cutting out a hill

[GlenncN]

I'm planning on cutting out approximately 200x200 out of a hill to build a house. Now the house will not be near this big but I want to have plenty of room around it. But I want to cut this out leaving a wall in the back. I know I'll have to build a retaining wall but that is no problem.
Now I don't have the exact measurement or figures but guessing I'm saying I'll have to dig down about 8' in the back leveled out to 0' in the front. Some of the dirt that will come from this will be used to fill in a ditch which will have a 12" culvert in for the driveway. Some will be used to filling washouts on my land.
My question is will I be able to do this using a track loader?

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Given enough time and money you can do anything you set your mind to. Just remember, moving dirt isn't cheap, especially on a big project with a small machine. If your not in a hurry, I dont see problem with it. My question would be, what happens if your track loader breaks down?

 

[meburdick]

Given enough time and money you can do anything you set your mind to. Just remember, moving dirt isn't cheap, especially on a big project with a small machine. If your not in a hurry, I dont see problem with it. My question would be, what happens if your track loader breaks down?

Very true. You could dig it out with a spoon if you adjust the timeframe far enough out.

I'm presuming that you would want to use a track loader because that's what you own. Why not consider renting a piece of heavy equipment over a short duration to do at least the bulk of the work? Digging 8' of dirt, there's a fairly good chance you're going to run into something that's bigger than what that track loader can handle.

What about hiring someone to do it? Have you priced that? Maybe you know someone that would barter the work (or use of a machine) with you to keep actual dollars off of the table.

 

[GlenncN]

I forgot to add that the area I'm planning to this in is in the middle of a field. There are no trees which means no roots. We used to grow watermelons and peas there. Rocks are my main concern. The first few feet is sand then it turns to red clay. There may be some iron ore.
I'm in no hurry to do this and the reason I asked about the track loader or crawler is because I have access to a 755K.

 

[swick1]

A track loader can move a lot of dirt fast. Go for it!

 

[shortthrow50]

I use all cat equipment so I'm not up to date on other model sizes but the size cat I use is a 963. Will dig through rock and extract boulders the size of cars with ease. Hopefully you don't run into a situation where you hit a rock shelf and blasting is required.

 

[Egon]

It'll work. Don't forget compaction!

Retaining wall design?

 

[LD1]

How big is the bucket on that crawler?? deere list ~3 yards??

I may be wrong but I dont think you realize just how much dirt their is. 200x200 going from 8-0 is about 6000 yards of dirt. Digging isnt the biggest issue. But moving and doing something with 6000 yards of dirt is. Crawlers arent exactally fast at transporting the dirt any distance at all.

So...You are looking at 2000 scoops of dirt. With transportation time, lets say you average 2 minutes per scoop, thats 4000 minutes. (67 hours.) Working 10 hours a day, thats a full week.

Now, not trying to discourage you, just making you aware that this is quite an undertaking. How soon does this need done? How many hours a week can you devote to it? You can do the math and decide if it is something you want to do or not. It can most certainly be done. But can it be done in a timely manner you are satisfied with?

 

[Stimw]

Nobody has mentioned that it should be fun!
If you are just pushing off to the side it won't be too bad, if scoop and travel, it will take a lot of time.

 

[ScottAR]

Your plan is very possible. Track loaders can push a lot more than they can carry. 6-8 yards at a time when pushing down a slot. Here's a couple vids I found showing what I'm talking about. Notice the operator breaks it up and then pushes.

Turning out trucks in less than a minute load time - YouTube

I dunno if I'd go that deep in every situation but I likely would in that type dirt as we have a similar type here.
963C cutting channels Slot dozing - YouTube