How to Pack Down Dirt with Manual Soil Tamper. How to Make Sure the Dirt is Ready to be Compacted

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I have been using a manual soil tamper for some of my DIY project and found a proper technique that works for me. The success will depend mostly on your technique and the amount of moisture that is in your dirt and how deep is the lose dirt that you are trying to compact.

Technique:
Make sure that all surface of the tamper is making contact to the ground. Make sure that you are applying pressure to the tamper and that you feel comfortable with your position. The position that works for me is when I place the tamper in my center of gravity with my legs shoulder width apart. I use both hand to grab the handle and use to lift the tamper about shoulder or chin level. If you have rock that is sticking out that won't go down anymore you will need to either take it out or go around it. If you have uneven soil or tight space that is preventing the tamper's surface to make proper contact to the ground then you will need to open that space or loosen the area around the tamper that is preventing all the surface of your tamper to make proper contact and then just tamp the whole area again.

Moisture Level:
If the dirt is too dry, you want to water it very slightly the day before you are planning to compact the dirt to give it some time to absorb some water and let the sun and/or air remove the rest. This works for soil, decomposed granite and crushed rocks (class II roadbase). If it is too wet, you will not be able to properly use your tamper because it will either splatter on you or the dirt will stick to the surface of your compactor. Your lose dirt should look dry but it should hold it's form when you squish it together in your hand and should not stick to your hand. The video will show you how the soil should look like.

Dirt Level:
I have seen some youtube videos that shows how much you can get with different type of compacter and basically, it would range between 1/4 inch to 2 inches. The manual for the plate compactor that I rented in the past also mentioned that you need to add the dirt in 4 inch layer then compacting it before adding another layer and compacting it again. So as a rule that I followed I will avoid compacting lose soil that is over 4 inch high. If I have to add a soil into an area, I will add between 3 and 4 inches then I would compact it, then add the next layer and compact it again to make sure that I am getting the most compaction for my project.

I hope that this helped you in your project. Please make sure to return the favor by clicking on the like and subscribe buttton.

Thanks.

[diymanual]

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[edpowell]

From Buffalo, N.Y. Hey Pal, Thanks for the info. It does make a lot of sense as you said regarding every few inches of compacting the soil and also having it a bit moist. I will keep your advice in mind, thank you.

[kevdubbleyou]

Thank you for this video. I was a bit unsure of getting the technique correct and comfortable so this has helped alot. Good tips too 👍

[ltodd]

Very helpful. I'm sure these tips will save me a lot of time!

[GaryMcKinnonUFO]

Thanks for the tips, just ordered my first tamper and picking it up tomorrow. Subbed and liked :)

[michellehodgson-smith]

This was very informative. Thank you!!

[A-zoneJack]

Helpful. Thank you. I was hoping to see a person add water to dry soil appropriately for compaction.

[DayBowBow]

Do you have any tips how to properly make the soil moist if it's dry?

[edwinleon]

Good video. what size tamper did you size? length of pole and size of plate? Thank you.

[Rusiputki]

Does the weight of the tool matter? Would you rather work with a lighter version or make a heavier one?

[mshutube]

What? If there is a large rock and the hand tamper is not hitting the soil because of it, it won't work?! This has been my problem the WHOLE TIME. Thank God I found this video!