Any Excavation Professionals Feel Like Giving Advice?

[paulsharvey]

I dont like #57 stone for a parking area. It never really firms up, and is an added expense. Only way #57 really firms up, is to be pushed into finer material.

Material vary a Lot area to area, but I would strip organics/top soil; add clean fill to about 6" below final grade; you choice/$$$ of asphalt millings, crushed roadbase, or crushed concrete (not gravel, from fines upto rocks, so that the diffent aggregate grades lock together). If it's an erosion prone area, prime with asphalt prime and spread granite screens. Boom, done for 15 years. Crushed concrete is and will always be dusty, but water doesn't bother it. Limerock road base gets a nice 'seal' on the top, but fines will get muddy, and/or erode. Millings aren't very dusty, resist water/erosion well, and does somewhat lock together. Don't belive the myth that the summer heat will melt it back into asphalt, that doesn't happen.

Parking Pad implies wheel turning, and a pure 57 stone will get loosened up by all that turn.

An cheap option would be 6" of sand-clay, topped with less finish material, maybe 3".

Edit: ball field clay, not a fat gumbo with a bit of sand...

Geofabric increases the time to see problems with the subgrade, but it doesn't actually prevent it. Better to address the root cause, unless it's bottomless muck.

 

[Rockbadchild]

It sound like these contractor only want to use different size of pure stone, this will result in a never ending grading mess, it will create tire tracks each time something heavy drive on it or even over time by driving in the same tracks it will push the stone away and spreading it away (It wont stay in place).

 

[paulsharvey]

With material pieces right now; compare your 3 quotes to what 6" of concrete would cost. Quick math says concrete would be 16.667 CY; at $135/yard; plus excavation cost, and pour/finish. If your getting quotes of, say, $4k for just dirt work and base, consider what your really getting.

I might even go 5" thick, as long as your soils are good; and I personally belive in WWF over fiber, but thats just me...

Regardless, you'll want to strip the top soil and organics.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I see there is no mention of what the areas drainage is like.
Personally whenever I can I am fond of subsurface drainage systems (field tile/weeping tile) under gravel parking.
Should be cheap in your area and maybe something to consider?

 

[dodge man]

I agree #2 would be best. Depending on conditions #1 might be fine also, you don‘t always need fabric.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I agree #2 would be best. Depending on conditions #1 might be fine also, you don‘t always need fabric.

You would be fine with making the whole base with only pure stone ?

 

[ovrszd]

I've never heard of leveling a 1.5ft slope in 30ft with rock.

Remove sod. Add 2 dump truck loads of clay to level pad. Use removed top soil for off pad slope on low side. Add gravel to taste.

You need 42 cu yds of material to just level the pad. A dumper will hold somewhere around 20 cu yds of compacted clay. Why would you want to do that with gravel?

 

[Streetcar]

I dont like #57 stone for a parking area. It never really firms up, and is an added expense. Only way #57 really firms up, is to be pushed into finer material.

Material vary a Lot area to area, but I would strip organics/top soil; add clean fill to about 6" below final grade; you choice/$$$ of asphalt millings, crushed roadbase, or crushed concrete (not gravel, from fines upto rocks, so that the diffent aggregate grades lock together). If it's an erosion prone area, prime with asphalt prime and spread granite screens. Boom, done for 15 years. Crushed concrete is and will always be dusty, but water doesn't bother it. Limerock road base gets a nice 'seal' on the top, but fines will get muddy, and/or erode. Millings aren't very dusty, resist water/erosion well, and does somewhat lock together. Don't belive the myth that the summer heat will melt it back into asphalt, that doesn't happen.

Parking Pad implies wheel turning, and a pure 57 stone will get loosened up by all that turn.

An cheap option would be 6" of sand-clay, topped with less finish material, maybe 3".

Edit: ball field clay, not a fat gumbo with a bit of sand...

Geofabric increases the time to see problems with the subgrade, but it doesn't actually prevent it. Better to address the root cause, unless it's bottomless muck.

Ohio does not use granite screening, trucking is too expensive

 

[Streetcar]

57s are not good top coat for parking, 304 is better option.

 

[3Ts]

For those of us that don't work in the excavation or road building fields, what is #57s and what is 304? (The #1 and #2 stone is defined in post #9.) I've heard of "3/4 minus" being used for "road base" which I've found out there is a particular percentage of sizes from 3/4" down to "fines" and that there are 3 or 4 different screen sizes involved.