jpav
Member
So, I've not yet purchased something to dig a lot of post holes with. So, bringing out a guy to do it. He has a 'mini' ex, but it is twice the size at least of what you see sitting in the rental yards from bobcat etc. He said it is around 7000-8000 lbs with the auger mounted.
Anyhow, he came out the other day, and started on a half doze on the holes. Trying to go 8"+ and around 3' deep. Well, we've got a lot of rock, mostly baseball to softball size. So, hard for him to dig a hole, and not possible to clean it out while digging.
So, I sat there with gloves, and a shovel, trying to clear away stuff that got pulled to the surface, then he would try and little more, then stop, etc. That worked, but when done, there was just a 6" depression, with loose rocks in it.
He said he would have to leave and come back later, to try something different, and suggested I soak the areas to dig with water.
So, after he left, I cleared out a few of the holes with a manual clam type digger. About 5 min and they were down 2 feet. All the stuff was loose. Not all that bad. Tried watering one of the holes as well, and that was better. As he mentioned, then the sides of the hole would be soft and allow the rocks to push into it more.
So, he is heading back out this weekend. I've watered a good bit, in some holes I hand started for a few inches. He is going to bring out a bunch of different size bits to try as well.
So, long, long story short. Any ideas/suggestions on how to help with the cleanout of the holes. We'll have 3 of us now to operate the manual diggers or pulling out rocks by hand. Around 70 holes to do now.
Maybe I should take a picture of the process.
Anyhow, he came out the other day, and started on a half doze on the holes. Trying to go 8"+ and around 3' deep. Well, we've got a lot of rock, mostly baseball to softball size. So, hard for him to dig a hole, and not possible to clean it out while digging.
So, I sat there with gloves, and a shovel, trying to clear away stuff that got pulled to the surface, then he would try and little more, then stop, etc. That worked, but when done, there was just a 6" depression, with loose rocks in it.
He said he would have to leave and come back later, to try something different, and suggested I soak the areas to dig with water.
So, after he left, I cleared out a few of the holes with a manual clam type digger. About 5 min and they were down 2 feet. All the stuff was loose. Not all that bad. Tried watering one of the holes as well, and that was better. As he mentioned, then the sides of the hole would be soft and allow the rocks to push into it more.
So, he is heading back out this weekend. I've watered a good bit, in some holes I hand started for a few inches. He is going to bring out a bunch of different size bits to try as well.
So, long, long story short. Any ideas/suggestions on how to help with the cleanout of the holes. We'll have 3 of us now to operate the manual diggers or pulling out rocks by hand. Around 70 holes to do now.
Maybe I should take a picture of the process.