Ok guys I need some help from some of you with more experience with bigger machines. I've been asked to dig a basement for my cousin's new house. The plan is to rent a 140 or 160 class machine and dig a 54' x 32' basement in reasonably easy going dirt. Here's my question: Roughly how long will it take? The excavator runs $250 a day for a 140 and $300 to truck it. I run a small 30 class all the time but never run a bigger machine. Am I wrong in thinking I could dig it in a day? Any help and insight is appreciated. John
if you round it to 60' by 40' with overdig and counting on an 8' cut you have over 700 yards. plus fluff 10-30% if you have never dug a basement don't count on one day. i don't know the layout or site conditions but as a professional basement digger i would budget much more time for the project. remember that it is a tough business and requires alot of overhead. if you think you can this in one day with a 140 and have it ready for footers the next....think twice. then you will have water service and sewer service that normally comes in under the footer. i would give it some more thought. regards. cd
What's the depth of your cut? Do you have to do any clearing or is the site "ready to go"? Will you have it laid out ready to start digging when the hoe gets there? Is it a daylight basement with a driveway entry or just a regular basement? What will you be doing with the cut material, stockpiling close to the excavation or moving it elsewhere on site? I'm not being an ass, but there are a lot of variables in your situation that need to be answered before much advice can be given. On edit CD was faster than me with my reply, just add his thoughts in there with my questions.
Which tells me that there's trucking involved. Besides what the guys have said above, the biggest excavator in the world isn't going to be productive if it's idling, waiting for a truck, so you need to consider that as part of the equation.
I think the trucking was delivery of the hoe to the site from the rental company just a guess though
Here are some pictures of my basment I dug this spring for my new home. It is 36'x60' with 2 extra corners and it was a full walk out on the back 64'. I shaped the walk out area with the dozer before I brought the hoe in so I only had to dig the basment with the hoe and I had the dozer on site to put the dirt from the hole were I wanted it. My depth varied from 5' to 7'9'' as the ground sloped twards the back. I spent about 6 hours roughing it out and an hour with the bullseye doing some fine gradeing. I also put my 8 year old son to work with the lazer stick when I had my boom on the wrong side of the lazer. The 6 hours also includes the footing dig for the garage that is 33.5x24 but only about 2.5 feet deep. I was useing a 200lc john deere with a 48'' bucket. I run a hoe on a regular basis but dont think as my self as an expert by any means and this was the first basment that I ever dug. I think 1 day would be asking a lot out of a 140 class machine but it could be done if you didnt have to do anything else like sewer hook up or weep tile trenched to daylight or shuffel your dirt to a stockpile. Guys around here are chargeing $1.25/square foot for basment digging on average depending on how far the dirt gets away from the hole.
You're probably right, now that I read it again. ointhead
we use a 315cl for most of our house foundations...if theres ledge or multiple foundations in one plat then we bring the 330 in. my very first foundation ...first time on an excavator took all of 8 hours to bail the hole out...then 4 hours the next day to grade it and ramp it for the concrete trucks....now 14 years later if theres no stumps and no ledge i can show up at 7 with the 315...strip and stock pile the loam and dig and ramp the foundation ...say a 28 x 48 and be done by 3. thats with a cut of about 5 feet and leaving all the material on site. if theres room we just bail the dirt around the hole then flatten it so the concrete trucks can get around...remember to leave enough to backfill. once the walls are up we can ussually run sewer/water/drains and backfill the walls in another 8 hr day. once thats done the bobcat/mini exc /backhoe can finish what evers left at a later date....thats with a fairly level lot ...no walkout with easy access and no surprises. done a few where there was a lot of engineered fills involved with compaction tests....those took a few days.
All it takes is one basement to get an idea on where to put your dirt so your backfill is more efficient, as for setting up the laser you'll eventually figure out where to set it up so you don't have to put your little boy to work. lol One thing that I do to make things a little easier is sit the machine on flat ground at the shop with the stick as plumb as possible and the bucket either flat or uncurled completely then with a tape measure and a black felt tip marker calibrate the stick usually from eight or nine feet to ten or eleven feet at the top of the stick. Later take a cold chisel and wack a little dent into the plate in case the marker gets "wiped" off. Some machines are easier to do than others due to hydraulic piping etc. I worked for a company for three years whose bread and butter was digging house basements and we always used magnetic laser receivers so we didn't have to jump in and out of the machine to take a grade shot. I even used a CX135 Case excavator to dig a 2,000sq. ft. basement and managed to get it done in one day, but it was a long day. lol
Thanks to everyone that has replied. Sounds like I'm in for learning a lot quick. Basement will be a walkout but the natural contour of the ground helps a lot with that. There is a little bit of site work that needs to be done before hand, so sounds like I'll plan on two good days. Cut runs from near nothing to about 7 feet. All the dirt can be left on site. Backfill I can do with my skid steer and mini later as needed. I didn't think a basement could be too tough, its basically a much larger version of what I normally do otherwise but needed some advice and confidence building. I'm more than willing to "listen" if anybody else has anymore advice or opinions. Thanks guys John
If your a decent hoe op I bet you could dig it in a day, grab a buddy or a helper to run stick for ya that makes it go wey faster. If its a mostly "open" area id go with like a 200/320 size machine that's was we usually would use.. a basement that size with footings would usually take us 5 to 6 hours depending on ground conditions, that's with top dirt stripped no septic or no utilities, and they pump the concrete so it doesent really matter were we pile. Kkep the spoil in mind if they need to deliver block or get crete trucks in.
digging basements is in itself really easy. it's all the little tricks that make you fast and employable. i need to get my buddy wormkiller, a member here, to do a video with me teaching his layout method. i worked for him and his father for years and learned tons. he really knows the tricks that make you look like a hero. my best advice is to not over-think the job.