Compacting "overdig" under footing

by HD Builds
(Pittsburgh, PA)

Question:

Naturally, at the excavated elevation of my footing, there were several large fieldstones. I had to dig lower than intended to remove them and I am expecting to fill and compact clay with a rammer(jumping jack), so that I don't have to install all of the extra yards of concrete and rebar to fill the gap. can you suggest best practices for this (I know to compact in under 12" loose lifts but my main concern is over-compacting the footing area)

Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for visiting all-concrete-cement.com

The normal practice as far as backfilling material is to use structural fill in lieu of clay. In your case, at the areas where over excavations took place, it is safer to bring in structural fill(gravel) and compact them.

Make sure to check geotechnical report if there is one for the project for specific recommendations pertaining to your particular issue. If no such report exist, ask the structural engineer on record for the project for his/her recommendation.

Soil conditions and behaviors differ by locale -as a result should there be soil professional in the project, his/her recommendations must precisely followed.

Hope this helps