Muck away advice

[RomanAbramovich]

I have a trench to dig for extension foundations, have called two skiphire outfits and received conflicting advice re muckaway:

One firm stated 3 8yd skips necessary, the other between 8 and 10 8yd skips!

Where they differed mostly was in how much the waste would weigh and how much it expands once out of the ground - is there a rule of thumb for calculating the volume and weight of excavated soil? 20 tonnes was mentioned as an estimated weight.

the volume (in the ground) is 6 cubic metres.

 

[noseall]

the volume (in the ground) is 6 cubic metres.

You will be lucky to get this in two skips. Why not phone a grab-loader wagon?

 

[RomanAbramovich]

this is where i excavate the trench and dump the spoil in a heap on, say, my driveway and the grab lorry comes along to scoop it away?

is this more cost effective than skips for getting spoil offsite? Been qouted 100+ vat per 8yd skip.

 

[r896neo]

If you have access enough to get a 5 ton digger (or maybe smaller depending on reach/ site levels) in there you could throw it straight into the back of a 16 tonne truck. He will have to wait around for a few minutes but you'll have the digger there anyway.

The last site i worked on was on a steep slope with lots of clay removed, it was about 150 quid per 16t load away.

 

[Nige F]

.

it was about 150 quid per 16t load away.

you load 16 tons and what do you get ? Another day older and £150 deeper in debt

 

[xr4x4]

normally soil is the only item where skip companys work on weight for load limits rather than 'level loads' for all other rubbish.

 

[gismo]

when i excavated my footings for my extension i thought i'd start off with a 6yd skip and see how far it went - i had approx 5.5cubic meters of spoil to get rid of

i used a whacker plate every time i filled up about 1foot of spoil in skip, it went a bit sloppy (damn rain) half way up but i managed to fit the whole lot in anf still had room for a few bits of junk.

my ground is topsoil/soft clay which may have helped

 

[noseall]

i used a whacker plate every time i filled up about 1foot of spoil in skip,

For the love of Jesus...!

 

[RedHerring2]

I put 6m³ of concrete in the footings, which had to be 600mm below gl, 275mm thick. So I can assume about 18m³ of spoil, which went in 2 8yd³ skips. Granted, I used the digger bucket to flatten it/whack it down.

 

[RomanAbramovich]

many thanks for the tips!

for some reason the skip hire contact estimated 6 cubic metres of clay soil will equate to 20 tonnes in weight, meaning 3 eight yard skips would be required.

however, judging from responses this is a bit excessive, and use of mechanical devices to compact the spoil in the skip will help.

a ground worker priced me 800 quid to excavate and muck away with a 3 tonne digger (access is slightly restricted to my back garden). Seems i can save a fair few hundred by using skips and hiring a mini digger for 2 days.

Many thanks all for the advice.

 

[theoldun]

The bulking factor for excavation varies in relation to the material being excavated. Examples.
Chalk 1.6. Clay 1.2. Stiff clay 1.5 Top soil 1.25 Gravel 1.1. Rock 1.5 Sand 1.05.
When estimating we always factor 1.4 for ground that we do not know the make up of, therefore 6m3 in the solid is 8.4m3 in the loose
8 cube yard skip equals 6m3, so two number 8 yard skips will suffice. In the UK we would budget for £180.00 plus VAT per skip. Your skip price is very cheap for 8 yarder.
A 6 wheel grab lorry will also lift and cart 12m3. Once again in the UK we would budget for a 6 wheel grab at £190,00 plus VAT.
As you can see grab lorry is half price of two skips.
If you do go for grab lorry, remember they have to stand sideways on to spoil heap to load.
oldun.

 

[hotrod]

i used a whacker plate every time i filled up about 1foot of spoil in skip, it went a bit sloppy (damn rain) half way up but i managed to fit the whole lot in anf still had room for a few bits of junk.

And den wen waggon driver come fer lift skip, floor fell thro .

 

[RedHerring2]

i used a whacker plate every time i filled up about 1foot of spoil in skip, it went a bit sloppy (damn rain) half way up but i managed to fit the whole lot in anf still had room for a few bits of junk.

And den wen waggon driver come fer lift skip, floor fell thro .

Excellent post, as usual, 'oldun.

Skip wagon(s) jack/foot split two 100X50 hardwood timbers battens and broke the 900 X600X50 slab. Not too important 'cos they'll all get re-done one day.