Hey guys, Retired up here from California after 35yrs as a operating engineer..I've noticed some differences in how they do the underground here in Wa. Went to a subdivision close to where i'm staying and i was kinda perplexed.Many excavators of all sizes on the job..2 loaders,one small dozer..putting in the sewer main was being dug by a older Komatsu 400 using a large bucket to remove the bulk of the dirt then switching to a smaller one for the vertical part of the trench,placing the rock from a rock box,loader operator basically napping untill he had to refill the box No sloping buckets?? loader not feeding the ditch?..Main was about 12' deep..the laterals being put in was really strange..dug with a shield!..also, the operator fed the rock via a rock box..very slow...the backfill was done by putting in lifts of dirt..kinda a dirt,cobble mix..then using a vibrator head on a excavator for compaction..no compaction wheel? Now i know i'm a newbie up here but i swear these are the techniques we used in the 1980's..just kinda puzzled by it
I'm up for a quick lesson, how should it be done?
Shoot, sound's like it could have been our site but that's how everyone does it up here. Other than the loader op, he usually has multiple jobs and stays pretty busy. We have a couple compaction wheels but usually the backfill material is to boney to use them. Hoepacks are much better in pitrun. You would dig side sewers in this ground w/o a ditchbox?
If you saw the slide in Oso you probably got a little lesson on geology and water up here. Lots of different types of soil and plenty of regulations and inspectors to monitor everything. Where are you staying?
Sounds about normal for excavation work around here. We very rarely slope the sides of trenches, everything is done with trench boxes. Usually haul out a all the material and bring in pit run/sand for backfill. Sometimes we will use native backfill material but only when soil conditions and weather will allow it. Where in washington?
i'm in yelm now..happily retired
The area in question usually has what I would refer to as pit run for soil, falls under class C soil and digs like digging through pea gravel.
He's not looking to preach, he's just looking for answers because he's used to doing it a entirely different way:
Interesting