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+-- Thread: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? (/showthread.php?tid=7350288)
Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - Wild Turkey - 09-14-2019
Basement walls have been poured so I'm starting to backfill but I'm concerned about getting it right.
It ranges for 12' to 2' deep and 2' to 8' wide (LOML decided house needed to be turned a few degrees
Soil is sandy but DRY. Hasn't rained for weeks and don't have any in the forecast.
Can I pump water out of our creek and "water pack" it like we did back in Texas?
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - fixtureman - 09-14-2019
You have to be careful not to get it to wet before the walls are set Hydraulic pressure could force the walls in and crack them.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - jamesglenn - 09-14-2019
You should not back fill until the floor framing and sheathing has been installed. Backfilling before this might cause the walls to tip inward or crack.
Also, fill in lifts. every couple feet you pack it gently and then fill some more and repeat. I have not heard or seen of water packing, but it doesn't seem like the best method. As mentioned above, hydro-static pressure might be an issue, especially if you do not have footing draings.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - Snipe Hunter - 09-14-2019
Y'all should see some of the AC condensers I inspect a couple years after the house was built. They set the pad on the backfill and in a year or two the condenser is leaning against the house.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - Turner52 - 09-14-2019
Around here all AC contractors are now setting condensors on brakets bolted to foundation. I would go ahead and backfill dry. If you are going to soak the sand then wait untill joists are set and fastened. I don't know who is framing, but around here you will pay a premium if not backfilled. Much harder and time consuming if ground is not up to wall height. I have done it a number of times without bacfill. Royal pain in the backside. If in doubt you can brace the concrete walls on the inside. If we did that we would put a 2x8 upright against the wall and then brace to interior footings either the pads for jack posts or against the footing for a center supporting basement wall. Assuming you do not have a clear span with no interior footings. That can be done with deep floor trusses, but not real common around here. With that much fill area make sure any concrete sidewalks or driveways are either sitting partway on top of the wall or drill rerod into wall. I would add extra rerod in the slabs espeially if in the area of the most fill away from the foundation. Otherwise your slabs will settle and slant toward the house instead of away.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - Stwood_ - 09-15-2019
I would dry fill, and let it settle on it's own. After the floor framing.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - ajkoontz - 09-15-2019
(09-14-2019, 04:54 PM)Wild Turkey Wrote: Basement walls have been poured so I'm starting to backfill but I'm concerned about getting it right.
It ranges for 12' to 2' deep and 2' to 8' wide (LOML decided house needed to be turned a few degrees
Soil is sandy but DRY. Hasn't rained for weeks and don't have any in the forecast.
Can I pump water out of our creek and "water pack" it like we did back in Texas?
I build roads and bridges for a living. What you're proposing is 'a thing' but if you're asking questions about it on a woodworking forum, I wouldn't recommend it. Our specs don't allow it ("water packing", we call it flooding or hydro compaction) if that tells you anything.
If you're going to do it anyway, it works best with a sandy or granular material. Too much clay and the clay just swells and you're working in mud instead of dirt. Better to add a little water (optimum moisture content) and do in lifts with mechanical compaction than to flood it. Hard to describe optimum moisture for a sandy soil without doing an actual test, but you want it a little damp but not puddles. Better to overshoot (a little) than to be too dry. Plus listen to all the other advice about letting the concrete cure, etc.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - ajkoontz - 09-15-2019
(09-15-2019, 03:14 PM)ajkoontz Wrote: I build roads and bridges for a living. What you're proposing is 'a thing' but if you're asking questions about it on a woodworking forum, I wouldn't recommend it. Our specs don't allow it ("water packing", we call it flooding or hydro compaction) if that tells you anything.
If you're going to do it anyway, it works best with a sandy or granular material. Too much clay and the clay just swells and you're working in mud instead of dirt. Better to add a little water (optimum moisture content) and do in lifts with mechanical compaction than to flood it. Hard to describe optimum moisture for a sandy soil without doing an actual test, but you want it a little damp but not puddles. Better to overshoot (a little) than to be too dry. Plus listen to all the other advice about letting the concrete cure, etc.
Better yet, get a load or two of pea gravel for backfill and use the excavated soil for landscaping. That's probably what I'd do.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - mad_planter - 09-15-2019
(09-14-2019, 04:54 PM)Wild Turkey Wrote: Basement walls have been poured so I'm starting to backfill but I'm concerned about getting it right.
It ranges for 12' to 2' deep and 2' to 8' wide (LOML decided house needed to be turned a few degrees
Soil is sandy but DRY. Hasn't rained for weeks and don't have any in the forecast.
Can I pump water out of our creek and "water pack" it like we did back in Texas?
What someone else mentioned is spot on; Don't back fill until the floor is in. Also what provision did you make for drainage around the walls? If nothing yet, you might want to consider burying some perforated pipe and back filling with gravel to reduce the hydraulic pressure against the walls and help keep your basement dry.
RE: Getting fill "settled" -- what works for you? - Cooler - 09-16-2019
When I had my basement waterproofed about 22 years ago, they dug up and scrubbed the walls and then painted the walls with roofing tar. Then they put in 2" rigid foam insulation panels then drainage sand all feeding into a drainage pipe that lead away from the house. The basement has never leaked since.
We have a lot of sub-surface clay and the rain water saturates to the clay level and then starts flowing horizontally to the basement wall. I could have installed a French drain for less money, but this method seemed more fool-proof.
My house sits on the highest point in town-- a good 150 feet above the rest of the town and nearly 300 feet above sea level, so ground water is not an issue. Indeed by the time ground water would be an issue, my home and 20 others would be the only surviving homes in town (albeit with wet basements).
I understand that they produce a 2" thick panel that resembles a very thick scotchbrite pad. It has landscaping fabric laminated to one side and a waterproof skin on the other. It is supposed to replace the drainage sand. I've never seen i sold however and I could not find it online. It sounds nearly ideal though.
I think this is the stuff: https://www.archiexpo.com/prod/optigruen-international-ag/product-66714-1769895.html
Specifically this page: https://www.archiexpo.com/prod/afitex/product-1588-306399.html?utm_source=ProductDetail&utm_medium=Web&utm_content=SimilarProduct&utm_campaign=CA