phil!
Very useful video, more content like this,please
👍
Stay tuned!
Loved hearing your thought process on this! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching!
Thank you very much for putting this together !
I’m planning to dog a crawl space foundation for my house, and this is priceless!
Thanks for watching, glad the videos are helpful!
I used to dig 5000sqf basements with a 349 and that scale was about correct haha makes stoning the inside easy.
I would imagine that would only take 20 minutes to dig with a 349😂😂
You explained this perfectly! Might i suggest you use different colored markers for different positions, it makes it easier for people like me to understand. Lol😊
Good suggestion!
Thanks,, good simple information
Really enjoyed the video also. Thanks for the explanation. Very helpful.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment!
Good job 👏 👍
Thank you!
Great explanation. I am a complete noob but that helped
Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching brother!
Now I know what I need to do if I dig the basement myself when building a house. Then again, I might use shovels.
Shovels will work but it will take time!
Finally a simple answer to a simple question many times asked but never answered. If I may suggest, next time use a bigger paper so your excavator is to scale.
The challenge was fitting it within the camera viewing area!
Thank you for taking that one on Brian. if Rick had done that presentation, half way in, he'd have been making engine noises with tire squealing sounds and forgot what he was trying to explain. All joking aside, that was very insightful, if only you had some tape.
This is very true. Rick also agrees that it would have been a train wreck....
Exactly what I needed. Thank you!!
Anytime!
Excellent comprehensive video!
Thanks for watching!
Excellent explanation. Thank you
Thanks for the comment!
Happy New Year Brother!! Great video and very helpful!! Entertaining as well!! Thanks!!
Happy New Year my man! I appreciate you commenting all the time!
I would love to see you do a video on digging a basement on a slope, I'm buying ten acres in Idaho soon and I will be digging my basement for a mountain style chalet. I have an idea of what I need to do but any tips would be appreciated
Create some benches for yourself as you work down the slopes. That should help you dig level
Speaking of winter, would be interested in a video on how to open up a tight pile of dirt with a loaded. Am having to load my own truck, but the material is so dense I am having trouble getting full buckets. Also interested in how to tidy up a muddy lot in preparation for it to freeze over when I am done; not too good at back dragging mud smoothly so it's not a corduroy road when it freezes.
Thanks!
Let me see what I can put together. For getting into your pile I would recommend a couple things. First, take the time to actually work the pile with your bucket. Instead of getting focused on getting a bucket to put into the truck, work the pile and soften up the material so you can make your time count. The added weight in your bucket will give you increased traction to get further into the pile. The second tip is to work the pile with the corners of your bucket. The less surface area you have pushing into the pile, the more force you will have to penetrate the hard pack.
As for back dragging muddy lots, this is a horseshoes and hand grenades scenario. Get it as close as you can while realizing close is good enough. You can only do so much with soup.
Good evening bro very nice I've learned something awesome 👍😊. Happy new year
Thanks for watching my man and thanks for the comment!
Excellent video. I’ve got to dig a basement as well.
Good luck and feel free to reach out with questions!
@@DieselandIron I will. Do you have a email, I can send you my plans.
Solid information! Planning your work properly is half the battle, at least that is what G.I. Joe said 😁.
G.I. Joooooeeee
PS. If it is a daylight basement and wet part of the year. Consider a out fall trench to keep the water from building up in basement hole.
Thanks for this I have to dig a foundation tomorrow
Glad it was helpful!
What sized excavator and bucket do you recommend?
Nice tutorial
Thanks for watching!
That’s a great way to teach it
Thank you! It's easier than trying to fly a drone over the same spot for 6 hours
Very cool. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Great vedio, how do you dig a straight line.? I always loose my line even my trenches are wobbly 😢
As much as I would love to give you a good trick, the real answer here is practice. Before I start a basement dig I get out and paint lines on the ground. As you setup to dig make sure your track is lined up along the line so you can continue to track back using your line on the ground as a guide.
Also keep in mind with over dig that depending on the depth of the basement dig you may have to account for slope and working room if its over 4 feet of a basement dig or shitty material.
Yes, 100%. I didn't get into benching in this video but if the dig goes over 4 feet deep then you will need to bench the hole back accordingly.
I'm curious how your approach would differ for footings and crawlspace, or if you would use the same approach and just deal with bouncing between the two different elevations?
Most likely you would go about it with the same approach. You want to stay pretty inline with your dig area to give you the straightest lines possible. Elevation differences are pretty easy to handle assuming you've sprayed your lines out ahead of time and have references to work off of.
