ᐅ Breaking up a compacted construction access road after new construction – How can I get through?

Hello everyone,

We have now been living in our new build for a few weeks and need to soon address the drainage for the driveway and the terrace roof. We already have a plan regarding the soakaways and their positioning, etc.

Eager and enthusiastic, I grabbed a shovel and after about 10cm (4 inches) of soil, I hit a nearly impenetrable layer: For the construction phase, the main contractor created a temporary road for the crane and construction vehicles. As a layperson, I can only guess what this consists of, but it appears to be a very densely compacted mix of large stones, rubble, gravel, and pebbles. When I try to dig in, it feels like I’m hitting solid rock. Unfortunately, I’m not trained to operate an excavator and wanted to use the digging of the pits as a kind of voluntary workout.

How can I get through this heavily compacted gravel layer? Do you have any tips? Or will I need to hire someone with heavy machinery for this? I really wanted to tackle some of the work myself, but I’m not sure if that will be possible.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
Lenny

Our landscaping contractor had a crowbar about 1.5 meters long (5 feet), one end pointed and the other flat, weighing around 5 kilograms (11 pounds). He used the bar by swinging it down by hand to loosen the compacted material from above, then removed it with a shovel. Ask around the neighborhood for such a bar. The spade is too light and flexes.

A pickaxe can also work wonders.

Question: What areas and depths are involved? Depending on that, a rented mini excavator could be a solution for around 100€ (about $110).

Yeah, a pickaxe for 20 EUR from the hardware store works wonders. Still, it’s tiring.

So, unless you’re dealing with just 1 meter (3 feet) of space between the house and garage or there are cables underneath, I would rent a mini excavator and spend a Saturday digging around. It’s really not rocket science and can even be fun!

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your quick responses!
This concerns an area of about 6m by 2m with a depth of approximately 1.70m (5.6 feet). So, quite a bit of soil to move. Basically, I can imagine doing it with a few friends, a crate of beer, and getting started, but maybe that’s a bit too much.
A pickaxe/pry bar is a good idea. I can definitely try that out; this won’t be the only spot in the garden with this issue... 🙂

For a hole of approximately 6m by 2m by 1.70m (5.6 feet) deep, what category of excavator would be needed? A “mini excavator,” or would the bucket not be deep enough to reach 1.7m (5.6 feet)?

At 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in), you’ll need to slope the edges anyway. In that case, you can use a mini excavator. A larger one works faster and is less likely to tip over if you accidentally steer incorrectly.