Home building with a tractor

[goodoleboy]

I was wondering if a CUT in 25-30 hp with 4wd, front end loader and backhoe can be useful in building a home. How much tractor work can be done with these size CUTs before the big equipment needs to roll in? I assume all work can be done by a CUT if the building site is fairly level with no large trees or big rocks.

Keep in mind i dont have tractor experience so i dont know if one needs much experience to say prepare for a full concrete slab foundation, dig a septic tank dig lines for water and electric? Thats all i can think of but i dont squat about building a home.
Reason i am asking, since I am shopping for a tractor and real savings can be had when items are purchased together. It may make sense to purchase everything at once. If i can buy a tractor and do alot of the work myself it may pay for part of the tractor.

 

[familyman]

If you're stating your case accurately, I'd say yes, you can certainly do what you describe. If you're going to dig your own septic, and I assume you have all of your septic facts lined up, you may want to consider renting bigger machinery for that operation to save yourself time. You don't state that you are building the house itself. If not, don't spend money on a machine sized for this project -- a competent builder will have what he needs. You may consider a tractor for improving/maintaining your property, which might require less machine than you describe. Give us some more facts and this site will produce plenty of advice.

Charley

 

[goodoleboy]

Well Im unsure what Im going to be doing with the machinery. Since Im unsure of what the machinery on a CUT can accomplish. This is a just an information gathering question rather than "what do I need for my property" Many variables that I cant really answer right now.
thanks

 

[Birdman]

I am sure you could dig lines for water and electric with a CUT, but then you have much wider trenches than you really need (more work to refill) and then you are somewhat limited as to the areas you can dig, say between 2 trees or up close to the foundation. A rental trencher is a great tool. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif But I sure wish I had my tractor back when I built my home. The roof sheating and shingles would have been much easier with the FEL.

 

[rtimgray]

The uses of a tractor while home building are almost too many to list. I am in the process of building my own home with a partial basement. The initial work of the basement was accomplished with a JD310 Backhoe and a Case 850 Dozer. However, after all the equipment left I still had miscellaneous piles to move, footers to dig, utility lines, etc.

I had a Kioti DK 45 with a loader, so I bit the bullet and bought a backhoe for it...and it has been great ever since. I had to dig out the basement excavation after torential springtime rains filled it in and collapsed the footers that have been dug. I've dug footers for retaining walls, am preparing to dig footers for the first floor and have some utility lines to dig. In agreement with an earlier statement, for long runs of utility lines, you will be better off with a rented trencher (quicker, less mess, etc). I will be renting a trencher to put in about 800' of water line (but will backfill with the tractor and loader.

I plan to add pallet forks to my loader prior to framing so as to make moving the lumber around easier, and most specifically for placing beams and roof sheeting, shingles, etc. up high so I don't have to carry them up.

In short, if you are building your own home and doing the work yourself, a tractor and loader and extremely valuable, and a backhoe is a nice plus. If it is only a slab with a small foundation, you might be better off to rent a backhoe for a day and do that, rent a trencher for the lines, and a large backhoe for the septic. However, if you are like me and have uses beyond house building for a backhoe, then by all means get the backhoe when you buy the tractor.

Good luck.

 

[Soundguy]

while you won't de doing heavy landclearing with a CUT ( unless ya got lotsa time ).. they can be used to dig footers, drag and smooth dirt.. haul materials around on a jobsite.. etc. So yes.. there are some uses.

When my house was being built, I used a 21? hp yanmar 2wd tractor and box blade / rear dirt scoop to tote dirt around and build up a sizeable area around the back of my house.. fill in ruts from the construction trucks, and in general, 'help' out by smoothing hte dirt for the sod layers.. etc. Due to the small tractor, and the fact I had a rear scoop and not a fel.. it was time consuming.. but it got the job done.

Soundguy

 

[GaryK]

You did not say how much land you have. work does not stop after the house is up. I did not get my CUT w/FEL until after the house was built, I use it all the time and really could have used it during the building of the house for all the reasons listed above and more...

