I finally got my drainage ditch to actually drain after 16 hours of digging

Hit a clay layer 2 feet down that was basically concrete and had to rent a mini excavator for the day to bust through it, anyone else ever run into surprise hardpan when trenching?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly.charlie4h ago

That ancient riverbed silt is the worst stuff to dig through, turns into concrete when it dries out.

seth_singh2011h ago

Bet that clay layer was ancient riverbed silt from way back.

the_jake6h ago

That "ancient riverbed silt" bit is pretty spot on. Had a buddy who bought a house on some land that was supposedly a floodplain from a hundred years ago. He went to dig a post hole for a mailbox and the first three feet was just this fine, sticky gray clay. Took him two hours with a shovel and a lot of swearing to get down to gravel. He said it was like trying to dig through play dough that never dried out.