trench
I am converting my music studio, with no utilities, to a studio apartment. With that said I am having to cut the slab to install the sewer. I am in Los Angeles and am wondering what is the correct procedure to backfill the trench to avoid settling in the long run.
Thanks for your help!!
Best,
Matt
It's physically very difficult to dig a very narrow but deep trench. You may have better luck just renting a ditch digger/trencher, which is kind of like a big chainsaw for dirt. You can dig trenches that are very narrow, and the only thing that really slows you down with it is large rocks.
You should have utilities marked before you dig (whether using a trencher or not). In some areas, this is enforced by law (eg: in Ontario, Canada, it is law under the Ontario Occupational Health And Safety Act).
Sounds like it will be a lot cheaper and easier to create a drain field in your grassy area.
Good luck!
Best Answer
You need to use a tamper and tamp each 6"-12" of fill as you go:
It is also important that you have a plan to tie the new concrete to the existing slab, to help prevent independent movement. For mine we drilled horizontally into the edges of the existing slab and used epoxy to set bent rebar rods into it, then tied those to the rebar grid for the new concrete.