The Project or the Tractor...Help!

[rbargeron]

There is a lot of good advice above - the points I think are most important are (1) the ice-push problem has been developing for a while - inadequate drainage outside the walls. and (2) any size machine will work, but a bigger one will do this job better. One way to skin the cat is to buy a commercial size TLB or even an excavator and sell it after your big jobs are done. A small CUT with backhoe will need to reposition many times to dig a long trench. A TLB with 18 or 20' reach will be able to do more from one spot. That's a factor when digging close to a building - where the machine needs to be at an angle. My 2 cents.

 

[AntrimMan]

Yes, I agree upon reading my post that it may be construed as a bit pessimistic. That wasn't intentional. This is no small job though. If you are sure of your skills, know what is involved, and can see your way through to the finish, then by all means go for it. Since it's out in the open there may be a permit requirement and that may or may not complicate things, i.e. stamped engineering drawings, etc. Permit or not, it's a real good idea to sit down with some paper and a pencil and figure the whole thing out from start to finish and include timelines. This simple plan may present the opportunity to discover something that might other wise be overlooked. Little things like if the ground is open and it rains like the dickens, just where will the water coming off the roof go, and stuff like that. A complete plan is more likely to suceed.
You know one of the previous posts said a lot when refering to the fellows with the pick and shovel, my hat's off to them. They were the guys who laid those 1800# granite capstones too. I remember two old Italian brothers who wanted a well to water their garden so they dug one by hand with all the neighbors kids helping, me included, but now I'm rambling.
The short of it is that man moves mountains every day and a loan for doing up the foundation is a creative manner to finance a tractor. This is the kind of thinking that will help make this project sucessfull.
Best of luck,
the not meaning to be pessimistic at all, Martin /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
How's that, any better?

 

[MaineTWLSB]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( How's that, any better? )</font>

Much better Martin...lol I understand what your saying and I intend to get plenty of input on this. Have already started thinking of how to build some kind of plastic sheeting to divert rain water.

I don't think permits are a big issue, we're talking about a small town of 750 ppl or so. But I'll check.

I think my main question has been answered, that the BH on the CUT can do the job (still not sure if a 7 1/2' is enough powerwise). It will be slower but I've got time. Was also thinking the FEL would save me some money also as far as putting the backfill in. (I'll thinking all pro's now, will go over con's later... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif)

Was thinking if I ramp it out away from the walls that would reduce the risk of being in the trench. Yes/No? More work I know but better safe then sorry, right.

John

PS Does this thread belong in this forum??

 

[grandad]

Was thinking the same thing about safety as I was reading down the msgs in this thread. Whatever heaved that wall may also make the surrounding soil not very stable. Also, need to be amply safe with enough cribbing and support so when the trench is dug and the wall is taken down, the structure above it stays intact.

If a contractor quoted the $12k for the job, he knew darn well there was quite a bit more to the job than digging the trench.

 

[trlong]

Am I missing something here (probably), or is this not more likely a job for an articulated Excavator than a sit-in-one-place...dig/swing/dump...and them move to another position after moving the excavated earth? Don't get me wrong. I love my BH but it has many limits...especially when trying to get close to a house without doing damage or moving every 3 minutes.

I rented a small excavator when I had to dig along side the house and move the materials away. Found it a lot easier and more precise to use near the foundation, and a lot quicker. However, folks down the road excavated their entire stone foundation on a, circa 1880's farmhouse. They rented and excavator. Even with it's capabilities, I drove by and thought "they're going to tip that excavator into that cellar hole and wack the building in the process. Sure enough, guess where the excavator was when I came back by (Hint: The 1st tow truck couldn't drag it back up onto it's tracks).

Be careful. A backhoe may not be the right tool, IMHO.

 

[ronnie2005]

My Grandfather had a house very much like yours with the same problem in Oskalosa, Iowa. Over the years the northeast corner had settled about 4 inches. And over the years he just shaved the doors and plastered the cracks. The decission was finally made to fix the fondation. Now, we're talking a large family with alot men and alot of construction experience. They decided to use a contractor. The crew jacked up the whole house and removed the old rock fondation through the basement, pored a new concrete fondation for the whole house. Now the house is level and solid. Whole process took about three weeks. The doors were never replaced and they look alittle strange.

 

[djradz]

John, I don't think you have too do anything to unusual, such as "plastic sheeting" but merely have a slope away from the house and divert the rain gutters away. If you're really concerned, make sure you have properly installed drain tile at the footings, again, routed away, and use a sandy backfill if you have predominantly clay soil. I think your original assessment was correct concerning that little sunken area/flower bed, that is right up against the house and lower than the surroundings.

 

[MarkV]

I’ll throw in my two cents even though I’m a bit late. There has been good advice and I think with care and time a small hoe could dig the trench and move the dirt needed for the job. What I don’t think the small hoe will do is move some of the old foundation you showed. That one piece of granite you showed is going to take more than a compact tractor to move I think. If I were to do the project I would be considering the rental of a larger piece of equipment.

Great old house you’re moving to. Well worth what ever effort it takes to get things fixed up.

MarkV