My old foreman in Spokane always said to keep the bucket low when backfilling a trench. Tried it his way on a job yesterday and it saved me a huge headache.

3 comments

3 Comments

Yeah, what's the trick with that? My buddy was helping his uncle dig a drainage line last fall and just dumped the dirt straight in from the bucket up high. He ended up with this huge air pocket that collapsed later and they had to redo a whole section. Total pain.

aaronlee29d ago

That's such a classic example of rushing the job, @murray.gray. It feels like half the problems people run into come from skipping the simple, boring step right in front of them. You see it everywhere, not just with dirt.

rivera.simon2d ago

Low bucket is the only way. Seen guys try to drop it from the cab. Makes a fluffy mess that settles wrong every time. You get voids, washouts, all sorts of trouble. It's about letting the material fall in tight, not just dumping it. That old foreman knew his stuff.

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