Great job
Thank you for watching!
I have done some haul trucking years ago, but wanted to learn some more as I'm going to make a career change. Your videos are very well done friend. Keep up the great work bud, and Thank you from Central Texas .
Thanks for the comment! I truly appreciate the feedback! Where are you from? I'm originally from Dripping Springs
@@DieselandIronI'm from the big city f Fredericksburg LOL. I went through DS a couple of weeks ago on my way to Austin.
Thanks for the video,. I have a question though, how big of a basement can you dig in one day??
If you want to get technical I would respond it depends on the size of machine you have. I would say for a standard 15 ton machine you could dig around a 3500 square foot basement in a day
Love the vid....Thank you!!!!
Thanks for watching Jimmy!
What if you need to dig a two story basement? I’d really like to learn that!
Make sure your excavator has a full tank! 😁
Dig the first basement, climb your machine down in the hole and dig the second basement! Who is digging multilevel basements?
@@DieselandIron must be a border crossing job 😁
@@littlefinkle7757 🤣🤣
I'm planning to dig my walkout basement with a Takeuchi TB135. It will probably take a week or more. I'm planning to put tarps on the ground to protect from rain washing out the basement bottom - do you think this is overkill or how should I handle it? Thanks.
Unless you are expecting some pretty torrential rains I wouldn't worry about covering the dig with tarps. The rest of your plan is solid, it will just take a hot minute!
What's a good size machine for most residential basements?
15 ton excavator. It's a good size for most work in that space while still being light enough you don't need a lowboy.
Would I get paid more if I had a degree in diesel tech as well as an operating certificate, I'm currently finishing out my cert and people keep telling me to add on a diesel tech degree now because it will be much easier than going back later in life. Is it actually useful to have?
Sooo.... You don't put the house on the land and then dig a basement under it? Who knew
You can but it gets a lot more expensive!
Good information. My question is when do you bench back your over dig. Let's assume it's a standard basement your what 9'10" or closer to 10' deep depending on Benchmark and plans. How do you mitigate that caving in on the concrete crew. It's technically it falls under trench safety osha?
Give it a good slope depending on the material just keep the overdig correct on the bottom.
If you start going over 4 feet deep then yes, I would bench the hole back. Don't start your bench until you are deep enough that you can keep your line. If you bench down too early you lose your slot that keeps your bucket exactly where it needs to be. Treat the bench the same way you treat the main area of the dig.
@@DieselandIron That was my approach, thanks for sharing
if it’s an 8’ foundation, dig should be less than that so you have 12-18” of concrete above grade. So if footing is 10” you would only dig between 7-8 feet?
Speaking of basements…. How about a video on footings?? Like a burger king or something
We don't do a ton of footing digs. Let me see what I can come up with.
While I agree with the theory and appreciate the example...let's say the garage is 16', by the time we're at the first corner, ima going to need to sling the dirt ~30'+ to keep from double handling it on my close- out. My Ho ain't that big! Informative to a guy that's never dug a foundation, thanks.
There are certainly times where you will have no other option but to double touch material. The key is to think ahead so you do this as little as possible.
Do you first separate and pile the topsoil from the subsoil?
If your site has a fair amount of topsoil, yes. But if your sit has an inch or so of topsoil and you're bringing more in anyway, I don't mess with it.
Thank you👏👏
Thanks for watching!
I expect that diagram to be framed and on display ole son
😆
رائع
How much does it cost roughly to have a 40x60 basement dug out? 8’-10’ how do you calculate it?
Call a dirt company in your area. There are a lot of factors that play into that number. Is the dirt staying onsite or being trucked off? Is there a possibility of water infiltration? What kind of material?
@@DieselandIron right, I do know there are factors at play. I’m speaking just the hole itself. Let’s exclude factors such as hauling or spread backfill things like that. I’m just trying to figure out more so is it best to be figured on a per cubic yard bid or is it likely better let’s say to do a estimated one/two day trackhoe hourly charge. Then anything on top of that and the other outside factors can be implemented. I’m a framing contractor and most of my jobs are GC related for the full scope of project and I have discussed it a couple times but it seems the bid process gets wonky when I ask the simple basic question to get that answer. Let’s just say for argument sake how does one guy price it 10k per the plans on a flat piece of land and the next is 3k. My understanding is one priced it per sf or cubic yard high and the other priced according to a 1 or 2 day dig with basement footing also dugout and porch footing. Main question here is example project 36x60 w 36x30 garage at end of it. Without holding you to your charging rate. What would you figure something like that to be. I’m in NE Ohio. Pretty fair soil. Middle of a corn field. Nothing likely to obstruct. Most digs I’ve seen first hand maybe a shale rock layer. Pretty solid not much soft soils falling in or hard rock layers. Just simple basic hole dig. Prime time kinda easy cake job with no necessary requirement where to slap the piles at for a final grade and backfill. I’d like to know what range you’d price something like that. If you’re willing to explain the way I can bid such said project along with all of my sf or per scope jobs. Most always in the country and minimal extra and always stays on site.
