If you can get a pump or a garden hose out there, try sticking a piece of 1/2" PVC on the hose that is as long as the piece of 8" PVC. Turn the hose on, and stick the 1/2" PVC inside the 8" one to wash away the dirt inside the pipe. It may loosen the dirt enough so you can just gently tap the 8" PVC down to the depth that you want. My dad and I did this trick with a steel seawall (the pieces of steel interlocked and looked like W's) and 20' pieces of 2" galvanized pipe that we used as uprights for a boat hoist. We don't have to remove anything in the winter, the ice goes the other way and isn't a problem. When we did it, we put a shut-off valve at the end of the hose so we didn't have water spraying all over when we took it out of the pipe. If it works, stop washing the dirt away before you get to the target depth and pound it in the rest of the way. On the first one, we didn't do that and ended up pulling the pipe back up that winter because it sunk too low.
Last edited by esshup; 03/04/09 07:39 AM. Reason: typo
