The Project or the Tractor...Help!

[MaineTWLSB]

Which comes 1st???

Have been reading TBN for about 3 weeks now (has been very helpful) and was hoping some of the more experienced members (anyone is welcome to chime in) could advise me on a project that I don’t even have a tractor for yet.

Wife and I and 2 boys are moving in to my family’s old farmhouse (1850 at least I’d guess) and one of the stone walls in the basement was pushed in by frost this winter. A friend of mine who is a builder looked at it and suggested replacing as much of the wall(s) as possible. He estimated the whole project would be about $12k (I’m rounding that to 15k just to be safe). With roughly half of that being excavation.

My brother and I are talking about getting a tractor for the farm (not a working farm but that’s what we call it). I need it for snow removal (rear mount) and have already thought of endless other projects for it. He would like it for when he comes up from NY to winch logs from the woods (ever hear of a forester from Long Island?).

Sorry about the rambling. So here’s the question, instead of spending $6,000 to $8,000 on the excavation, buy a BH with the new tractor and do the digging myself (put in as part of the home improvement loan??). Can a 7 ½’ or 8 ½’ BH do this job? Would prefer a 7 ½’ BH to keep costs down on both the BH and the tractor. I’ll post some more pictures and dimensions of the project...

 

[MaineTWLSB]

Would a 7 ½’ BH go deep enough and/or be strong enough? The sill rests on large blocks of granite that run 6-7’ long, 13-19” high, and 8-10” thick.

 

[MaineTWLSB]

Have some room to work with in front of the house but not a whole lot. About 28’ from front of the house to the embankment going down to the road. Was thinking I would dig toward the embankment and ramp down into the basement. Does that make sense?

 

[MaineTWLSB]

As you can see I need to get this done before next winter…

Thanks for any input/advice….btw I’m looking at the Branson 3510/7620bh or Branson 3820/8620bh best price to spec ratio in my area that I’ve found….course my mind changes every half-hour or so… /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Thanks again
John

 

[djradz]

I like your reasoning! Keep in mind that the BH is a great thing to have around, but unless you plan to use it occasionally, (which you may with an old farm) you will be dropping $5K-$6K just to have it added to a tractor purchase. If you don't think you'll get that much use, buy the tractor anyway, and just rent a BH (or one as an attachment if available) and get a slightly bigger/better tractor instead, of course, with an FEL.

 

[MaineTWLSB]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you don't think you'll get that much use, buy the tractor anyway, and just rent a BH )</font>

djradz thats a very good point and I should have mentioned that the BH is something I would like to have anyway and would be very useful around the farm....thanks

 

[RobS]

I'm going to put your project into the "biggie" category. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, but you better be a very adept and experienced home improvement guy. Lots of things to go wrong when excavating around old houses.

Also, a tough way to learn a new machine will be smacking it into the side of your house.

Having said all that, what kind of other projects have you done in the past? With the right experience and mind-set, you should be fine with this one /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[beenthere]

What is that 28' like, meaning a lot of rock, boulders, or soil that a bucket on a FEL could dig into?

I would consider digging a trench (with the FEL bucket that has teeth) along the front wall of the house (I am presuming that is the wall that needs the help), replacing the wall, and then backfilling the trench with sand and non-clay soil that is well drained with tile and that will not expand when frozen to protect the new wall. A bit of landscaping in front of the house towards the road could be tailored into the project.

I don't see the real need for the backhoe. Possibly a skidsteer would work better than a FEL, but that may or may not fit into your plans.

A CUT with a logging winch (like the Farmi winch) would work great for your brother's needs in the timber. Equipped with a FEL and in the 35-40 HP range, it should do your dirt work and his logging work with great comfort and ease. Be in the $20,000 price range, but lots of potential for future needs on the 'farm'.

Just some thoughts from here without knowing all the ramifications and constraints that you have.

 

[jim_wilson]

Since you mentioned you had numerous needs for a backhoe besides just the foundation excavation buying a backhoe of some form sounds like a good idea. The fact that you have a pretty hefty bill coming up just for the excavation around the foundation makes the decision easier because you can use that money to buy a piece of equipment and be no worse off financially than if you paid somebody to do the work. The other option you could look into is buying a used trackhoe and buying a tractor. There has been a number of postings on tractorbynet about how the small trackhoes are much more efficient diggers than tractor mounted backhoes are. Normally a tractor mounted backhoe is a cheaper alternative but since you are talking about a 7 1/2 - 8 1/2 foot backhoe you are getting up to some good $$ and a used trackhoe might be in the same price range. Plus for digging next to a foundation the trackhoe might be a better piece of equipment. Having two pieces of equipment to maintain is a minus but having your backhoe not tie up the tractor is a plus - there will be a lot of jobs where having the two pieces of equipment will make the work go much faster. Check out Ebay - I have seen used Kubota and other brand trackhoes for $8000 - $10,000 with anywhere from 1500 - 2000 hours on them.

 

[MaineTWLSB]

I’ll try to answer some questions…

It is a very big project and probably done late in the summer (August). The bad wall is on the embankment side of the house (South face). Plan on replacing the entire corner meeting up with new wall that was put in when a bulkhead was add (see pic).

The “soil” is my biggest concern (no way a FEL will dig it with or without dentures). It is very rocky and I’m not sure what I’ll find once I start digging. I don’t believe there’s anything nasty like a ledge but could be some very big rocks. That’s why I’m curious what to expect from a BH on a CUT.

Should have plenty of help and will speak with the guy that would do the excavating if I don’t see what he thinks.

Anything else let me know

John