Tamping Fill Over New Sewer Line
#1
Homeowner needed to replace an old sewer line (Orangeburg pipe, forty plus years old).
In loamy soil on flat ground, the plumbing contractor dug a ditch about 30 feet long with excavation down about four feet deep to the old sewer line. Contractor then installed a new line (latest plastic material), filled in the ditch, watered it and left without tamping the ground.
HO (=Homeowner) now needs to restore the ditch surface. Before re-sealing with blacktop or concrete, how much surface tamping should HO do and for how long?
Should HO also continue watering ditch surface to speed up settling?
Concern here is that the ditch fill will settle to some degree. So resealing before settling is complete could cause unsightly cracks and/or minor cave-ins in asphalt or concrete.
In loamy soil on flat ground, the plumbing contractor dug a ditch about 30 feet long with excavation down about four feet deep to the old sewer line. Contractor then installed a new line (latest plastic material), filled in the ditch, watered it and left without tamping the ground.
HO (=Homeowner) now needs to restore the ditch surface. Before re-sealing with blacktop or concrete, how much surface tamping should HO do and for how long?
Should HO also continue watering ditch surface to speed up settling?
Concern here is that the ditch fill will settle to some degree. So resealing before settling is complete could cause unsightly cracks and/or minor cave-ins in asphalt or concrete.