Preparation for Foundation Excavation Project
Any sort of excavating procedure can be a daunting task for a Boulder, CO homeowner. The following two-part series is designed to be able to offer a little insight into the process of excavation before any action is undertaken. As they say: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Nowhere is this more true than in the process of excavating on your beautiful Boulder, CO property, whether personal or business.
That being said, before any sort of Boulder foundation excavation procedure can commence, working on preparing the site itself may be necessary. The layout of the entire area needs to be taken into account and access needs to be mapped in Boulder County. For example: Does your property contain any gardens, plants, shrubs, or other vegetation that you need to remove and put in temporary housing so they can be reintroduced later? Are there any physical obstacles in the way of the large excavating machinery? Are there cars, gas grills, Patio furniture, etc? Does there need to be any extensive work done to the structure itself? Do you need to dismantle a deck? Move a storage shed? If there’s a tree in the way, you’ll need to arrange for a Boulder, CO tree removal service to excavate the tree and remove the stump. The environment external to the site is also a factor to consider - Are any Boulder County permits required? Are your Colorado neighbors aware of the excavation? What is the layout of the pipes and sewer system? What is your street layout, and is it going to accommodate the equipment?
Securing a Foundation Excavation Contractor
After initial preparations are made the next step in this process will be to employ the services of a Boulder County foundation excavation contractor to do an initial plan for the job site. This includes marking off the area, setting boundaries, and separating different dig areas into sections. This is also known as a “plot plan”. The plot plan is foundational (pun intended) in the process of creating a clear, concise, and physical layout for the project and its dimensions on the property itself.
The Boulder, CO plot plan will operate as the guide for further contractors doing work in the area. Typically, for an excavation project, project managers and surveyors will come onsite and use specialized instruments to establish dimensions. This includes elevations, levels, and points. This will allow the contractors to create further precision in mapping out exactly how the project is going to look. This area will then be carefully marked and leveled using different signs and symbols. The area will also be cordoned off using string, cord, or sometimes lines of lime or chalk in order to offer exact dimensions for the project. These are then used to guide the folks operating the heavy equipment and digging implements.
Verify Your Foundation Excavation Contractor's Measurements
From this point it would behoove you to take a second look at everything in terms of your project thus far. Make sure to go back over the site and makes sue that everything has been removed and stored properly. Talk with the Boulder, CO foundation excavation contractors and second check all of the measurements, even going as far as to check the lengths and depths yourself with a good old-fashioned tape measure. Go back over your paperwork and clarify exactly what is going to happen, what team is going to be used, how many people, what types of equipment, etc. Check on all of the contracts and all of the legal logistics in terms of coding and municipal or city regulations. At this phase of the game it makes much more sense to be able to double check all of these things, rather than when you have already started digging!
Now that you have everything in place, you can rest easy knowing that your Boulder County foundation excavation project is well organized, calculated and ready for the actual excavation to commenece, In part two of this series we will explore the process of excavation and what to expect in terms of process, time, and obstacles.