Had a client call me out on my post hole digging method

I was putting up a cedar fence for a guy in Oak Park last month, and he watched me dig a few holes with my auger. He said, 'You know, you're going way too deep for the frost line here, it's only 36 inches.' I've been digging 48 inches deep for years, thinking it was the safe bet for our whole state. I checked the local code after he said that, and sure enough, Oak Park has a different frost depth than the next town over. I was wasting time and concrete on every job. Now I look up the exact code for each town before I even load the truck. It seems simple, but it saved me about two bags of mix per hole on that last job. How do you guys handle code changes between towns, just keep a list or check each time?

3 comments

3 Comments

dixon.amy8d ago

You keep a physical list or use an app for that? I'd make a spreadsheet with town names and frost depths, maybe even note if they require inspections. Saves you from looking it up fresh every single time.

richard5817d ago

Yeah, that's a classic mistake, I read a whole article in a trade magazine about how frost depth can change like every ten miles. It's wild. I like what @dixon.amy said about a spreadsheet, I started doing that on my phone after I got burned on deck footing depth in two towns right next to each other. Now I just pull it up quick before I give an estimate, so I'm not eating the cost of extra concrete or worse, having to pull a post. Some of the older guys I know still just call the town hall every time, which works but feels slow.

the_riley5d ago

Honestly it's the same with a lot of local rules. Like parking overnight, or what day they pick up yard waste. You can drive five minutes and the whole system changes. Makes you realize how much we just guess based on our own little bubble, and then get surprised when the next town over does it totally different.