On Monday I had a new helper, engineer intern, working with me. He is a good kid and asks good questions. He is truly trying to get the most out of this experience. Likewise, I need to get the most out of him. I explained to him how we would be setting two new monuments and the holes would need to be 35"-36" deep to get the top just below the surface. I provided this bit of information while leaning on a set of post hole diggers. He asked so innocently, "So how does this work? Do we each dig 6" then switch off?"
I now have two nice looking new Berntsen pipe monuments curing in concrete. My helper will really appreciate the work he did on those holes when we run static on them Friday and Monday.
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Sort of a similar story. I surveyed a commercial site in central CT back in the early 90s. There was a widening involved along the state highway. The Connecticut Highway Department gives you the monuments (known as CHDs) to be set, concrete monsters about 5 feet long. I had staked the locations and set offset stakes. I borrowed one of our younger engineers, a burly, friendly guy, to help with the holes. In the drive to the site, I guess I never mentioned how big they are.
We get to the job, I show him how to pull the offsets to get the hole in the right spot, leave him with the post hole digger, bar and shovel, and head off to the State garage to pick up the CHDs. I loaded up the monuments (I think it took 2 trips) and return to the site to see half a dozen small cones of soil at each spot. He is sitting on the curb, he's smiling and announces he's all done. I say great, now help me get the monuments out of the car.
You should have seen the look on his face when I popped up the tailgate!
It was a long day, but we got them done.
Ken
We used to do soil perkolation tests.
It involved 4 holes, 30" dp, and one 6' hole.
The 6' one, was to check for ground water, and soil types, and impermeable rock/soil.
I was usually the guy who dug the last 1 foot. I'd druther dig the 1st 4'.
It's work.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 451372, member: 291 wrote: I was usually the guy who dug the last 1 foot. I'd druther dig the 1st 4'.
True story, that only those on the business end of a PHD can readily verify.- Steve
BushAxe, post: 451362, member: 11897 wrote: "So how does this work? Do we each dig 6" then switch off?"
:joy:
I'd rather dig the holes than sit there and ferment waiting on some ridiculously boring static sessions.
"How is it after digging that 36" hole and planting that monument there's never enough dirt to completely fill the hole back up?"
Ya caught me. I'm secretly stealing the extra dirt and squirreling it away to have some extra land when I retire.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 451372, member: 291 wrote: We used to do soil perkolation tests.
It involved 4 holes, 30" dp, and one 6' hole.
The 6' one, was to check for ground water, and soil types, and impermeable rock/soil.
I was usually the guy who dug the last 1 foot. I'd druther dig the 1st 4'.
It's work.
I'm an expert fence post hole digger because of perk tests.
Around here we used the backhoe to dig the deep hole...you dug them by hand?
BushAxe, post: 451362, member: 11897 wrote: On Monday I had a new helper, engineer intern, working with me. He is a good kid and asks good questions. He is truly trying to get the most out of this experience. Likewise, I need to get the most out of him. I explained to him how we would be setting two new monuments and the holes would need to be 35"-36" deep to get the top just below the surface. I provided this bit of information while leaning on a set of post hole diggers. He asked so innocently, "So how does this work? Do we each dig 6" then switch off?"
I now have two nice looking new Berntsen pipe monuments curing in concrete. My helper will really appreciate the work he did on those holes when we run static on them Friday and Monday.
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He is a keeper. I figured he asked for a machine.
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