Excavating for the First Step — Excavate for Step Base

Beginner3 mins

Part of project

How to Build Paver Steps into a Hill · Step 1 of 11

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In this video

Begin excavating the marked area to prepare for the first step. Use shovels (both long and short-handled) to dig out the soil. The goal is to dig down to a stable base, which in this case is a clay layer found at approximately 12 inches deep. Digging to this depth ensures a solid foundation and allows for adequate space for the gravel base and the granite step, promoting good drainage and preventing shifting over time.

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Take that. See that right there, Pete? I do. That's clay. Okay. Okay, so we're down to clay, which is solid stuff. Take this out. We still want to go a little bit deeper. How deep are we going to dig here? So, I normally like to go at least 12 in. Okay. Uh just cuz I want to get the gravel in for drainage. So, Pete, that looks to be about 12 in. Do you mind getting that hand tamper? Absolutely. But you can see this clay is really flattening out very nicely. We want to make sure we're working off a base that's as solid as possible. And again, lucky enough to have clay below, which packs very nicely. So, let's dump this crushed stone. Just going to go right there and flip it up.

Auto-generated transcript. May contain errors.

Excavating for the First Step — Excavate for Step Base

Advanced

3 days

Part of project

How to Build Paver Steps into a Hill · Step 1 of 11

Was this clip helpful?

In this video

Begin excavating the marked area to prepare for the first step. Use shovels (both long and short-handled) to dig out the soil. The goal is to dig down to a stable base, which in this case is a clay layer found at approximately 12 inches deep. Digging to this depth ensures a solid foundation and allows for adequate space for the gravel base and the granite step, promoting good drainage and preventing shifting over time.

16.5K views619

Video Transcript

(685 characters)

Hide

Take that. See that right there, Pete? I do. That's clay. Okay. Okay, so we're down to clay, which is solid stuff. Take this out. We still want to go a little bit deeper. How deep are we going to dig here? So, I normally like to go at least 12 in. Okay. Uh just cuz I want to get the gravel in for drainage. So, Pete, that looks to be about 12 in. Do you mind getting that hand tamper? Absolutely. But you can see this clay is really flattening out very nicely. We want to make sure we're working off a base that's as solid as possible. And again, lucky enough to have clay below, which packs very nicely. So, let's dump this crushed stone. Just going to go right there and flip it up.

Transcript may be auto-generated and contain errors.