Any Excavation Professionals Feel Like Giving Advice?

[ovrszd]

Definitally not enough information in the original post.

Perhaps a certain elevation target must be met. Maybe tie to an existing driveway? Where leveling the pad would result in too much drop-off from the driveway?

But if its just a parking pad and not a pad for a building or shop or camper.....I dont really see the need to make it perfectly level. 1' of fall over 30' isnt much at all.

My last little 20x30 garage I built.....was right off the turn around of my house driveway. I though it was pretty darn level......until I started shooting it and found I had a 12" drop over the 30' direction and an 8" drop over 20'. Took more stone than I wanted to level for the building......but if it was just gonna be a parking pad.....That slope would be almost unnoticeable.

Was helping a dozer owner/operator build 300ft x 300ft pad for a building. He set up his transit with land owner present. He said we'll need 6ft of fill at NW corner. Lad owner said BS. He set at the highest corner, then started walking NW keeping the laser beeper going. When he got to the NW corner he had the bottom of the stick above his head. Land owner said his laser transit was wrong..... some people....

1ft in 30ft will cause any vehicle not parked in gear to roll away.

I have 1ft in 70ft graveled in front of my shop. A vehicle will set still. But can be pushed by hand away from the shop, which is what I wanted.

 

[paulsharvey]

The crown of a typical paved road is 2-3%; an unpaved shoulder; ie, not the front slope of ditch, is typically around 6%; commercial drives in state ROW allowed upto 10% slope. 18" or 1.5 feet/30ft is 5%. Sure, a gentle 1% or 2% would be nice, but that is where the OP needs to balance money vs. desired end product. Yes, vehicle left in neutral, with no brakes will roll; jack stands might want to lean, ect.

An ADA complaint ramp would be upto 8.333% running slope, max 2% cross slope. General ADA complaint sideawalk; 5% running slope and 2% cross slope. Just trying to put everything in perspective

 

[paulsharvey]

1 inch in a 48" level is approx 2%; if that helps you picture it better.

 

[Streetcar]

I always wonder,,,, who the hell thought these up???? It certainly wasn't a blue collar worker at the quarry or on the construction site. Some overpaid white collar pencil pusher that wanted to know something you do not.

For example, in all of your excellent descriptions of the various gravels above, none of the names, not one, have any implication as to the size of the gravel. None.

Very amusing to me. But then I'm the blue collar grader operator trying to order a load of gravel that makes sense for the project at hand.

All stone sizes listed ,except 304 and 411 which are from odot specifications ,are stone that is captured by standard screen sizes

 

[ovrszd]

All stone sizes listed ,except 304 and 411 which are from odot specifications ,are stone that is captured by standard screen sizes

I think we all know that. Point is, where in the name "304" does it indicate what size that screen is?

 

[paulsharvey]

I think we all know that. Point is, where in the name "304" does it indicate what size that screen is?

It wouldn't surprise me if this is based on an ODOT spec number or something similar. I dont know that, just a guess.

Also, with a lot of this stuff; even people in a business will throw around names, and not really know the difference between PVC, PE, HDPE for instance, and call it all pvc pipe.

 

[Fixastuff]

In my area I'd take 4" of aggregate with fabric under it vs 8" without it. I know people that have been adding gravel to their driveways every few years for the the last 30. Rock sink in and dirt pushes up.

 

[ovrszd]

In my neck of the woods, I'm not a fabric fan. Rarely stays where it belongs.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, not helpful to the OP; and definitely different in other areas;
But typical state roadway section
12" stabalized subgrade; LBR40
10" limerock base; LBR100
2.5" SP-12.5 traffic level-C
1.5" FC-12.5
That's a major road, and surface coarse should last roughly 15 years before needing milled and resurfaced. No fabric, or geotextile; but unsuitable material excavated; expanding clays 24" below bottom of subgrade; muck down all the way.

Typical minor county road; 12" stabalized subgrade; 6" of limerock base; 1.5" Sp-12.5.

I really think people try to add additional base, thinking it over comes not getting proper compaction. It really doesn't. Compaction is 80% of what determines if a road lasts or not; the other 15% is drainage; and probably 5% materials.

Don't get compaction, and do Everything else, failed road.

 

[Fixastuff]

In my neck of the woods, I'm not a fabric fan. Rarely stays where it belongs.

I've never seen it move unless some digs it up. How does it move with 4" +rock on top??

 

[ovrszd]

I've never seen it move unless some digs it up. How does it move with 4" +rock on top??

I've saw it move with 12" on top.

Some think fabric stabilizes everything. It does not.

 

[Streetcar]

I think we all know that. Point is, where in the name "304" does it indicate what size that screen is?

304 stone meets the requirements from the odot specifications, also known as b19 to old guys in Ohio. B19 is old spec number for 304

 

[Fixastuff]

I've saw it move with 12" on top.

Some think fabric stabilizes everything. It does not.

I guess your saying in sank in 12" deeper? Was it the 12.5ft wide rolls? I've never seen that happen but if the fabric went down that much, rock would have only pushed in deeper without it.

 

[rScotty]

Just got back from a town meeting where the local town is re-doing a large playground. The area around the swings and playground equipment was stripped of overburden a foot or so down to hard clay, geotextile fabric put down, and then some compacted crusher on the fabric followed by half a foot of C33 playground sand.

The first rain storm turned it into a pond. Holds water very well.

 

[paulsharvey]

Just got back from a town meeting where the local town is re-doing a large playground. The area around the swings and playground equipment was stripped of overburden a foot or so down to hard clay, geotextile fabric put down, and then some compacted crusher on the fabric followed by half a foot of C33 playground sand.

The first rain storm turned it into a pond. Holds water very well.

Well, sounds like they dug a hole into non draining soil, and put sand in the hole. Yes, that would stay wet if there isn't swales, slopes, or pipes to convey the water.

 

[Rockbadchild]

In my area I'd take 4" of aggregate with fabric under it vs 8" without it. I know people that have been adding gravel to their driveways every few years for the the last 30. Rock sink in and dirt pushes up.

That's a vicious cycle fabric or not ... you add weight to one area then it sink and the side lift up... fabric only help avoiding the mud making its way through the gravel up to the surface...

 

[ovrszd]

304 stone meets the requirements from the odot specifications, also known as b19 to old guys in Ohio. B19 is old spec number for 304

And, again, where in your description does it tell the layman what size the stone is?

 

[ovrszd]

I guess your saying in sank in 12" deeper? Was it the 12.5ft wide rolls? I've never seen that happen but if the fabric went down that much, rock would have only pushed in deeper without it.

The fabric going down isn't the problem. Problem is the soil below the fabric percolating and pushing the fabric to the top in spots. Then the maintenance equipment grabs it and yanks it out of the roadbed. Good times.

 

[rScotty]

And, again, where in your description does it tell the layman what size the stone is?

There was a good translation in some thread here on TBN recently. I remember it made interesting reading about all the different callouts for size and type of fill material. Regional differences in the ways stone & crusher runs are called out. Maybe someone remembers.

And lets not forget the inventor:

John Loudon McAdam - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Streetcar]

And, again, where in your description does it tell the layman what size the stone is?

304 is a mixed stone specification so there is no size to call out