The prep work that decides the finished job.
A retaining wall is only as good as the cut behind it. A driveway only as good as the base under it. Get the dig right and the next trade has an easy job. Get it wrong and the builder is fixing it on his time, at your cost.
Most of the driveway and wall prep work I do is residential. Existing houses, mature sections, narrow access. The 1.8 tonne fits behind the garage where a bigger machine would have to demolish a fence to get in.
Retaining wall prep
- Batter cut to the engineer spec or the builder mark-out
- Clean vertical face if that is what the wall design needs
- Spoil pulled clear or stockpiled on site for re-use
- Footing trench dug to depth and width, level checked off the string line
- Drainage channel cut behind the wall if it is needed
Driveway prep
- Strip vegetation and top soil off the driveway run
- Cut to the depth your sealcoat or paving crew need
- Crown the centre for run-off if the section is flat
- Trench the kerb edge so the basecourse has something to sit against
- Spoil cleared off the site so the next trade is not working around piles
Working with your builder, boxer or sealcoat crew
I come on site, walk through the plans with whoever is running the job, and dig to their mark-out. No surprises, no I thought you meant X. I work to the line they want me to work to. If the spec changes mid-job, ring me and I adjust before the next stage starts.