Packing dirt.

[flusher]

I guess I should have mentioned that some of these holes will be in an area that I will putting my barn at. The barn will have a cement floor. I wont even start the building process till next summer though. But I'd like to get the area prepped now so once I have the money put away I can get things started.

Wedge

I'd fill the holes on the barn jobsite with 3/4" gravel and then have your concrete floor contractor run his vibrating compactor over the fill to max out compaction and stabilize the fill.

For the other holes, I'd backfill in 6" lifts, wet the lift to increase compaction and then use calcium chloride to dry the lift. Repeat until the hole is filled.

 

[Marc_Buxton]

You need to pack it in layers not to exceed about 12" at a time. Engineers specify 6-8" lifts for using mechanical equipment like sheeps foot rollers etc. in order to obtain a 90% modifed compaction rate per ASTM standards. This is sufficient to build foundations for heavy equipment on.
For most around the house fill, you can walk it in with your tractor and get good enough compaction. The smaller the tire the more PSI you will get for compaction. If you fill it full then try to compact it, it is going to settle in on you with the first rain. If you can take your FEL and dump a bit if dirt then walk it in with the front wheel, then dump some more, walk it in etc. then it will be well compacted from bottom to top. If you cant get your tractor in just make yourself a little wooden or steel tamp and do it by hand till it gets full enough to use the tractor.

I realize this original thread is...oh....12 years old, but it's the closest thing on the forum I could find. I have 1 acre that we just cleared of 15-20 year old pine trees. Pock-mark holes throughout the 1 acre. I've just been quoted $35k by dirt movers to fill the holes and rough grade it using dozers and packers. I am thinking I could save $10k and do it myself with my FEL, rented tamper, box blade, and some time. Thoughts? Many thanks. Newbie here, trying to prep our land for our home.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I realize this original thread is...oh....12 years old, but it's the closest thing on the forum I could find. I have 1 acre that we just cleared of 15-20 year old pine trees. Pock-mark holes throughout the 1 acre. I've just been quoted $35k by dirt movers to fill the holes and rough grade it using dozers and packers. I am thinking I could save $10k and do it myself with my FEL, rented tamper, box blade, and some time. Thoughts? Many thanks. Newbie here, trying to prep our land for our home.

You can take 20" of cross tie and screw two handles on it. Save even more money. Even cancel your gym membership. All wood grain in same direction.

 

[jmc]

I realize this original thread is...oh....12 years old, but it's the closest thing on the forum I could find. I have 1 acre that we just cleared of 15-20 year old pine trees. Pock-mark holes throughout the 1 acre. I've just been quoted $35k by dirt movers to fill the holes and rough grade it using dozers and packers. I am thinking I could save $10k and do it myself with my FEL, rented tamper, box blade, and some time. Thoughts? Many thanks. Newbie here, trying to prep our land for our home.

Go for it. You'll learn as you do. I've compacted two barn floors with red clay for fill, just using the tractor's front wheels with weight in the bucket. 4-6" lifts. No floor cracks after several decades. Are the pockmarks from former stumps?

 

[JJT]

Get another quote, $35k to grade 1 acre? is that USD? Where are you located?

 

[npalen]

Yes, I have a backhoe on my tractor but unfortunately I have yet not had the time to learn how to use one.

I've spent days watching them work but that did not transfer over into the hand skills required.

This summer the tractor can classify as a backyard sitter!

What a great opportunity to learn the backhoe!

Edit: Sorry, I was confusing you with the OP and then realized this thread is 13 years of age.

 

[rScotty]

I realize this original thread is...oh....12 years old, but it's the closest thing on the forum I could find. I have 1 acre that we just cleared of 15-20 year old pine trees. Pock-mark holes throughout the 1 acre. I've just been quoted $35k by dirt movers to fill the holes and rough grade it using dozers and packers. I am thinking I could save $10k and do it myself with my FEL, rented tamper, box blade, and some time. Thoughts? Many thanks. Newbie here, trying to prep our land for our home.

Sure you can. Lots of us have done similar porjects. A friend was quoted 100K for fill alone. Instead, he took his tractor and spare time over a year and simply did it himself. It worked fine.

A couple of things: Don't be afraid to order the right dirt or topping when you need it. And learn a little about compaction and filling. Both are simple science. Figuring it out made Mc Adam rich a few hundred years back.

Soil needs to be right for compaction. Not too wet or too dry. If you can wad up a handfull into a dirtbball - and it stays together without slumping or falling apart then the soil and moisture is close enough.
You can compact surprisingly well if the moisture is just right and the successive lifts are kept small.
Just driving over damp dirt with ag type lugged front tires and a load in the front bucket are good enough if you are only compacting an inch at a time. Tampers are optional.

You can use your blade, but some other ways work as well..

One trick is to drag a couple of logs chained together pulled crosswise behind you with a chain bridal. Then find a piece of 8' by x12' - or whatever size - piece of chain link fencing and drag it around. Load it with rocks and tree trunks for weight. Do both of these for a weekend and see what you have. And eventually put some money into a land plane - it is also a dragged implement - but does better work.
rScotty

 

[Jstpssng]

You can do a LOT of work for $35,000, and learn while you’re doing it. Heck, for that amount of money you could buy your own bulldozer.

 

[IndyJay]

What a great opportunity to learn the backhoe!

Edit: Sorry, I was confusing you with the OP and then realized this thread is 13 years of age.

This advice is timelsss...

 

[rScotty]

This advice is timelsss...

About old threads - 15 years ago we set out to landscape our property after a fire and a flood.
The goal was to work around the destruction and save some of the trees, bushes, and some of the landscaping. And that was accomplished. It looks good, but took lots of work every year.

We could have bulldozed, trucked in topsoil, leveled all, and started from scratch. Done it all at once. It would have looked worse in the beginning, but by now it would be growing better and with far less work.

 

[Raul-02]

I'm not too keen on the idea of dropping the front tires into a 3' hole to pack things. I guess I could always cut a ramp down into the hole.

Ignore the stuff about what Engineers specify. That's for when you plan on building a shopping mall. Applying that to your yard or farm is - I'll say it nicely - not logical.

Fill a little over full and roll over it a time or two. Or not, if you fill and let nature do it, it'll happen just fine.

 

[rScotty]

Ignore the stuff about what Engineers specify. That's for when you plan on building a shopping mall. Applying that to your yard or farm is - I'll say it nicely - not logical.

Fill a little over full and roll over it a time or two. Or not, if you fill and let nature do it, it'll happen just fine.

I'd say ignoring what engineers say is exactly as foolish as paying them too much attention.

Instead, ask yourself if understanding more about compaction can make your job better. Your goal is to accomplish in hours what takes nature thousands of years. And you can do that. The way that clay, fines, aggregate, and moisture work together is still science, it just isn't rocket science.
rScotty

 

[Raul-02]

I will putting my barn at. The barn will have a cement floor.

If you will be putting your barn there and using concrete AND using footings (you didn't mention footings) and all you are concerned are some holes then fhugetaboutit you're good. You also didn't mention the thickness or reinforcement of the concrete.

 

[Egon]

What a great opportunity to learn the backhoe!

Edit: Sorry, I was confusing you with the OP and then realized this thread is 13 years of age.

No need to be sorry.
In the ensuing years I have learned that the hoe will dig quite well but I’ll never develop the skill of the good hoe operator’s I have watched for countless hours in another life!

 

[farmalldx33]

Fill the holes half way and then fill with water to help settle the soil. Next day add some more soil and fill with water. Continue until you are satisfied. Or being that you are putting a building over some of these holes you could fill in with pea gravel.