To solve that problem, I built a bridge to go from the patio, across the hole, to the lawn. The bridge was made out of exterior treated 2x4s. I used two 10 foot 2x4s, on edge, as the main supports, and then nailed 2 foot lengths of 2x4s between the two supports.
This gives adequate support on either end and is rigid enough to support any one of the occupants of the house -- me, Linda, the dog, or the cat. I did something like this when we were doing the patio, and it worked fine, except when it got wet and icy. I hope to be done before it gets icy.
And to move that along, I extended the digging along the side of the house, following the irrigation water supply line. My plan is to take it back to the gate and lower it down to bedrock. That will require exposing and then removing all of this rock. Another 10 feet or so, and I should meet up with an area that has already been excavated.
Which is what happened. I scraped the dirt off the rock for this entire area, exposing several very large rocks, both on the side of the house and under the irrigation water supply line. Mostly, they were not very far under ground.
A day with the jackhammer and I have most of these broken up into manageable sized pieces, with the exception of the big one closest to the bridge. I've chipped off parts of the edge, but it's a really big rock, with no obvious natural breaking points.
Once I have cleared out all the broken pieces, we'll be able to see what is left.
This took another week, due to a 3 inch rain.
