Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [soil]

34 questions
16
votes
3 answers

Any problem to build a house that covers a same-sized hole in the ground?

I have recently bought a piece of land to build a country cottage and perhaps eventually move there permanently. The terrain is sloped with only a few flat spots. The former owners dug a large rectangular hole in one of these flat spots, with about…
heltonbiker
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7
votes
5 answers

Does the quality of fill dirt matter?

Does the quality of fill dirt matter? For example, in my application, I need to fill an area where I'm planning to have a gravel patio. I picked up a yard of dirt from a local supply place and, upon coming come, I discovered that contained a few…
Wynne
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6
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2 answers

How long does it take for ground to become sufficiently compact to bear the weight of an above-ground pool?

The back of my property has a couple of drops down toward the final elevation, sort of a terraced effect. The first of those drops I retained with a timber retaining wall in order to make the backyard area closest to the house a level space. The…
DonBoitnott
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6
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5 answers

Wood fence posts in clay

I'm installing a wooden fence around my back yard using prebuilt cedar panels and 10 ft (3+ m) 4x4 pressure treated posts buried 3 1/2 to 4ft (1+ m) deep. The posts are packed in with pea gravel to allow for drainage. Most of the post holes I've dug…
psaxton
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4
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5 answers

How can I prevent my AC condensate pipe from making my soil soggy?

I live in a Townhouse in NC, in a community under a HOA management. I've been doing some improvements on my patio. One of them that I couldn't find a solution is what to do with the condensed water from the AC draining. My AC is installed in the…
graygoo
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3
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2 answers

How to drain grey water in clay ground in safe and secured manner

I have a building which sits on top of clay ground so I couldn't soak away the grey water. I explored solutions like leechfield,soakaway,cement ring well but all fails in clay ground. I'd like some insights on how to handle the grey water coming…
CuriousMan
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3
votes
3 answers

Exposed foundation and large egress well - need help

New to this website. I wanted to ask a question regarding our new home that is being built. There is a large chunk of foundation in one corner of the house that is exposed, along with a very tall egress well (see picture below of one of us standing…
Lamps
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3
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1 answer

How to excavate hole when only 30% of perimeter is accessible to tractor?

I need to dig a circular hole, 20 ft in diameter, and approximately 4 ft deep. The shape is important, it shouldn't be approximately a circle, but a nice clean circle. The bottom can be flat or round, doesn't matter. I can clean it up with a hand…
Village
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3
votes
2 answers

Cementing in around soil pipe exiting around brick wall. Is this required?

I've had a loft extension done on my house, all has gone pretty well. The last snagging point was that I spotted that the soil pipe hadn't been sealed in where it exits the wall. The guy on site put some expanding foam around on the internal wall so…
gbro3n
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3
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1 answer

Compacting soil after removing fence posts to install new posts with vibratory ram?

I have a 6 foot wooden privacy fence I am looking to replace. Several of the posts are rotting right at ground level so their concrete footings are going to have to go. A company sells a metal fencepost that is meant to be hidden and present the…
whatsisname
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2 answers

Why don't segmental retaining walls need any piers or anchoring below grade?

I have built two soldier pile retaining walls (where you slot the boards between I-Beams you sink into the ground) with good success - but that success was due to: sinking the piles at least their above ground height (ie. 5 feet above and 5 feet…
user227963
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2
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Prevent Dirt Movement Down Slope Through Gap Under Fence

I have a fence that separates my land from my neighbors and I'd like to figure out how to prevent dirt from washing onto my land from the 2" gap under the fence. It's a painted wood fence with horizontal wood. There is a slight slope to my…
Ben Willmore
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0 answers

Do I really need plinth protection around my building

My two floor building is built on top of clay ground. I asked my engineer , would it be worthwhile to do plinth protection around the building. so we can avoid rain water from seeping in to the foundation. My engineer responded that it's not…
Amogam
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1
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2 answers

How far should cement ring well be from building wall

I have a Residential building(India) which has no space in both front and back yard. It's a newly built two storey building( 3 houses ). There is 5 feet space available parallel to building wall. As the sand is clay , I couldn't do soakway to drain…
CuriousMan
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1
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1 answer

Can bushes help keep driveway and patio gravel stable?

My front yard has a U-shaped driveway on a significant slope. The arrows in the diagram below indicate the downward direction of the slope. From the bottom right to the top left, the elevation drops about 3'. According to my design, there will be a…
Wynne
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