On Sun, 30 May 1999 20:49:46 -0600, David Leikis wrote:
> I have what may seem like a rather silly question, but I would like some
> advice from some that may have encountered this before.
>
> I will very soon be digging a hole 7 feet X 3.5 feet X 3.5 feet in my
> back yard to install my self-supporting crankup tower. I have checked
> out several options to do this and here are the basic options.
I just went through this. Let me say right off, it will depend highly
on what your soil is like. I was surprised when I saw how easy mine was
to dig. I hired a guy from Job Service for $6/hr. I told him I thought
it might take one to two days. It took a half day for the original hole
3.5' by 6' deep. I had him help me with some cleanup around the yard to
finish out the promised 6 hour minimum. He used a post hole digger to
get the surface started, and a shovel to dig the rest of the hole.
> 1. Get a shovel and dig the hole.
> Problems:
> a. Danger of hole collapse with someone in there over their head.
While I considered that (especially later when I was the one in the hole
enlarging it), in my soil, it isn't a problem. YMMV.
> b. Lack of working room to move the shovel.
Short handled flat nosed spade from the farm supply.
> c. Need to use a bucket brigade method of getting the dirt out.
Wasn't a problem. Digger just threw the dirt out to the wheel barrow
parked next to the hole. When digging the last couple of feet, we just
made a pile next to the hole. I later used a bucket to clean out the
bottom when I enlarged the it. Used a 5 gallon bucket, but found it was
more weight than was comfortable to lift when full.
> d. Lots of hard work.
True, but depends on the soil and what kind of shape you are in.
> 2. Rent a small back hoe tractor. ( A good option is the "TerraMite"
> yard tractor.)
I'm told an expert operator can do square sided holes, but I'm not one.
The typical back-hoe will dig a tapered hole. The desire is to have it
as square as possible, or even belled out at the bottom for better
leverage. That's one reason I later enlarged my hole. The digger had
dug a round hole. I wanted it square and wanted to bell it. The soil
turned out to be quite hard at the bottom, so I settled for a deeper
hole, instead of the bell.
> 3. Hire a group of small children with sand shovels and challenge them
> to 'dig to China'.
Darn, hadn't even thought of that one!
Each situation is different. I recently saw someone's web page where
they showed the digging of a base for a self supporting tower. It was
right after I had dug my hole, and I was very thankful it was him and
not me. He had huge boulders (bigger than a human head) throughout the
dig.
Good luck. I'm working on web pages for the project now. Lots of
pictures.
Gary
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