Any have advice about blasting for a foundation?

10 years ago

My father in law has been doing the preliminary excavation on our site for the septic tests and the best spot for our home has only 1 -2 feet of soil until ledge. We passed the septic tests as that will be in a different spot than the house. Our guess is that we'll need to blast for our desired full basement ( we don't want a walk out since we are trying to avoid a deck on the first floor - we'd prefer a patio.)

The homes in the area all use their private wells for water. If we disrupt the aquifer, are we responsible?

What kind of costs might we expect?

Any advice is helpful. We're building in CT.
Thanks

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Comments (4)

virgilcarter
10 years ago
Might be a phase of construction where you want to use an experienced subcontractor, rather than a do-it-yourself task.

That said, it's always fun to blow stuff up, isn't it?

As to liability, you may wish to check with your local building department to see what ordinances and regulations are in effect for blasting.

Good luck on your project. Don't forget to stand well back!
bus_driver
10 years ago
As far as I know, Federal regulations strictly control who can get and use materials for blasting. So hiring a "licensed" firm may be your only choice. Some excavators, even the "mini" units, have jackhammer attachments that will break up softer rock rather quickly.
Back in the 1960s, blasting materials were not difficult to buy and I used some for stump removal.
It now is to the point that almost anything and everything is illegal.
watersa
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you virgilcarter and busdriver for your feedback -
We are planning to contract with someone if we end up needing to blast. Although DIY might be "fun" it probably isn't safe for any of us.

In my initial question I was worried about what I might need to be aware of or need to know as I set up that contract. For example, if there is radon released or disruption to the aquifer - I don't know enough to anticipate all the other issues?

I guess I was looking to find out what the other issues might be so that I am knowledgeable before that meeting with a blasting company.
Thanks,
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
Yikes! Be prepared to shell out the bucks. We were fortunate on our build as we only hit ledge in one corner of the house which they were able to hammer instead of blast.

I don't know much about dealing with ledge and blasting, except, in my mind's eye, you will then be placing the basement in a concrete bath tub, so spend all the time and money you need to underground to make sure you don't have a water issue. Nothing worse than a wet basement and no place for the water to go.

We did curtain draining and because of the slope in our lot, were able to just let gravity drain any water away. The guy putting it in said it would never see any water, and we said fine. Rather have it than not.

We also did have very high radon, probably as a result of the hammering. So we had the pipes put in under the foundation floor just in case. After we closed the house in, we tested and did have an issue. So all they did was come in and hook up the fan and the roof vent. Radon issue is now fixed.

As far as underground aquifers and such, you will probably need to get permits from the town to blast, and if your town is like ours, they will give the entire plan a proctological exam to make sure there are no issues, and those permits may include notification of the neighbors with abutting properties.