Trenched thru yard, when will it settle?

[monteu]

Just trenched thru front yard for electric to new pole barn. I want to plant this back to grass but dont want a sunk in valley thru my yard in a year. Anyone have some good ideas how to get this dirt that filled trench to settle? How long do I have to wait till I know it is good and settled?

 

[smstonypoint]

I would recommend filling the trench and then driving over the filled trench with your tractor/truck/auto a few times, filling any low spots as they appear. You can then reseed.

This procedure has worked for me, but the answer may depend on soil type -- my experience is based only on clay loam.

Steve

 

[Western]

Using a little water and packing it in "lifts" may help too. Getting as much air out as you can I think is the chore.

 

[leonz]

Just trenched thru front yard for electric to new pole barn. I want to plant this back to grass but dont want a sunk in valley thru my yard in a year. Anyone have some good ideas how to get this dirt that filled trench to settle? How long do I have to wait till I know it is good and settled?

About your trench,

You either have to rent
a pad tamper or fill the trench
completely with water to permit
settling of the finer particles
as you back fill it.

Renting the pad tamper and
adding a foot of backfill at a time
and tamping it will quickly resolve
the issue; BUT I would order a small
load of sand as you will have settling
to deal with the next year as the
frost heave will have to be dealt
with no matter what.

 

[SandburRanch]

After wetting and packing, it must dry one time before you'll know what has been accomplished then a second assessment can be made for further repair if necessary.

Sometimes good things take just a little longer.

 

[BeezFun]

Just trenched thru front yard for electric to new pole barn. I want to plant this back to grass but dont want a sunk in valley thru my yard in a year. Anyone have some good ideas how to get this dirt that filled trench to settle? How long do I have to wait till I know it is good and settled?

I mound up all the dirt that was dug out, so it looks like a giant mole went through your yard. Then throw grass seed on it. In a year or so it will be settled down to right where it started and the grass will be growing. Depending on what you buried and how deep it is, I wouldn't be inclined to drive on it to compact it. You might damage what you laid down.

 

[Johnp33]

Lots of water and a little agitation and when the water dries up the ground is settled. when we built the footings for my shop it was a couple of days untill I could get the cement, I put the sprinklers in the trench for a day and a half, straight up spray and this was after using a tamper with water for hours before finishing the forms, I turned off the water, and the next day we had to build up quite a few areas and this in in ground that is mostly rock.

 

[ericher69]

In the trench rescue world 25 yrs is what is considered undisturbed soil...

What I'm trying to say is pack it in lifts all you want you will still get settling over the years

How deep is the trench? Any gravel/sand added?

 

[2458n]

Pipeline for small projects. When a trencher was used a backhoe just pushed it back into the trench. Just pushed it back in like plowing snow. The front bucket was filled with dirt and the front wheel was rolled along the trench length. By "wheel rolling " in this manner we avoided a lot of call backs for yard repair from sinking. Always more dirt that comes out of hole than goes back in.

 

[s219]

Fill trench half way, then soak it. Then fill with remaining dirt and soak again. I have done this for thousands of feet of sprinkler trenches, and never had any issues.