Packing dirt.

[wedge40]

How do you pack the dirt into a hole when you fill it? I've dug up a bunch of stumps and have holes that are about 5'x5'x3', some bigger. I've pushed the dirt I removed back into the hole but need to need bring in some fill to help level the area.
I have a tractor with FEL, narrow front tires, loaded rears. If I get a load of fill, can I just over fill the holes from the edge out and use the buck and tractor weight to pack the dirt back into the hole?

Wedge

 

[dirt ditch]

Start filling the hole with dirt until you can safely drive over it. Pack that layer down by driving over it several times. Keep adding dirt in layers, packing each one down by driving over it. When the top of the dirt you are adding gets close to the top of the hole begin back dragging to level it out.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You need to pack it in layers not to exceed about 12" at a time. Engineers specify 6-8" lifts for using mechanical equipment like sheeps foot rollers etc. in order to obtain a 90% modifed compaction rate per ASTM standards. This is sufficient to build foundations for heavy equipment on.
For most around the house fill, you can walk it in with your tractor and get good enough compaction. The smaller the tire the more PSI you will get for compaction. If you fill it full then try to compact it, it is going to settle in on you with the first rain. If you can take your FEL and dump a bit if dirt then walk it in with the front wheel, then dump some more, walk it in etc. then it will be well compacted from bottom to top. If you cant get your tractor in just make yourself a little wooden or steel tamp and do it by hand till it gets full enough to use the tractor.

 

[wedge40]

Thanks for the replies. But I have a 3' drop to the bottom of the hole. Nice square edge. I'm not too keen on the idea of dropping the front tires into a 3' hole to pack things. I guess I could always cut a ramp down into the hole.

Wedge

 

[20 20]

Fill it up until you can start to drive on it......then start your layers.

 

[Egon]

Overfill and wait till it settles.

 

[Gizmo2]

Adding water to the fill will speed up the settling process and hopefully you will not need to add fill after grass starts to grow.

 

[oliver28472]

I'm with Egon. Unless the holes are in an area where you are building a building or a road there is no need to pack. If you are just going to put a lawn or garden there you don't want compaction.

 

[TonkaToy]

If comapcting it is a neccesity, try making a tamping device. You can use a 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 post, nail or screw a piece of about 8 inch by 8 inch plywood, at least half inch thickness, to the bottom of the post to give you a nice tamping surface. You don't want bigger than 8 inch as you would lose PSI. Then you could either by hand raise and drop the post in the hole over and over to tamp it down as you keep adding 6 to 12 inch layers of earth, or even better, cut your tamping post to the right length. Then you can use your tractor FEL to tap down on your tamping post. When your level gets high enough, then drive over with your tractor wheel as described in the previous threads. This would be an economical and easy home made solution.

Good luck!

 

[wedge40]

I guess I should have mentioned that some of these holes will be in an area that I will putting my barn at. The barn will have a cement floor. I wont even start the building process till next summer though. But I'd like to get the area prepped now so once I have the money put away I can get things started.

Wedge