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Hello all. i am in Kansas City Missouri and am seeking a little advice. Had an excavator out and had him dig a spec for me. It is a California Split (three levels in the excavation). Long story short, he dug it wrong and in the meantime while having him correct it and waiting on the foundation crew, the weather has turned bitterly cold. Foundation contractor says the frost is too deep now to get footers in. (about 10″) I can either wait till april or do something aggresive. I decided to tarp the entire hole and run salamanders in an attempt to get the frost out. Any other better suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. (Not to include choking the excavator) Mike
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Have the excavator dig the foundation 12" deeper past the frost at his own expense. Immediately insulate and tarp the ground where the footings will be. Or better yet, have the foundation crew working behind the excavator. Heat and tarps may still be necessary after the footings poured. Just make your foundation walls 12" taller.
*have the excavator dig 12" deeper and install 12 " of 3/4" crushed stone..put hay , calcium chloride and tarps on the stone until your foundation crew arrives to pour the footings....put hay and tarps on the footings as soon as they pour and screed....forget about salamanders and tarps.. the heat won't go down.. you'll just burn fuel and tarps..
*Mike, you're always taking the words right out of my mouth!;)
*See if a rental company nearby has a "ground heater". It's a large generator with resistance lines you put down. It will thaw 1600 sqft to 1 foot depth in 24 hours. Haven't used one yet, but saw it in a rental trade magazine.A more expensive route is to use a backhoe & dig a frost footer trench... equipment time + more concrete....