tips for smoothing trench

[72chevy4x4]

I think you guys are right that I need some more material. Was hoping to get away without the extra work.

wish I had a tiller, only a landscape rake an 6' box blade.

thanks for the ideas guys

 

[chim]

Agree there's more material needed. We've done a lot of trench work and backfilling is really simple. Backfilling without settling afterward is not.

There was one project with thousands of feet of ductbank was installed under paved areas. After a few years I had occasion to go back and see that there was no evidence of settling of the asphalt patches. In that case we discarded all the excavated materials and used (very well tamped) what we call "2A Modified". May go by a different name elsewhere. It's anything that passes through a 3/4" screen at the crusher, and has lots of fines.

Backfill material in dirt work (not in paved areas) was usually whatever came out of the trench. Again, it had to be well tamped. This was done with a jumping jack tamper or a walk-behind trench tamper. Running equipment such as a backhoe over backfill as a tamping method doesn't work well.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I also say a tiller would help a lot. Can you rent a small tiller?

 

[sweettractors]

Could you lower the box blade teeth and use it to loosen up and move some extra material? Ken Sweet

I think you guys are right that I need some more material. Was hoping to get away without the extra work.

wish I had a tiller, only a landscape rake an 6' box blade.

thanks for the ideas guys

hh

 

[fishydeals]

Agree there's more material needed. We've done a lot of trench work and backfilling is really simple. Backfilling without settling afterward is not.

Backfill material in dirt work (not in paved areas) was usually whatever came out of the trench. Again, it had to be well tamped. This was done with a jumping jack tamper or a walk-behind trench tamper. Running equipment such as a backhoe over backfill as a tamping method doesn't work well.

I agree, I worked in fiberoptic and we installed the conduit by trenching. If we were going for a nice finish on someones lawn then it was a hand rake and then a hand leave rake to get all the dirt out of the grass. We would tamp but still have to haul the extra away. It would settle of course over time. The quick and dirty way is just to bring more dirt or if you don't care for the finish grade it in somehow.