Where to get info on digging a basement?

[cc-rider]

The library has NOTHING. I found a few that say "once you've hired the basement done"....

Is it difficult to dig it yourself? To get it ready to have cement poured? I could rent equipment, I suppose. I'm thinking 24' x 24' plus an adjoining 12' x 24' slab. I intend on using dry-stacked blocks and then parging them.

Still trying to do that "pay as I go" thing! <grin>

Chris

[bumpus]

Originally Posted by cc-rider

The library has NOTHING. I found a few that say "once you've hired the basement done"....

Is it difficult to dig it yourself? To get it ready to have cement poured? I could rent equipment, I suppose. I'm thinking 24' x 24' plus an adjoining 12' x 24' slab. I intend on using dry-stacked blocks and then parging them.

Still trying to do that "pay as I go" thing! <grin>

Chris

You can not put fill dirt up against wall with out mortor.

Even when you do it will have to be done right or it will cave in.

You will have to have footers and footer drains also.

Also floor drainage to the out side.

If you have never ran equipment you better get someone who does.

You may have codes to meet in order to get insurance.

bumpus
.

[Hoop]

Hire it done. If you know how to run the equipment, chances are you know someone in the biz. If you don't know how to run the equipment, it will take awhile to get to know it, and you won't do as good of a job getting it level. Its doubtful you can even rent a big excavator, as owners of these aren't exactly willing to turn a bunch of cowboys loose with their expensive equipment. Your savings by doing it yourself will be negligible.

Is it going to be a walkout basement? If so, you'll need a frostwall.

The basement floor is poured AFTER the walls are completed. Often, the floor is poured after the roof is on. Be sure your rough plumbing is completed CORRECTLY before pouring the basement floor. For this, the services of a plumber are worth every penny. They are versed on current building code and do these types of things every day.

Very few people are capable of doing 100% of the building process. Know your limits.

By the way, building using the dry stack method results in some very oddball sizes. My basement, built using the dry stack method has dimensions of 41'4" x 28'2". It is the nature of the dry stack method.

[farminghandyman]

look in to the foam forms, water proof the out side via manufactures recommendations, but about as easy for a diy there is,

a poured wall in my opinion is best, but I know it is not always possible,

I would not do a dry stack, and if I did mortar I would do the Knock out blocks and re-bar ever third row or second row and up rights ever 4' or so and fill the voids solid, there is a lot of pressure on the back fill, and it never lets up it jsut pushes harder and harder, and if you have any expansive soils it will cave or bow the wall in in time,

hire some some one with a back hoe, it will probably be cheaper than renting as they will have it done in a few hr, and you may take days,

get a good book on building with foundations, and or a copy of the local building codes, many cover the footings and drainage and fill requirements for your area,

[Peace n Quiet]

Around here, the equipment is readily available for rental. BUT is very expensive. I second that an experienced operator will get the job done much faster, thus cheaper than a novice with rental equipment.
Another option - consider buying a backhoe and toying around with it. Use it til you can build the foundation and then sell it. You should recoup your money if you bought wisely.

[michiganfarmer]

Part of my house was on a crawl space. 15'x30'. I dug it out by hand so it was 8 feet deep. I then poured new footing, took the existing block down(it was above my head by the time I dug down to a besement) and laid new block from the new footing up to the house.


Dig it by hand

[cc-rider]

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Dig it by hand

I've thought about that, but spent FOREVER just digging a hole to see how deep I could go without hitting water. The ground is as hard as a rock. It has ALOT of clay, very little stone (actually, didn't hit any!)

I could run my tractor-mounted rototiller over an area and then scoop it out. It would take forever. I can hire a basement dug, poured and backfilled for about $9K. Was hoping to not have to spend that much.

I've looked into the foam forms, too, but I still have to dig the basement out first..... that's the hangup.

[Ramblin Wreck]

Ex FIL dug his out by hand, but he also used small charges of dynamite to loosen things up. I'm not sure individuals can buy dynamite any longer, and even if you could, you would need training on the proper handling and use of it. An experienced operator on an excavator is probably your surest route. Finding a good deal on a backhoe and then selling it afterwards might work, but your risk goes up. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

[bill not in oh]

Chris... When I built the addition on my house in NM I had a backhoe operator dig the footers for the posts (3'X3'). He came over late one morning, punched the holes and graded the entire area down 4-10" (I wanted the area under the addition for a car port). He was finished before I could have driven to the rental yard if I had rented a hoe and the area was graded perfectly for drainage. He charged me $100 for the six footers and the grading. One of the 'tricks' to hiring an owner/operator is to let them know way in advance of when you want it done and give them as much leeway in time as possible. That way when they have another job near you, they may not charge a site fee for bringing the equipment - I dodged the $50 he charged to show up with his tractor that way.

