how do you dig a trench around a foundation of a home and fill with stone and cement?

The ground of my back wall is caving in and I can not afford to have a contractor come to my home to repair this problem. the problem has not gotten bad yet and want to nip this in the bud BEFORE it is a BIG problem! Thanks!

around, cement, fill, foundation, home, Stone, trench

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Answers (7)

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#1 written by Jeffrey C
about 1 year ago

Sorry to hear your problem! You will have to rent a backhoe and dig around the part to be fixed. You also will have to jack up the house off of the blocks to be repaired. I’m sorry for your misfortune but I really suggest that you don’t do this without a proffessional!!!!! GOOD LUCK
#2 written by 4NIK8R
about 1 year ago

Each time you get ANY money, set some aside for the moment that problem gets bad.
If, by that time, you still don’t have enough money to hire a contractor, perhaps you’ll have enough for a new shiny shovel.
It’s always good to plan ahead.
#3 written by Talkin Sense
about 1 year ago

The ground is caving in or the wall? Do you have water leaking through the wall? If not…you don’t want to put concrete and stone in, you want a very dense clay rich soil. Pack it in tight with a tamper until you have a nice slope away from your house.

Either way, you need to get drain water away from your home. Make sure your backfill dirt against your foundation has a nice slope away from your house. Pack in more dirt if necessary.

Make sure your gutters are clear, make sure you don’t have any pipes leaking in this area, use splash blocks under your gutters

Putting gravel in as fill will allow water to fill up in the gravel and take it straight to your foundation and into your home. Concrete will only create strange pathways for water and be hard to get out if it causes a bigger problem.

Another alternative is to pour a concrete patio or a brick patio with a nice slope away from the house.
#4 written by phatboy
about 1 year ago

I am a poured wall mechanic and this is my advise. You can rent a small excavation devise from your local heavy rental store. If you can’t run the machine, they should know someone who could do it for you, cheap. Dig up about 16 inches on both sides of the wall. Tear the wall out with the same machine. Pour a concrete footer, using 2×8 level about 8 inches thick. Now you can rent forms to build a poured wall, and the people at the rental store will give you exactly what you need , based on the measurements of the wall, and show you how to erect them (this is not hard) . Simply build the wall the same height as the other one placing the forms on the footer you already poured. You want them at least 8 inches thick. This may sound complicated but it isn’t. When you rent the forms they will explain everything to you. If I have not been clear enough, email me and I will answer all your questions. This is the best way to go.
#5 written by Brandsconstruction.com/WordPress
about 1 year ago

Sorry – This is always a headache eh?

Any Trees close by?
Large roots often are a problem.

Home Building Stages

http://www.brandsconstruction.com/index_files/page0037.html The Footings and the Foundation Stage Picture May Help.

To prevent water from entering – proper drainage is essential.

If redoing – this usually is work for the pro’s as so many variables enter and it is going to be A LOT OF WORK and if you stop short of the mark of perfection… it will need to be redone. If you do your homework and are a very hard working diligent person – Good Luck!
#6 written by uclueletbc
about 1 year ago

if u can’t afford a contractor then u can’t afford to do the job…unless u know how to use a back hoe and dig a ditch without breaking anything….say money by digging the hole yourself or buy beer and invite friends to help
#7 written by Northy
about 1 year ago

wow…where to start- If the ground of the back wall is caving in, that means your crawlspace or basement wall is buckling too. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are a few different ways to fix the problem- but not without at least consulting a pro. If there are any contractors that give free estimates in your area, have them come out and tell you what their plan of action would be. You may be surprised on the price. Once you figure in the rental time of the machinery, the cost of the materials, and figure the time it’d take you to do it yourself, you may be money ahead going with a contractor. But, if they do give you a plan that you think you can do, then go for it! Just from what you’ve said so far, I’d have to tell you that you NEED to repair the failing wall. Shoring up the dirt outside of your wall will help, but the wall will still fail. You’d have to start by jacking up the section of the house thats sitting in the bad foundation wall. This can be done with a couple of basement jacks and some wood 6×6′s. Don’t span more than 8 feet with two jacks, and if the distance is oh, say 24 feet that your supporting, you’d need a total of 6 jacks. Place the jacks and the beams about 2 feet from the edge under the house and make sure that the bottom of the jacks are on something solid(like concrete or wood blocking). This will give you enough room to work. You don’t have to jack the house up any higher than the top of the foundation plus maybe a quarter to half inch. Any more and you’ll risk breaking windows and cracking sheetrock. Now you dig out the soil from around the affected wall, using a mini-excavator or backhoe. Pile the dirt to the side, as you’ll need most of it to backfill with again later. Now, to tear out the bad part of the wall- If the wall is buckled in the middle, but the corners are still good, I’d rent a cement saw and cut the wall (up and down) a few feet from the corners. If at all possible, make it a measurement that’s divisable by 16 inches-I’ll tell you why later. Remove the bad section of wall- using either a jackhammer or the excavator that you used to dig the hole with. I’d be guessing that since it buckled that the wall may be block. If that’s the case you can even remove it with a sledgehammer and some sweat. Now, you can either rent concrete wall forms, or buy insulated concrete forms to build a poured wall- If it’s not too much to do, I’d go with the insulated concrete forms- Because they are easier to put up. They’re basically styrofoam lego blocks that have a hollow slot to pour concrete in the center. Build your wall so that it’s 8 or 16 inches from top of the foundation. The reason for what height you build your new poured wall to is for what you can pour into from a truck or bucket the easiest. I’ve done a lot, and I usually try to get within 16 inches, but have done it with only 8 inches-but it’s tough to pour the wall. The last remaining gap you’ve got left- here’s why you made your cut in your old wall divisable by 16 inches- lay in a course or two of block. If you’ve got two courses to lay, make sure you cut a half block to lay them in what’s called ‘bond’ or staggered- that way they are stronger. The last course could be a pain to get in-what I do is shim the blocks in place with wood shims and tuck-point morter in the joints, remove the shims, and tuckpoint those holes shut too. Give the wall a few days to set, and take the jacks and beams out. Give the wall a good week to ten days, then carefully backfill-making sure not to drive the machine physically into the trench-even after it is filled. You could bust the wall yet for up to a month. Some other things to keep in mind: Before you dig, be SURE you contact your utility companies to let them know you’re digging, so they can come out and locate and buried gas, electric, phone, water, or sewer lines. This is a MUST. Also, make sure you have insurance on your house to cover any accidents that may happen during this kind of repair- your homeowner’s insurance won’t do squat if for some reason when you’ve got the wall tore out a freak flash flood comes and floods everthing. You’ve got to change your policy for the duration of the project. If you do have a block foundation, and it isn’t buckled too bad, there are other solutions, but I don’t know what you’ve got exactly- email me with any questions, I’d be glad to help.

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