Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [soil]

48 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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8
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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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7
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6 answers

How to terminate a soil drain pipe into the earth and avoid blockages

Is this advised? How would I set up the end of my drain pipe so as not to get a backflow of dirt and have the pipe get clogged. I'm thinking rock, then black cover, then more rock, then dirt, with the drain pipe end pointing down. I also drilled…
gcr
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7
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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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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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4 answers

How can I angle a toilet waste pipe when I have two toilets?

This question is related to Can you run two toilets on the same horizontal soil/waste pipe?, but is a different question. Our house used to have only one toilet, with a waste pipe running downhill by a couple of degrees until it exited the wall of…
Rocketmagnet
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4
votes
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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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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1 answer

Why is the soil in my yard moist after a water main repair?

We recently had a water main break repaired because we noticed seeping water coming up from out lawn. The repair occurred the day before yesterday. All water was turned back on. Yesterday upon going out the throw out my trash, I noticed that in the…
Angela Romero
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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
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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
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1 answer

Can I use pressure-treated wood to close gaps between shed and soil?

I'm looking for a way to close gaps between soil and shed deck. Can I use pressure treated wood, or it should be metal (since it touches soil)? The goal is to restrict that area from animals, snakes etc.
Rainmaker
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2
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1 answer

Is it safe to excavate soil next to concrete slab?

I'm looking to regrade the soil around my shed so water doesn't continue to damage the sill plate. The concrete slab is barely above grade, so I'm looking to remove soil to expose it another 2-3 inches. I'm concerned about potentially undermining…
Old_Sound5035
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