Bill

[shadowwalker]

CC dont know how old you are. But I did dig a basement about 17 years ago. I had help. Another stubbern neighbor that owed me favors. First we staked out the area bigger than the basement. We then took turns makeing passes over the ground with a 11 horsepower rear tine rototiller. After we mad a few passes we'd get in there with a wheelbarrow. As we made the basement and got lower and lower. We also had two places we had to go in and out with the wheelbarrow filled. Now make your dirt piles at least thirty feet from the walls of the basement. And a rope on the front of the wheelbarrow to help pull the thing up the incline will help alot.
We were in our late thirties when we did this. My friend is still doing this. HE now uses a fourwheeler and two little wagons that will haul 800 lbs each.
After we had thebasement dug we hired a company to pour it. That is really something you DON'T want to do your self, unless you know how and have all the stuff to do it. A small wall of cement only a couple feet tall will get out of hand fast.

[highlands]

You can do it yourself. I have. To many details to say all in a post. Get some books. There are lots on construction of foundations. Google. Time well spent. It isn't hard to do but if you do research before hand you'll save money and time. Do something small to learn on.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

[Windy in Kansas]

I have seen a basement dug with nothing but a tractor equipped with a front end loader.

Basically the operator made sloping dirt ramps on opposing walls and just kept removing the soil deeper and further away from the end of each ramp.

The tractor used was a 930 Case and took most of the day to dig the basement for a 1600 sq foot or larger home.

Soil was clay, but not a real tight make up type.

[ibcnya]

CC-rider, first off, what is your budget? What is your time limit? Are you digging flat ground or a slope? Are you planning for an 8 ft. basement or something a little shallower with a berm? What kind of soil are you digging? Alot of people have these same questions but get somewhat tired of asking. More info would be helpful to anyone reading this thread.
I first tried digging my own with a skid loader on tracks but couldn't peel the clay it was that tough. I ended up hiring a track hoe and 700 dollars later my hole was "almost" level and into the side of the hill. Should of done that from the get go.....

[cc-rider]

Originally Posted by ibcnya

CC-rider, first off, what is your budget? What is your time limit? Are you digging flat ground or a slope? Are you planning for an 8 ft. basement or something a little shallower with a berm? What kind of soil are you digging?

Let's see if I can give more information....
I'm on fairly level ground. I built a barn about 50 foot away, and there was a 2' drop in the whole 50'. But it was on more of a hill than the house lot will be. The ground is very hard...clay.

The reason to dig the basement in the first place is because I need the fill dirt to level the barn. That 2' drop thing. I could bring in truck loads of stone, but I'm guessing 2K just to level the barn with stone! I'd rather use that 2K to dig the basement and use the dirt to fill the barn. (I'll still need to top it off with stone, at some point)

I only want to go about 5' deep with the hole. I think I can avoid hitting water if I do that. I'll put about 3-4' out of ground and build a deck around the whole thing. I'm only talking a 24 X 24 basement.

There are other spots on the farm that I could level off better and use the dirt if digging the basement is a bad idea. I still haven't ruled out the idea of just building the house on a post/beam foundation and not having a basement, but I like the idea of the extra storage - especially with a 24X24 little house.

Time frame. I need to get the barn filled in before bad weather just because the posts on one side are only about 2' in the ground. I need the additional 2' of fill on that side --- if only to steady the barn in bad weather.

I REALLY like to be dryed in in a cabin by winter, too. (But could live in the barn if necessary).

Funds. I have the 2K. Anything else would have to be financed....which I've been avoiding so far. I've been paying as I go.

I have a small... I mean SMALL....kubota tractor with a bucket loader on the front, a small blade, and a 5' tiller. I've been able to use the tiller to soften the dirt and move SMALL loads with the loader. I haven't got the controls down well, and spend more time using a shovel and filling the bucket.

There is a rental place close that I can rent ANYTHING, however. Big CATS...

Thanks for your help!
CC

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by cc-rider

I haven't got the controls down well, and spend more time using a shovel and filling the bucket.


CC

If you can't run a small tractor a large excavator is way out of you experiance level.

Now that said if you ask around you may find someone to dig it for less than the 2 grand you have.

Figure 600 to come. Then 250 an hour for the machine and operator. It will take about 4 hours. So you should get it done for about 1600.

Also, Don't use the dry stack method for sub grade. You should place the block on a good footer and grout the holes in if you want it to last.

[Macybaby]

When we put on the addition, 12*20, we hired someone to dig the whole. I think the cost was about $600 for that, but we had a lot of water lines run too so not sure on the break.

Guy did a super job, only had minimal work leveling it for footings. We set forms and poured footings. Hired a mix truck to come for that. Then we put up the "fold a form" or something like that. Insulated blocks just like oversized leggos. Hired pump truck for $400 and two loads of reddymix for the walls. The insulated forms cost about $1,800. That was the most expensive part.

Got a load of sand and one more truck of cement, and DH leveled it himself.