I had no clue about this work. Had my new property backfill all around the house 10-20 ft wide (3ft-1ft depth) with "wet" clean fill in winter conditions. Ground was extremely uneven so had to put something to smooth out the area. Contractor said it won't be much of an issue during winter and I trusted him. He really struggled with skid steer to spread it across. He was able to dump it all but place now looks like a mess, very muddy, still uneven (but better than before) and it's against house concrete/foundation as well which really concerns me. This was a bad call, but what can I do to negate any potential issue. Really hard trusting bad professionals with this stuff
Thank you for the straight to the point, pointers. I believe your warning about wet fill but I'm left guessing that it does not flow and distribute as well as dry, creating localized stress against a wall not yet braced by the first floor. I can cheaply cover it in plastic so it drains dry over weeks prior to backfill, but for pure sand fill, am I being obsessive?
Thanks for the video. I am getting ready to start a new project for my family. I am curious about what you typically would use to backfill around the foundation when there is a full basement?
Do you tamp the clear gravel in any location, garage, foundation perimeter, etc. I know you bring it up in lifts but do you tamp those lifts in any area during backfil. Thanks in advance.
Building your floor system is 100% the best way to go. Unfortunately a lot of the times there is no room for a delivery and it is not safe for the framers so we are stuck with backfilling our foundations first. If you follow the steps I'm laying out you should not have any problems. Use dry fill and evenly work your way up starting at the corners.
Excellent presentation. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Great posting, good advise for my next build. Thank you Mark!
My pleasure Scott. Best of luck on your build!
Hi Mark! As usual I’m not exactly sure what’s goin on here... but you make it interesting!
thanks for the advice. 👍
My pleasure
We never backfill until the basement floor has been poured and the floor joists and sheathing are installed.
awesome
awesome vid, thank you
Glad you liked it!
Clay cap. So I've heard 8 to 12 inches of top soil over a clay cap. But how thick should the clay cap be? Any recommendations?
I had no clue about this work. Had my new property backfill all around the house 10-20 ft wide (3ft-1ft depth) with "wet" clean fill in winter conditions. Ground was extremely uneven so had to put something to smooth out the area. Contractor said it won't be much of an issue during winter and I trusted him. He really struggled with skid steer to spread it across. He was able to dump it all but place now looks like a mess, very muddy, still uneven (but better than before) and it's against house concrete/foundation as well which really concerns me. This was a bad call, but what can I do to negate any potential issue. Really hard trusting bad professionals with this stuff
Thank you for the straight to the point, pointers. I believe your warning about wet fill but I'm left guessing that it does not flow and distribute as well as dry, creating localized stress against a wall not yet braced by the first floor. I can cheaply cover it in plastic so it drains dry over weeks prior to backfill, but for pure sand fill, am I being obsessive?
I'm not sure, I would contact an engineer with that question.
Thanks for the video. I am getting ready to start a new project for my family. I am curious about what you typically would use to backfill around the foundation when there is a full basement?
Sand is your best option if you have access to it.
👍
Do you tamp the clear gravel in any location, garage, foundation perimeter, etc. I know you bring it up in lifts but do you tamp those lifts in any area during backfil. Thanks in advance.
We generally don't pack our clear stone unless we have an engineer asking for it, clear stone won't pack much
I'll probably never get to build a new home, but interesting nonetheless!
never say never Elizabeth:)
Why does R404.1.7 state the wall cant be backfilled until it is braced or anchored to the floor above if its more then 4 ft?
Building your floor system is 100% the best way to go. Unfortunately a lot of the times there is no room for a delivery and it is not safe for the framers so we are stuck with backfilling our foundations first. If you follow the steps I'm laying out you should not have any problems. Use dry fill and evenly work your way up starting at the corners.
How long does backfilling take and what’s the next step?
I usually allow 3 days to a week, depending on how much fill is trucked to the site.
But what about the necessary compaction around the foundation? Certainly you will be getting a copious amount of settling if you don't.
I don't recommend compacting any material around a house until the floor is capped and the basement is poured
Back-filling doesn't happen in our area until the basement slab has been poured and the floor system is installed with sub floor.
that's an excellent practice
☀️🔸🙏
I’m guessing you work in Canada?
Can can dirt settle in Arizona
yes
Why did they fully excavate the garage if you were just going to fill it in?
We are on rock, we scraped the topsoil and built up
What is that hollow area under the porch???
porch had not been backfilled yet. Now it's filled with clear stone
Why can't I just pour a slab to build a house on.
You may be able to build off a slab depending on where you live. I suggest you check your local building codes
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