@@nickjames7704 I plan on sitting down a recording some Down & Dirties this afternoon. I'll go over my logic when bidding a basement dig and how I throw together pricing. By showing you my process you should be able to calculate this out for your own setup (aka - factoring in machine rental etc)
@@DieselandIron awesome. Thank you!
Great video and explanation. But, tell me that you don't dig in rock without.... Meh. That theory of of shear straight wall goes out the window in our soil conditions. You get +- 2' accuracy on a trench out here with the rock we have.
Obviously you have to take into account soil conditions and what you are working with. The key is to be as accurate as the conditions allow. If you dig your initial slot first and keep it deeper than the soil around it, that will help with the push you get as you encounter rocks. Instead of keeping the slot a foot or so deeper than the surrounding area, in rocky conditions I might keep it 2 or 3 feet deeper so my bucket stays wedged in place as I hit rocks. Now instead of getting a 2 foot wide push you can keep it closer to 10 inches. Again, it all depends on your conditions.
Just a question from someone who hasn’t dug a basement, why wouldn’t you dig it in a L shape coming from the camera right side throwing it behind eventually to where to need it, you could essentially grab all your material in one shot also.
A large part of a basement dig is planning on where the material will need to end up for the backfill. You could dig the majority of this basement and throw the material to one side out of convenience. When it comes to the backfill you are now forced to push all of that dirt around the house to backfill the other 2 or 3 sides (depending on where you left the dirt). Dozers drink fuel and are expensive to run so you wan the dirt as close to home as you can get it when you do the initial dig. Hope that answers your questions!
Most important don't dump your dirt upside down.😏
What city are you based out of ?
Do you work in Oakland Cnty ?
We are based out of Howell. Where is Oakland City located?
Oakland county, guess not..
Probably too far away to Pontiac/Waterford area.
So at the edges you went deeper why?
This technique is common in michigan. Our footer is about 6 to 8 in deeper than the middle of the dig or what we call the crown. This saves on concrete when you go to pour the main slab of the basement
First off you mention where the dirt will be needed on that particular lot.
I would like to see how you throw the dirt with an excavator.
Fact is you will no doubt have a second machine on the job for moving the dirt.
You use an excavator because thats what you have.
But that dosent mean that its the best machine for digging a basement.
As a retired builder with hundreds of basements on homes i built, we never used an excavator on any of them.
An excavator is very good for digging holes, as in holes for large gas tanks for gas stations.
0
The dirt is thrown beside the hole and there is no need for a second machine onsite until you go to perform the backfill. If you've planned your dig correctly then you should have very little balancing to do with the dozer when you go to backfill. Excavators are the most efficient and cost effective tool for digging basements, hands down. There is a decent swath of the country that thinks track loaders are the go to machine for digging a basement and I can tell you factually, they have never done a operations cost calculation to compare the two. It's not a competition. Track loaders are 3 times more expensive to run per hour than an excavator. Your dirt guys were leaving a shitload of money on the table and you were overpaying to get your basements dug.
@@DieselandIron Thats simply bs.
We built hundreds of houses and a track loader dug all of them in one day or less.
@ernieforrest7218 go re-read my comment. I'm confident you were able to dig them in a day with a track loader. I don't dispute that at all. What I dispute is the cost and that is factual and can be easily calculated.
@@DieselandIron Fact is that you can only reach so far with an excavator, and thats where you pile the dirt.
Unless you have a second machine. and operator for moving it. And thats a big problem for other phases of the job.
We put crushed stone in all our basements under the concrete floor, and that was just backed down the ramp and dumped right in the basement. Sitto for the block delivery for the basement as well as the concrete for the footing. We never back filled untill the framing was at least partiapa on rtiaally complete and weight was placed on the walls. So it should be easy to see why the dirt from the excavation should be piled well awway from the foundaation so that the job can progress. Im very much aware that especially today with the smaller excavators being so popular thaat that some builders enjoy pretending they are an operator. And thats BS as well.
m
Work smart not hard