Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Mar 18, 2009 10:07 am Whilst actual footings excavation is reasonably skilled, I was thinking of doing my own site scrape with a bobcat.
I have an area of maybe 300m2 to clear, flat site, just grass, no trees or shrubs etc and just wondered if anyone could give me any tips on how much I need to remove, how to get the best out of a bobcat etc? Thanks JB Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 2Mar 18, 2009 10:31 am I did my own but I can't help you much as it was already a pretty flat site and I left it up to the skills of the bobcat driver.
We used screw piers and flat slab and did have to get some sand in to bring it above the councils flood level. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 3Mar 18, 2009 12:54 pm What is a bobcat worth to hire?
A bobcat & operator should be around $80-85 an hour... It's worth getting someone to do the scrape for you... And depending on what the block is like, use a drott instead... It at least has some compaction of the subsoil through track rollling... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 4Mar 18, 2009 12:59 pm chuth77 What is a bobcat worth to hire? A bobcat & operator should be around $80-85 an hour... It's worth getting someone to do the scrape for you... And depending on what the block is like, use a drott instead... It at least has some compaction of the subsoil through track rollling... Thanks for that, a bobcat is about $300 for a day so you are right, should get someone else to do it. JB Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 5Mar 18, 2009 3:29 pm hey jb we did our own hired bobcat for weekend took off top soil great fun but the guy we got to do the holes would have been cheaper then us hiring as he whipped that little sucker around so fast he would of cleared our site in a few hours and saved us heaps but live and learn.
my advice get the bob cat guy its cheaper, not as much fun Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 6Mar 18, 2009 10:54 pm James Bond just wondered if anyone could give me any tips on how much I need to remove, You want to remove as little as possible to gain a level surface for slab prep. Have you got access to a dumpy or laser level or Do you know how to take accurate levels over a large area? if not maybe just get someone else to look after it. Its not hard but you can make a mess out of it if you dont know what your doing and it could end up costing you more in the long run. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 7Mar 19, 2009 1:57 am Hi JB, over here we get soil testing done first, so u then know if & how much fill needs to be bought in. i recon it would be cheaper to get an "experienced house pad" bobcat man as most of these chaps have access to sand fill at a better price than u can get it & if u want to save money & theres not much fill, hire a compactor & walk arouind behind that
most cutting is to either level or remove vegetation so ur on "hard" soil base, but u need to know the clay content of that for footing details. if u haven't done so, have a talk to ur local council could save money cheers tony Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 8Mar 19, 2009 6:09 am Thanks for all the replies guys - reckon I'll get someone else in to do it!
JB Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 9Apr 30, 2009 12:56 pm Hi all Just read your posts. I’m at the point of trying to do it myself also. I was quoted via the builder $1800. I think it a bit rich. It a good flat block, did the levels myself and got them done by the pros. I know it’s got 450 fall over the building in print. They have told me I need 600mm, 300 cut 300 fill. It only needs to be cut at the top left corner & fill top right corner. So I think they are charging too much. I asked a few contractors, hard for them to estimate also how I know if they have done it to the correct standard for the builder, as they have their own guy. Also he mentioned something about the step down for the garage & alfresco. If he puts them in the wrong spot I’m in trouble. Site scrap & cut & fill. Whats the difference? If ya got a flat block & doing a Waffle P. slab can’t you just leave the vegetation on the ground its only light grass? Why do the need to take it off? I’m starting to think it may be best, not the cheapest, to leave it to them. I know it’s over priced but will I save much and get an OK job by doing it myself? What’s a fair price for a site scrap only to remove vegetation. With project builders is it inc. the home price or extra? What do you think of the quoted price? Thanks guys appreciate your knowledge & advice. Cheers KW……….. “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 10Apr 30, 2009 5:48 pm hey kw if in doubt use the pros if you have more time then research more and do yourself having said that our next house we will get a builder to set out and box it up for a slab which we will get our own concreters to do foundations are the most important part of the build so getting it right now is everything good luck stay safe happy building Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 11Apr 30, 2009 6:07 pm Bingo Thanks, that was something I forgot to mention. It is the foundations we are playing with so if thats not right its all up hill from there. Dont like the price but will go with it and save a few bucks on some thing elles. Cheers KW.... “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 12Feb 19, 2011 2:11 pm G'day, I thought I'd post my quick question here rather than start a new post.