 

[OkeeDon]

I didn't know squat about tractors before I got mine, and I didn't know much about building a house. I got good advice from my dealer, who really listened to me and understood what I was about to do. I bought a package deal of tractor w/FEL (NH TC18), brush hog (4' Rhino) and box blade (4' generic).

I debated back and forth for days about a back hoe. I had a chance to buy a slightly used tractor (230 hours) with a back hoe for just a little more money. While everyone here who has a back hoe seems to love it, I wasn't so sure. My dealer said he'd rent me a mini-excavator any time I needed a backhoe, and told me to save the money.

So far (about 16 months and 350 hours later), I still haven'e started my house. But, so far, the tractor has been used to help with the clearing, grading, fence building, installing a driveway culvert, moving dirt, etc. I have had my well installed, and rented a trencer to do the first 1100' of water line around the property. I have more trenching to do; I'll rent a trencher for that, too -- faster and cleaner than a back hoe, unless you NEED a 12" or wider trench! I did use my tractor, FEL and box blade to backfill the trench.

My septic guy just shrugged when I mentioned digging for the system, myself -- they have all the equipment already, and experienced diggers, and he said I could please myself, but I wouldn't save much -- the digging is the least part of the job. Same with the pool builder.

Originally, I was going to contract the house myself, and do most of the building. Now, health problems have changed my plans. Even with a contractor, if my health was better I'd rent a mini-excavator and have them sub contract the footers to me.

Essentially, what my dealer told me was to by the tractor I'd need for all my landscaping and maintenance needs, and rent the specialized equipment (like a trencher or mini-excavator) that I'd need for one-time tasks. There is plenty of overlap -- my basic, small tractor handled the driveway culvert with no problems, for example.

 

[boustany]

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I wouldn't suggest you plan on using a CUT for what you propose.

First, even removing topsoil off a decent sized plot is a lot of time and work for the machine. If you don't do it correctly (flat, etc.) you will have to pay for fill and compacting to make it right. As for a septic, these to require some level of skill and experience to get right, even if you have the design.

Above all, consider the wear and tear on the machine: I had the foundation for a small barn excavated for less than C $900 (about US $500 at the time) and it was done correctly in a few hours. It would have taken the better part of a week with my L3010, and I couldn't have moved some of the rocks he moved and roots, etc., would have given me fits. It would have cost me more in depreciation than I paid.

Same goes for the septic, which requires a lot more knowledge to set up than you'd think.

So, when I do my workshop, I'll pay for a pro (and I already own 2 CUTs).

Of course, I use the machines for all kinds of maintenance (and, as already noted, they are great for things lift lift up bundles of shingles), so, by all means buy a tractor if you need one but I doubt it is cost effective or time effective to do the big tasks you mention.

 

[Currmudgeon]

Are you planning on doing your own carpentry and concrete work?

A CUT is pretty small to excavate the foundation hole. You can do it, but you'd better be patient. I'd contract that out. That way, you'll get good grades and a hole dug in a reasonable time. The CUT with a FEL would then be useful for minor backfilling, placing drainage gravel, and clean-up. A CUT BH might be useful for trenching in floor drains and foundation drains.

I'd bring the excavator back in to backfill and compact around the finished foundation. He'll do it in a day, while it would take you a week.

As far as the septic tank is concerned, there are two problems. First, you may need a licensed contractor to install the septic system. Second, you may need a medium sized track hoe to place the tank in the hole. There's no way your toy backhoe will lift the 10,000 pound concrete tank and place it. You could probably dig the hole yourself, but once they have the track hoe on site, the hole is essentially free.

Your CUT BH will probably dig to seven or eight feet. That sounds like a lot until you work out the geometrics of getting that drain line at a constant slope to a daylight outlet.

There's no reason you can't trench in the other utilities, but the connections at least, will need to be made by others.

There's a ton of landscaping, clean-up, material spotting, and small grading you can do with the CUT.