Just had a client in Phoenix who wanted a 6-foot privacy fence but their yard was all rock

Last week I was setting posts for a vinyl fence job, and the ground was nothing but solid caliche after the first few inches. My usual auger just bounced off. I ended up renting a demo hammer with a spade bit to break it up, which added a full day and about $400 to the cost that I had to eat. The client was cool about the noise, but it threw my whole schedule off. Anyone else run into crazy hard ground like that and have a better way to deal with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ben1d ago

Solid caliche" - ever try a rock auger first?

piper_flores691d ago

My buddy rented a rock auger for his yard project last spring. That thing just bounced right off the caliche layer under his dirt. Sounded like a jackhammer hitting a sidewalk. He ended up calling a guy with a mini excavator, who said it was like digging through concrete. Total nightmare.