Our block was just scraped, and in one corner of the block they dug quite a deep hole. Does anyone know what this is for? The hole is not located under the pad at all, this spot was just going to be garden. We are not on mains storm water, the builder is not putting in any soak wells, and the sewage drains, power & water are at the front of the block. Picture below It's a little hard to see as the sun was shining as always in Perth! http://s1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc4 ... Guildford/ Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 13Feb 19, 2011 3:22 pm i've done a bit of this myself:- But from what i can see, did he cart that sand into the block or level what was there?? Cos it looks very much to me that, that back corner was the highest level of sand, & i think perhaps he ran out of sand & rather than getting another load, "pinched" a bit from the highest corner to finish off the job.....i can't see why else he would do that. i'd have no objections to that if it was the case, but IMO he should have levelled it out again - that is untidy. other possibility is that perhaps he hasn't finished the job....& got call off somewhere - i'd certainly be ringing him & asking whats happened. has that been compacted yet? cheers tony Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 14Feb 19, 2011 3:38 pm The hole in the backyard is to take the sand that they dig out for footings & soakwells. After the slab is done and the soakwells installed, the bobcat will come back and pick up the sand that has been dug out and thrown oustide the building area and place it back into the hole. It is also a good spot to get extra fill from when doing the initial siteworks. Ultimately it saves money because instead of bringing fill in to get the levels right and then taking soil away after footings and soakwells are dug they just make use of the sand that is already there. Just a re-distribution. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 15Feb 20, 2011 2:14 pm Well that seems like quite a reasonable explanation indeed! Thank you. This is our first build so I'll probably be asking a lot of green questions. To be honest they can leave the hole there if they wanted, I'll make it in to a pond or a plunge pool haha Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 16Feb 20, 2011 11:03 pm Interesting modern concept Chippy.....so where do u get the sand to infill ready for the slab, after the brickup from the footings? i was just doing a few quick calculations on that hole, and sand at what price in the city $13- $20 c/m perhaps? and a contractor does 3 levels a week - hmmmm thats covers the beer for Xmas & pays the fuel for the loader for the day. i'd have no objections to that practice IF that option was put to the owner BEFORE the work commenced, but Zac obviously wasn't given any option. if its not a rude question Zac, what diid it cost to fill, level & compact that block? Cheers Tony. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 17Feb 21, 2011 12:15 am T&V, there is no fill after brick up. The pad is finished to the under side of slab and is level and compact. The footings are then dug to finish 2 courses below slab, then side of slab is formed up around edge and poured the next day. You can go up to to a 6 course footing set down before they have to do a brick up and even at six courses the pad is still set out the same. One of the biggest expenses in earthworks is the tipping fees. So instead of bringing in fill to get a pad up to level, the earthworker digs a hole in the back corner to use the sand from there to get the pad to correct level. Then once the footings are dug and soakwells are dug, instead of having to remove all the sand and pay tipping fees they just push it back into the hole. Ultimately your earthworks will be cheaper. My earthworker was going to have to bring in fill at our place so he did a site clean and then dug in my 3x 1800 soakwells. No need for fill any more. I guess it all depends on your site and what is needed, but the way it was done on Zac's site was probably the cheapest way to go. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 18Feb 21, 2011 4:32 am Chippy i'm all ears, if this is the go, which i'm not doubting u at all, ur in the trade, i'm retired. But i certainly don't like the idea of ur house only being 100mm above ur pad level (ie thickness of old slab - let alone 75 mm with some slabs that i'm now hearing about)!!!! u must end up with very deep footing & plumbing as a result. Class S soil, full masonary construct, footings r going to be min of 400 down from underslab side. sorry but i'd stick to footings finishing at pad height with a 3 course brick finishing level with top of slab & hand compac footing spoils under the slab. not too worried if u get a once in 200 year flood accross ur yard then - but i see where ur coming from on overall cost saving by sitting slab on the pad - just not for me.... i also cant get my head around this one level yard bit, i'd be setting a dome effect where the buildings were going, rather than possibility of having water sitting next to structure. But its a cost driven world. thanx for taking time to correct me. whats a c/m of sand worth in Perth/\. cheers tony. Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 19Feb 21, 2011 10:03 am Hi Tony. Brick build ups are avoided wherever possible because they add to the cost substantially. You need to get the the earthworker through, then the grano worker then the bricklayer and then get the earthworker and grano worker back to do the slab. My house incorporates split level and a dropped footing to the back to allow for a sloping block. From the entrance at 0 course I've got 1 room at -2 course and the rest at -4. then the footings to the back of the -4 area are 6 courses down. This was all poured in 3 days. Footings on day 1 along with plumber and sparky pre-lay, the form ups were done the next afternoon and then slab the next day. The beauty is that a week later the brickies can start. The grano workers form it all up. The limit for this style is 6 courses set downs, any more and you have to start to have brick ups. In the Perth Metro there would be very few slabs that aren't done like this. Even complex slabs are easily achieved this way. Personally I don't like heaps of steps to get into a house, the closer to ground level the better. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Did anyone do their own site scrape? 20Feb 21, 2011 12:33 pm Thanxs Chippy - final questions then i'll leave u in peace - If u have zero brick up, is the plumbing going out thru the footings? If u have a verandah floor, the top of which is normal 1 brick down under doorways, u would have to dig out the ground to pour the verandah floor i guess? Zac - what did the sand, level & compact cost? all very interesting - Cheers tony. Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20355 No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11569 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13063 |