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backhoe and lawn
I found a simple trick that minimizes the damage to our lawn that I've done working on it with a backhoe.
The problem is getting excavations back into the holes or trenches without tearing up more lawn. Perhaps, our turf is more fragile than most, but several times I've simply torn the sod that’s underneath a pile of excavation while trying to backfill holes with the loader. Try to push much of a layer of dirt into the hole and the sod underneath comes along with it. So, much like an old haircut, I'd end up 'taking a little off the top' several times and then finish with garden shovels and rakes.
I dug several holes a couple of days ago looking for our septic tank to get it pumped, and a bigger hole once I found the tank. This time, says I, it's going to be different. I put vapour barrier down where I was going to dump the hoe. When I back-filled, I put the loader in part way up the pile and expected to take a little off the top. Big surprise, the whole pile including vapour barrier scooted into the hole and I just pulled the barrier back out. Neat as a pin, no work and the grass is still there. I've heard of people doing the with old sheets of plywood but vapour barrier is what I had.
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backhoe and lawn
Tom, I have seen plastic tarps used that way too. Might be a little less prone to rip than vapor barrier.
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backhoe and lawn
That is to only way to go. I always put a tarp down to place dirt on, not the grass. My customers will bitch at anything. The clean up is real fast, just like what you did.
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backhoe and lawn
Tom, your new found trick is excellent and widely used and for the ocasional digger forgotten or unheard of. Your digging or roughing up areas more while back filling might not be quite so bad with a hydro tractor instead of a gear drive.
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backhoe and lawn
Hey: An echo from a year ago! Good to know that people read year old discussions and may find something useful.
In different discussion Murf said he used tarps and then pulled the far sides back across the trench so it dumped dirt in the trench and the tarps end up on top. That sounds better then me having to pull vapour barrier out of the trenches and I'll try that next time. I suspect that you can't dump dirt too deep on the tarps or else they'd tear but it should work fine unless the trenches are deep and then maybe dumping of both sides of the trench would work.
I do think HST's are better for this type work. With gears I have to take care with the power and clutch or else I'm burning strips in the lawn and I'm also in 4wd doing heavy maneuvering and scuffing scallops along the tops of my burnt strips. Could make a nice pattern if I worked at it.
Do it right and maybe a new style in landscaping might catch on. Then I could throw away the vapour barrier and have a status lawn. The guy who had the contract for mowing for the Township did sign his lawns by mowing his nickname into the ball field. After all, art should be signed. Maybe a new occupation--lawn artist but now I'm just babbling so I'll stop.
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