Digging Foundation With Skidsteer And Miniex

mas

I have a new cat 262 that i have been dieing to put to some use... i want to excavate for a 2900sqft basement the lot is large and can use all the fill i can get so loading the dirt into a truck isnt an issue

think its a bad idea to attempt this with a skidsteer+miniex ? (its my first time ever attempting to dig for a foundation)

or would it just be all around better to rent a 150 or 200 sized machine?



thanks

Glasshousebltr

How old are ya, cause you'll be a lot older before ya get to crete.

Rent heavy for a day or two, then use the skid to clean up and fill.

Bob

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Bob

rino1494

^ haha, yeah that would take you at least a week to dig. Better hope that you don't hit any hardpan or large boulders.

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denick

Mas,
Bob and Rhino are right!

Unless you have another reason for using your machine or unlimited amount of time to dig it, And the soil conditions are easy digging and you own the equipment so the cost is controlled.

If your not experienced on an excavator renting can get costly if there is a weather or other delay.

I could give you a list on this post also.


Nick

jmic

Being the kind of guy that I am and if time wasn't much of a factor I'd dig it with a mini ex. and skid steer, as long as we're not talking about big boulders and other extreme soil conditions. You'd be surprised at the end of a long 10 hr. day what you'd get accomplished. I f you had someone to run the other machine simantaniously it would really be great. C'mon just imagine digging them out 100yrs.ago with a horse and scoop or what ever they called it back then.

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Joe

tgeb

If you have the time, I say go for it. How much cut will you have?

I did this big foundation with a backhoe and skid steer, took me 2 days, but did not have to pay any rental and it was a slow week.

Use the equipment you have, sounds like you would enjoy some seat time

Tom

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Tom

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mas

there is no time limit, im just build the house to flip because of the hot real estate market.. so as soon as the snow melts and spring comes i can install my culvert and get to work...

my time limit will be the house shell has to be up and sealed by october 15th of this year...

i have been renovating houses since i purchased my first one when i was 18.. im 23 now.. i have a decent ammount of experience but this will definitly be my biggest project..

im not sure what "cut" means.. I know i want to dig a deep basement because i want 12foot ceilings in the basement... so that will probably add a bit deeper of a dig.. but i have access to tons of clean fill right now so im gonna start building a mound once spring comes around

jmic

Mas,
Cut = Avg. depth you will be digging from original grade.

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Joe

jojo

I am about to do the same thing,,,,I was wondering weather to rent a machine or just use my backhoe,,,I checked the rental on a 160 sized machine and after the the rental fee, delivery charge, cleanup,fuel,and insurance,,it would cost me $700 for one day,,(if rented on the weekend i can use it for two days but not over 8 hrs.,,, i'm still tossing it around,,rent or not,,guess it depends on the amount of time i have to GET-ER-DONE

denick

Mas and JOJO,

Less than a100 years ago most excavation was done by hand, steam operated machinery, horse or oxen pulled implements. Everything about our work is thinking it through before you start. Just about everything can be done!

Preplan, what are the conditions? wet and soft? dry and hard? easy to dig? hard to dig? Tight space? open space? straight travel ? or twisting and turning? the list goes on for a long time. Go out on the site and imagine what you want to do. Does it make sense to you?

Most anyone could dig the foundation as you see it in Tom’s pictures. Few would dig it as well.

Mas says he wants to dig 11’ or 12’ deep that is 50% deeper than a normal foundation. The over dig has to be wider for cave-in protection. That means ?75%? more dirt you need to move, and move the dirt farther away. That could be considerably more work. No one here can advise you on something they don’t know about. There seem to be quite a few knowledgable people here that offer advice but thats advice coming from how they perceive your information.

An excavator will over come that foreseen or unforeseen problem.

Don’t leave your brains at the door on the way to work!


Nick

rino1494

I could only dream of digging in material that nice. Everywhere I dig is clay, hardpan and rocks the size of beach balls.

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jmic

Beach balls , I'm finishing up a site now that had rocks the size of v.w. bugs.

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Joe

tgeb

Well, I must admit that was some easy digging.

We get a little of everything here, done sites where they had to shoot the sub-grade for the streets on one block, got a 953 CAT stuck in a spring on the next.

Thanks Nick.

Mas, I have no clue what the earth is like in Canada, you be the judge of whether you can do it with what you have. Though 10' basement is a lot.

jojo, your backhoe would rent here w/fuel and insurance for about $350 per day. You can use your machine for 2 days versus 1 day to rent their machine.

My recommendation is to use the machine you own and are making payments for, and let someone else make the payments for the rental company's machine.

Bigger is not always better, when it is YOUR money on the line. You can do most foundations with a backhoe, it just takes longer.

The money spent on rent could be yours, think it through.

Tom

jmic and rino, we vacation in PA. and every time I am there I wonder how the heck you guys deal with that stuff and make any money, it must drive you nuts. T.

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jojo

Good advice as always,,I was thinking that I could start digging a foundation with my backhoe,,,maybe dig a little deep on one end first just to see what was down there,,,if it gets too tough,,go rent a larger machine,,,,