L35 Action Shots

[bandit67]

OK, so while I wait to unload some real estate in this scorching hot market so I can buy a new machine, I have to settle for occasionally renting a machine to slowly chip away at some of the work I want to do around the new-to-us property.

This is an L35 I've rented a couple of times - when I finish the job I actually rent it for, I spend the remainder of the day chipping away at a bank in front of the garage that needs to come out so we actually have enough room to get the vehicles in and out a little easier. It takes a while digging with the 12" bucket, but there's a mix of sandy dirt and decomposed granite, so the smaller bucket is necessary to deal with the rock. I have a full size New Holland TLB reserved for Labor Day weekend to hopefully finish the job. Before that, I've got some fellas coming out to take down 3 trees that are up on the bank that I don't want to deal with because of their proximity to the house.

So here are some shots of the dig out in front of the garage:

 

[alchemysa]

Re: pic 5. Why dont you just cut into the bank from the bottom using the loader? It looks a little scary perched up there.

 

[DiezNutz]

Re: pic 5. Why dont you just cut into the bank from the bottom using the loader? It looks a little scary perched up there.

My thoughts exactly... I don't have that much faith in dirt.

 

[bandit67]

Re: pic 5. Why dont you just cut into the bank from the bottom using the loader? It looks a little scary perched up there.

Because around what appears to be the nice loose sandy stuff are veins and chunks of decomposed granite. Without a toothbar, the loader is pretty worthless, so I have to break things up with the backhoe, then come in from below and pick up the spoils with the loader.

It's pretty solid as far as footing because of all the rock. Not sure if any of the pics I posted showed it, but one of them shows me looking down at the stabilizers while digging to be sure the bank wasn't moving or breaking away. I've done it twice now, and no breakaways or close calls. The bank doesn't even break away in the rain - we had major downpours every afternoon for 3 weeks straight, and the hillside didn't budge.

The very first time I was up there, I was a bit nervous, but after working up there for a while, I got a bit more comfortable. Plus, I always had my seatbelt on, just in case.

To show the stability of the ground, to the immediate right of the pics is a 24" diameter Ponderosa Pine (can't see it in any of the pics) that's barely 2' away from the cut that the builder made, and the remains of a 6" diameter tap root that they cut through 5 years ago. The tree hasn't budged since the house was built. That's one of the trees that is coming out, because I figure it's just a matter of time before it decides to come down. It's kind of a shame, though - it's survived a major tap root being removed, and a lightning strike 15-20 years ago - it's been quite the trooper.

 

[LarryRB]

I do this type digging a lot, and prefer to use the hoe from down on the level. Loosen up what you can, than turn around and use the FEL to move,,

 

[DiezNutz]

Because around what appears to be the nice loose sandy stuff are veins and chunks of decomposed granite.

Naturally there's things you can see and feel that we can't just looking at pictures. Sounds like you're being careful, just watch you don't develop a false sense of security.

I do this type digging a lot, and prefer to use the hoe from down on the level. Loosen up what you can, than turn around and use the FEL to move

Also a good suggestion. That's actually how I plan on digging out most of the basement for our new addition, since the one side will be walkout level, so easy-access.

 

[btolle]

We spend some time in Colorado and I can testify that the dirt there is about 25% dirt and 75% rocks.

The ground he is on is a lot stronger than it looks in the pictures.

BTW, a beautiful place you have there. I looked it up on the map and that area is really beautiful. We will (hopefully) spend 2 weeks in Buena Vista in September.

Bill Tolle

 

[bandit67]

Well I went back and looked at the pics since everyone was commenting on how the machine actually stayed up on the hill without the hill collapsing. Guess it does look quite a bit more precarious from the pics taken from that angle. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as it looks from the pics.

I've survived so far by letting my knees tell me if I should be somewhere - if I'm somewhere I probably shouldn't be, I get a tingle in my knees that doesn't stop until I'm anchored or back to a safer spot. I get it when I'm up on roofs a lot - it's the kind of feeling that doesn't go away, so it keeps the rest of my senses on high alert. Heck, I even get the tingle when I see my kids out or up on something that they could fall from.

There was no 'knee tingle' while I was up there working, and there was no ground movement until the backhoe dug in and made something move. If there were either of those 2 scenarios, I wouldn't have been working from up there. I'm also pretty good at picturing in my mind what could happen if I'm not careful, which has kept me pretty safe and fairly injury free over the years of hiking, mountain biking, trail riding, street motorcycles, etc.

Great, now I probably just jinxed myself after talking about it. Better be on alert for the next few days.

 

[bx24]

I will take your word for it that the soil is stable enough to support the tractor on top without issue, but given that I have known plumbers who have worked in un-shored trenches for 30 years or more just to be crushed by a freak cave in ... I would opt instead to work from the bottom reaching up.

I would think that it would be easier to pull the stuff down than dig it up anyways. Does the BH reach high enough from the bottom?

 

[bandit67]

Wow, guess that's the last time I'm going to post pics - too bad 'cause in a couple of weeks when I rent a full size machine to take out the rest of the hill that needs to go, there should be some neat pics of that.

I dug a little from above, I dug a lot from below, I dug a little from the side. The only pics I had were some from the dig from the top that I thought looked kind of cool, but the safety police that weren't there and didn't see the excavation, the surrounding land outlay, etc. can't give it a rest. It was actually a bit difficult digging from above because I was far enough away from the edge of the bank that it was affecting the reach of the backhoe.

Whatever you guys do, don't go to the thread that has the cool videos of wheelying backhoes, excavators getting off flatbed trucks with no ramps, backhoes climbing up and perched on top of railroad cars, and 3 year olds running mini-excavators.