lily57•1mo ago

Spent 6 hours digging a test pit that the manual said would take 90 minutes

I was trying to find the old foundation line of a 1790s cabin in rural Virginia. The soil was all clay and roots, plus I kept hitting rocks that were way bigger than my shovel. After 3 hours I had barely gotten 2 feet down and almost gave up. Finally switched to using a post hole digger and got to 4 feet by hour 6. Has anyone else had a simple survey job turn into a whole day thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_terry1mo ago

And yeah, that manual time estimate is basically a work of fiction most of the time. I had a similar job once where I was supposed to map out a property line from the 1800s and the survey said two hours tops. Four hours later I was still trying to figure out if I was digging in the right spot because the ground had been filled in with old rubble and broken glass. The post hole digger trick is a good one though, I've used that myself when things got real stubborn. It's like the ground knows you're on a deadline and decides to fight back harder.

moore.beth1mo ago

Virginia clay has a personal vendetta against anyone with a shovel apparently.

pat7811mo ago

My neighbor tried to dig a post hole in July and the shovel actually bounced off the ground like it was concrete. He ended up renting a jackhammer from Sunbelt Rentals for 80 bucks and still only got 18 inches deep before hitting what looked like solid red brick. What people don't realize is Virginia clay has a weird mineral makeup that makes it basically turn into ceramic when it dries out. It's like nature decided to make pottery out of your yard and laugh while you try to plant a tomato.