Glen & Kris Denning → Home Improvement → Retaining Wall < Previous Next >
We started excavating at the SW corner of our house and moved north. Since we've got the backhoe on site, I'm also carving out a flat spot for a future shed. Digging out this area by hand would probably take 10 man hours, but with the backhoe, we were done in about 20 minutes.
The soil is a combination of good fill (simlar to pit run) with occasional areas of very hard clay and rock. Take a swing at the ground with a pick ax and it sinks in just a few inches each time.
In the foreground, the top layer of soil is visible. It is an extremely dense mat of roots and vegetation that has to be cut with a fire ax during hand work.
Next: Kris finishes the initial excavation.