Trenched thru yard, when will it settle?

[flusher]

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?

Here's what my contractor did when he installed the leach line for my septic system



That was in late 2005. Never have had a hint of settling along that trench since then. Nothing like using a big, heavy CAT TLB to get compaction:thumbsup:

Good luck.

 

[bigtiller]

What I did many years ago was to screw my garden hose onto a 4 foot long piece of 1/2 inch galvanized water pipe. Then turn the water on full blast and jam about 14 inches of the pipe into the back filled trench every foot or so. It was easy to do until I hit an area where the trenching machine ran over the trench and compacted the soil in the trench.

After it dried I ran the tiller over it and seeded it. I never seen any settling after that.


Edit: Change that to 3/4 inch pipe. 1/2 is too small.

 

[buckeye4life]

I trenched a 4 foot wide 5 ft deep trench around the property for a geo-thermal line and after 2 years, the only trace that a trench was dug is the slightly different color of the grass their. This was due to all the clay content of the soil that was backfilled. Most of the rest of the property has 6-12 inches of dark rich soil. If I knew then what I know now, I would have layered a few inches of top soil on top of the trench before seeding. The trench had started to fill with water prior to back filling, so that probably helped with the settling as the prior post have indicated.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Welcome Buckeye4life!!!

I trenched all over my yard last fall and am about to reseed. trenches filled and sat all winter with rain and are still settling, even after driving the tractor over them. It's amazing how much dirt I have left over.

 

[rambler]

It always takes 2 winters (deep freeze here in MN) for the clay soil here for a trench to settle out close to right. You think you got it to settle down the 1st year, but will drop more the 2nd. There are sometimed pockets thatdrop in a little 5 years later, if we get unusual rain or something.

Watering it hard or tamping it in 8 inch or so lifts will do a lot as others say, but more often than not will settle some for a year or 2 in spring....

--->Paul

 

[bucktaker]

I backfilled my septic and drain lines and left them heaped over the trench and allowed it to settle for a year on their own. Next year
i ran a little mantis tiller down the line to scratch the surface and planted seed. 17yrs later still no depression but you can tell where the leach lines are because the grass is always a little greener

 

[buckeyefarmer]

actually I don't mind a little dip where the trench was, because then I know where the pipe is. My well line has a little dip, the line from my septic to the diverter box has a slight dip, it's kind of nice knowing exactly where it is.

 

[vtsnowedin]

A couple of things:
Different soil types require different amounts of water to compact easily. the right amount is called the optimum moisture content and is determined by a Proctor test.
Using a water pipe ,called jetting ,works OK in sandy soils but will make a mess of a clay trench.
If you need it to be smooth this year back-fill your trench in layers no more than six inches thick and add water to the optimum content ( moist but not mud if you are doing it by eye) and compact each layer with a plate compactor or hand tamps down in the trench and with wheel traffic from your tractor on the top four lifts.
If crossing a paved driveway fill and patch ,temporarily and wait through one winter, then cut it back a foot on each side and repave in at least two lifts with emulsion sealer applied to the edges of each lift.
The deeper the trench the more settlement your going to get.
And most importantly if the trench is more then four feet deep no person should be allowed to go into the trench without a trench shoring box in place. Your project is not worth getting someone injured or killed.