mud/gravel issue

[POOLBuilder]

does anyone know if there is an industry standard, or general guideline for compacting gravel through a mud base so that the gravel hits virgin ground, there is a 12" gravel base that has flooded out, and there is 6" or so of mud under it. is it possibl for me to compact the gravel through the mud to hit solid ground so i can avoid removing all the material.

 

[TDAA]

You are essentially talking about "crouding" rock into the soft material. This is normally done with a bit bigger rock, say 2-4 inch, or larger depending on the situation and experience.

A standard, far from it. It partly depends on what you want to do, such as strengthen the material, or just stabilize for additioanl fill placement. Perhaps a fabric layer would suit your situation better? Mostly it is done by feel, based on the experience of the Geotech and contractor.

 

[msucog]

usually more economical and much less risky to simply over-excavate and replace. as tdaa notes, it depends on what you're trying to do and what kind of expected performance you're shooting for. from my experience, it almost always is better to simply over-excavate and replace unless you're dealing with something like a roadway embankment that has say at least 10-15' of fill going over subgrade that has been stabilized with rock due to poor conditions. and pretty much even then, it's more of a "performance" spec (fix it until it's stable...if a fix ends up unstable, you go back and try it again).

 

[jeffcivil2]

I suggest you remove the deleterious material and lay a geotextile fabric over the dryer soil. Then place a 6" layer of gravel. If not, you should do as TDAA says and lay 6"(compacted) 4" stone and then another 6" of gravel.

cheers,

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