Well I almost bought the big one today. First let me say that I should know better. I have been around open holes that are being dug almost all my adult life. I worked as a plumber, for a general contractor, dug foxholes in military as a heavy equiptment operator and worked for a utility company for over 10 years.
Today I was just doing a little tweaking to my pond before putting in the liner tomorrow. I have mostly red clay soil with some sand. When the clay is damp, it is pretty solid. For the last week though we have had no rain and clear skies with near 100F temps. The top edges are pretty brittle from this. I needed to trim back about 3" of dirt at the edge of my stream that will cascade into the pond. I had one foot on solid ground but just put my other foot a little too close to the edge to get the last scoop of dirt, then I was done. Before I knew it the side of the pond collapsed and I was almost completely horizontal going down into the pond. From where I was standing about 5' from the bottom. Somehow I drew the shovel which I had clutched in my hands across my body and used it to push myself vertical again and landed on my feet. I only remember doing this because as I drew it across my body from one side to the other I cracked my shins with the blade pretty good. I was using a sharp thin flat shovel for digging trenches. Needless to say my shins got a few chunks taken out of my shins here and there, but I didn't get injured seriously or killed. I am self medicating with Guinness and Aleve.
I know digging large deep holes posses some danger. Deppending on soil type you may need shoring devises while working near the edge and in a trench, or hole. This is the first time I ever had a near miss. I guess there is a false comfort in working at home compared to "the field".
Just something to think about or consider for anyone digging a pond.
Today I was just doing a little tweaking to my pond before putting in the liner tomorrow. I have mostly red clay soil with some sand. When the clay is damp, it is pretty solid. For the last week though we have had no rain and clear skies with near 100F temps. The top edges are pretty brittle from this. I needed to trim back about 3" of dirt at the edge of my stream that will cascade into the pond. I had one foot on solid ground but just put my other foot a little too close to the edge to get the last scoop of dirt, then I was done. Before I knew it the side of the pond collapsed and I was almost completely horizontal going down into the pond. From where I was standing about 5' from the bottom. Somehow I drew the shovel which I had clutched in my hands across my body and used it to push myself vertical again and landed on my feet. I only remember doing this because as I drew it across my body from one side to the other I cracked my shins with the blade pretty good. I was using a sharp thin flat shovel for digging trenches. Needless to say my shins got a few chunks taken out of my shins here and there, but I didn't get injured seriously or killed. I am self medicating with Guinness and Aleve.
I know digging large deep holes posses some danger. Deppending on soil type you may need shoring devises while working near the edge and in a trench, or hole. This is the first time I ever had a near miss. I guess there is a false comfort in working at home compared to "the field".
Just something to think about or consider for anyone digging a pond.
