Filling a hole

[chvet73]

I have an area where a staircase went up a small (about 10') hill on my property that I want to fill in. I have access to alot of logs from some trees that were cut down a few years ago.
My question is can I place these logs under the dirt which I put on top to fill the old stair area? Would save hauling in alot of dirt.
Or will the dirt colapse as the trees decay underneath the dirt and cause issues in a few years?

 

[20 20]

depends on soil and depth of bury. A friend needed a 6' hole dug in his yard that he new had buried trees. They were buried 20yrs ago, when we hit them they were hard as a rock, NO ROT. They were buried in clay and preserved quite well.

 

[n8wrl]

Probably depends on species of tree the logs came from. Apparently my property used to be wooded and cleared for pasture 20+ years ago. Most of it was buried, at least stumps. It's all rotting now and i have a mine-field of sink-holes for horses to step in.

 

[Mousefield]

Would depend on the type of soil and logs. I think there is a good chance the logs will rot and the soil sink. I have to jack up a porch on a mobile every couple of years, it is at the edge of an old house basement the excavator guy filled it in with some stumps, soil and stuff 12 years ago. Still sinking 2-4 inches every couple of years. So it's a real pain. Do it right and fill it in with soil and it is done for good.

 

[rmully]

I would not chance it since you do not know what you will get over time. Maybe use the loges for some raised garden plots.

 

[EddieWalker]

You have multiple issues with burying logs. If they are deep, they will take forever to rot on you, but soil conditions, type of wood and moisture levels all come into play in how long it will take for them to rot, or if they will rot at all.

Second, and more importantly, is compaction. It is a challend to fill an empty hole with clean dirt and get it compacted so it wont settle. This is a big part of why it costs so much money to hire it done. Dirt just dosn't become hard in the ground very quickly, or easily. The more you put in there, the more dificult this becomes.

Add logs or other objects to your fill material, and it becomes impossible to compact the soil. What most people think of as logs or material rotting under the soil and holes developing on the surface is in fact, the soil compacting and settling. It can takes years and years for the soil to settle and compact, or it might never happen if you create a place for water to settle. If that happens, every time it rains, you have a mud pit that takes forever to dry out.

Loose soil, or poorly compacted soil holds more water then compacted soil. By adding logs to your fill, you are in fact allowing more areas for water to get into the hole and keep the soild wet. It takes a small amount of moisture to get the soil to compact properly, but just a little too much and the soil begings to "pump" the moisture back out and it loses all it's ability to compact or support a load.

The question is what will the land be used for in the future and how well can you compact it? Alot of contractors out here will burn the logs in the hole before filling it with soil and that seems to work for open pasture.

I'd burn them and then bury the debris in the hole. I'd only do it on a dry day when there was not any moisture in the hole. And I would do everything I could to fill the hole in layers and compact each layer before adding more soil. Depending on what you are using, you can get decent compaction in 4 to 6 inch lifts fairly easily. Soil type and mosture conditions also play a big part in this, but since you are not planning on buildind anything above this location, or using it for a road, its not as critical.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Egon]

My question is can I place these logs under the dirt which I put on top to fill the old stair area? Would save hauling in alot of dirt.
Or will the dirt collapse as the trees decay underneath the dirt and cause issues in a few years?

You sure can.

It sure will.

 

[Mousefield]

You sure can.

It sure will.

How true, excellent response.

 

[RadarTech]

I think Eddie is dead on...

I have a little experience with some backfill in 2 areas...

1. Around the house foundation.
2. Carport backfill.

the foundation backfill was done by someone else and I did not see it done.
I think it was just dumped in and a trackhoe was used to push it in.
It has sank in really go in 2 spots..

the carport I did myself.
18 feet wide, 20 feet deep with some cutouts and narrowed and shallower areas.
Backfill was 6 feet at the deepest, and 2 feet at the shallowest.
concrete walls on all sides.
I used my L3400 to do it all.
Large rocks, water, and dirt was used for most.
a ~3 inch layer of rock dust was used as a topper before concrete was poured.

Every rock was moved and dirt packed around it and water was used with a plate compactor after the first foot for 2 hours. and then again every foot past that for 30 min.
It has been two years since it was installed and no cracks, or settling is visible.

now my basement on the other hand, has a number of cracks in it....


So when you put dirt in the hole, I would pack it and pack it.


when I was growing up, my dad's best friend owned a grading company and he dug a hole to push trees and such in when building a subdivision per the lead contractor's wishes to not burn it for cost reasons. I remember that story well as this was just down the road from where I grew up. Dad and Russel talking about it as I road my minibike around the site. It was literally 1/2 mile from home and a great place to ride!!

well it's 30 years later and I was recently down there in Georgia. An old friend told me how the owner of the house down the street had recently spent a couple thousand dollars fill a growing hole in the front yard.

So I would take great care to fill that hole, and do it right this time!!!

J

 

[chvet73]

Thanks for everyone's opinion. I should clarify that it's not actually a hole but area that is cut from the side of about a 10' slope. It's about 5' wide and maybe 8' accross. We actually changed from the stairs to a path on a more gradual slope. So no need to make new stairs. The fill area would be three sides against the hill and the face would be open and create a new slope. Compaction would be difficult as you can't drive over the area. I have a Bobcat and a backhoe for it so that's what I have for equipment to work on it.
Anyway I hope that clarifys what I'mtrying to do. The reason for the trees is I have several that are down and cut into 6' to 8' sections. The trees are all pine of various types. The place is near Durango, CO. Lot's of snow on the area in the winter. Thanks again for everyone's input.