Power trencher and roots

[theoldwizard1]

I am planing a garage, but the foundation will likely be within 10' of a large tree. I would like to do as much as possible myself, including digging the footing, with power of course !

Are the walk behind trenchers you can rent for most equipment stores powerful enough to cut through 2-3" tree roots, or should I just hire the job out ?

 

[mothgrey]

They generally won't go through one 3" that I have seen. But it's easy to raise the bar and use a saw to cut it out of the trench then keep going. It also depends if it's a dead root and how soft it is.

 

[GarageEnvy]

The Ditch Witch I rented from United and Home Depot both had issues with tree roots. The Bobcat stand on unit (a lot like a Toro Dingo) I rented was diesel and had no problem with roots. It wasn't that much more and came with two scoops, an auger and the trencher.

 

[jhelrey]

Oh, they will cut but don't force it... Keep it in N at that point and slowly lower the blade onto the root.

 

[SGKent]

depends - the big ditch witch we rented would have cut rocks as it had carbide cutters on it. Probably depends on soils where you are.

 

[Jason Lister]

Trenchers come in many sizes. How deep and how long of a trench are you needing? More specifics will help you with an accurate answer.

I do see that you mentioned a footing for the foundation... What equipment were you planning for that task?

Otherwise, everyone else has given good information.

Garage Envy: "Ditch Witch" is a brand name, much like Kleenex is to facial tissue. The, likely MT52 or 55, Bobcat you rented is in a class of machines labeled as mini skid steers or track loaders and are awesome machines that have a TON of utility available.

 

[mm08822]

A trench for a footing/foundation will need to be any where from 12" -36" wide depending upon your materials of construction and depth you need to reach for the frost line. A trencher is typically good up to 8" widths (4" more common) that I have seen. You only get one pass with a trencher as it uses the newly formed walls of the trench to help contain the spoils as the chain is drawing them out. You should be looking into a backhoe - either one you rent or for hire with operator.

 

[Zeke]

What ^^^ he said. they do have 12" and bigger trenchers, but not a walk behind that I've ever seen.

 

[PRH44]

A mini track hoe excavator with a 12" bucket can make short order of that work

 

[ForceFed70]

A trench for a footing/foundation will need to be any where from 12" -36" wide depending upon your materials of construction and depth you need to reach for the frost line. A trencher is typically good up to 8" widths (4" more common) that I have seen. You only get one pass with a trencher as it uses the newly formed walls of the trench to help contain the spoils as the chain is drawing them out. You should be looking into a backhoe - either one you rent or for hire with operator.

x3

Just finished up with renting a walk-behind trencher for putting in underground irrigation.

The unit I rented only cut a 4" wide trench and didn't like roots at all.

 

[steve308]

If i'ts a big tree --- take it down now. Cutting the roots will probably kill it quickly and it's easier an cheaper to have them removed now than later

 

[BFHgarage]

Be careful when you are building that close to a large tree, you can easily end up killing the tree if you eliminate too much of the root zone. Removing a tree with a building that close to it is not fun, or cheap.

 

[Nighttrain]

X4 on a mini excavator. I rented a bob cat excavator for about $270 a day to do some drain lines because the trencher was already rented out. Glad i did it made for much easier work and it was a blast.