How to Dig a Basement | Heavy Equipment Operator

Thanks for having me on the channel guys!!!!

I like the explanation of efficient/coordinated digging/putting the dirt in the direction the customer wants the dirt to end up...less effort on your part. Very cool.

This is exactly why I like being an operator. Everything is a puzzle. Whether it be planning out my dig pattern with an excavator, or planning out your paths on a paver in a driveway or parking lot, or even the fastest way to strip dirt with a dozer.. it’s all a fun puzzle to solve. The better you are at puzzles, the faster you can get things done.

as an electrician debating building his own house at some point, foundations have been the part of it that scares me the most, and this honestly puts my mind at ease at how atleast the preparation is done. It also helps I really only want something rectangular and super simple. thanks for the tips!

I worked construction 33 years. I'm retired now but enjoy these videos. This guy knows his trade well.

Digging a hole, Just digging a hole Not everybody knows how to do that. Thanks for sharing. 👍😎

Excellent video. Your pace was perfect, there was no wasting of time with jokes and talking. Just explanation of scope of work, examples and detail. Perfect. The only thing I would want more is to know what it cost!

Love the old jD 350 still going! Great little loaders

The the best videos I’ve seen on the subject that goes into detail for those of us learning. Would love you to do more of these, highlighting from an overhead view while explaining what your just did.

I am a NCCER certified heavy equipment operator - great video

Thank you for the video. Will help people save money. Please continue!

These big machines are definitely the way to go when you have the room. We've had to many tight fit, and hand shoveled jobs over the years !

No comment buddie, you know my thoughts about your videos ,whatever chanel you are on.

What we have learned today is that trucks don't float. This video really was helpful though.

Wonderful job ! Great explanation. A person can learn a lot from you.

Great Video!! I appreciate you guys for taking out the time to make these, Can you shed some light on what’s the estimating process for a job like this. Is it priced per sq ft, or per yd, or just the time it takes, it would greatly help out. Thanks

Simple but great idea making the line with the story pole

Well notice that although there dosent appear to be much, there is no less a layer of top soil on top. That should be stripped off first, including an area beyond the wall lines, and piled in a separate pile. That should be used for the finish grading. The subsoil is kept separate and used for backfilling. Although an excavator is a good machine for digging, it does require a second machine for moving the dirt away. Reason being that even the larger excavators cant reach all that far when dumping. So that means 2 machines and 2 operators for digging a basement. Not to mention the added cost for moving 2 machines to and from the job site. Although the crawler loader seen in the video is on the small side, it none the less could have done that job by itself. I was a home builder for many years, all we ever used for excavating basements was a crawler loader. And we always set batter boards before any excavating took place. Otherwise its necessary to reestablish the wall lines for each phase of the foundation process, and thats time consuming. But again, its harder for a large machine with less mobility to work around batter boards. An experienced contractor will know what machine will work best for the project involved. And thats what gets used, not left to the excavator to determine based upon what machinery he has.

Love any video ur on DP. Ur a great man and an awesome worker. Great explanation of what and how and why u do it the way u do it.

Looking good DP 💪🏼