Excavation and Grading Handbook
This practical guide has been completely revised to keep excavation contractors, operating engineers, and those learning the trade updated with state-of-the-art equipment usage and the most efficient excavating and grading techniques. You'll learn how to read topo maps, set crows feet, install water drain and sewer pipes, lay or remove asphaltic concrete, use a laser level, cut drainage channels, and use GPS and sonar for absolute precision.
Whether you're already in the business, or planning to take the leap, Excavation and Grading Handbook, Revised borrows from years of down-in-the dirt experiences of trusted authority, Nick Capachi. It's an encyclopedia of excavating and grading knowledge, including photographs and diagrams that illustrate just how the work should be done. Co-written with his son, John, Nick combines their nearly 70 years on the job to teach you -- in simple terms -- just what you need to know to reach and stay at the top of your game.
No jobsite is without problems. Knowing how to deal with these problems, or how to prevent them, can save you hours -- even days. In this practical manual, the authors guide you through just about every difficulty you'll find on a job site. You'll find procedures and essential job-sequencing techniques that can make or break a job, plus pointers for tough situations that other earthwork instruction manuals don't want to tackle.
New in this edition: GPS -- Global Positioning System -- a time-saving survey and grade-control tool installed on much of the heavy equipment you'll be using. Also includes use of sonar technologies. Using these two technologies will save you time and money on most of your jobs.