Safety Measures When Excavating Your Own Trench

Performing your own excavation can be a very dangerous procedure if you don't have the experience and tools necessary. However, when digging a trench in your garden, it's not impossible to perform. You need to find out if there are any electrical wires or water pipes buried under the ground where you want to dig, have all the appropriate machinery and tools available, and also make sure you have all permits that you need. When all of that is done, the most important thing you need to concern yourself with is safety.

Protection

The first thing you should know is that trenches that are deeper than 1.5 metres require a protective system to prevent the trench from caving in. If you're a excavation beginner, you should do this even if the depth is more shallow than that. The simplest way to do this for a small trench in your garden is to cut the edges of the trench into stairs. This way, if one level caves in, the soil will end up on the next step in the stairs, and not on you. There are also aluminium frames that you can use to stabilise the sides of your trench, but this constructing equipment might be hard to get a hold of.

Edges

If you're working with a large trencher of any kind, you should make sure to drive it away from the edges of the trench as soon as you're finished. Even if that weight is put even a bit away from the trench, the raised pressure on the soil might cause the trench to collapse. You should, for the same reason, also make sure that you put the dirt you dig out of your trench as far away from the trench as possible. Drag it up and away from the excavation as soon as you get it out. This also helps you by gathering all the leftovers in the same pile before you get rid of it, which is easier than many small piles here and there that you need to pick up.

Weather

You should try and work when it's nice weather out, as dry conditions are safer than wet conditions. Water in the bottom of the trench could make you slip or destabilise the earth around the trench and make it cave in. You might have to dig even deeper after rain weather, but it's worth not working when the actual rain is falling, as it increases the risk of injury. 

If you have any questions or the project is too overwhelming for you, consider contacting a professional excavation service.