Page 50 - Moving the Earth_ The Workbook of Excavation

LAND CLEARING AND CONTROLS

1.50 THE WORK

FIGURE 1.40 Bracing tow skids.

Small Buildings. Moving buildings properly is also a highly specialized trade, but an excavating
contractor may be called upon to move small structures of minor value out of the work area, or to
drag her or his work buildings around on a job.
The easiest method is to jack the building up, or to lift it one end at a time with a shovel or
crane, and pull a pair of substantial skid logs under it. These should be beveled at the front so as
not to dig in, and notched on the top for the sills of the building. They should be spiked or bolted
to the sills. If the building needs additional rigidity, cross logs may be used above the skids and
the walls may be braced with diagonal planks.
The skids should be rigidly fastened to each other. If the building is to be pulled by one
machine, through a double chain as in Fig. 1.40(A), which is the usual method, the bracing
between the front of the skids takes a tremendous inward pressure. Ordinary log or timber braces
may not hold, unless very expertly installed, or the pull is light.
It is usually worthwhile to make a steel cross brace such as is shown in (B). The beam itself
may be secondhand I beam, or channel or angle. The welded brackets prevent the skids from mov-
ing inward, and the chain, pulled tight with a load binder, prevents them from moving out.
Notches in the bottom of the skids are necessary to prevent the chain from cutting into the ground
and increasing the draft.
The skids should project far enough forward to be easily chained for pulling or lifting. They
should be high enough to carry the sills or cross logs over any irregularities in the ground. If this
is not practical, rollers, consisting of short logs, may be put under the front of the skids. As the
building goes over these, they must be watched so that they will not turn up and injure the struc-
ture. When they are left at the back, they may be picked up and carried to the front.
Rollers are also used when the tractor is not powerful enough to pull the skids on the ground.