Any Excavation Professionals Feel Like Giving Advice?

[ovrszd]

AS you can tell from most of the responses......stone "terminology" is definitely different state to state. Finally this is an ohio poster so I can relate. So my first reply here is for everyone else....

#1-2's is the largest before going to rip-rap. They are ~3"-5" stone. Roughly the size of your fist.
#4's is also common for a base....they are about golfball sized. 1.5"-2"
#57 is 5-7 sized stone. ~3/4" stone. Like a large marble
#8 is "pea gravel" size. Just limestone not gravel. ~3/8"

All those are washed and uniform in size. IE: no dust

Then there are 304's which is #4 sized to dust. Basically anything and everything that will fall through a #4 screen. So it has 4's, 57's 8's and lots of dust.

411's are anything that will fall through the 57 screen. So same principal of 304's.....just cuts out the larger sizes but still lots of fines and dust.

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.

 

[ovrszd]

This is a very interesting thread in regards to perspectives. A lot of assumptions.

Still am amused that some want to level the pad with stone. Some don't give leveling any consideration and are willing to build a pad with a 18" fall in 30ft one direction and a 12" fall in 30ft in another direction.

 

[EddieWalker]

The guy wanting to used crushed asphalt should be ignored.

How much topsoil do you have there? Do you even have top soil? Be careful of removing material that you don't have to remove. In my area, we do not have topsoil, the clay is what we grow everything in, and there is no reason to remove it. Those who do, just create other issues by lowering where the water wants to go, and creating a wet area.

If it's just grass, mow it short, spray it with Roundup, and cover it with stone. If you really want it flat, you can build up the low area with more stone. Any time you remove material, you have to create drainage for that area. For a parking area where you live, you have to decide if that's really needed.

Be careful of advice that's given because that's what they did, or that's what they where told. Consider every aspect of your area, and what the water is going to do once you create this parking area. And most of all, be sure that you know what topsoil is, and if you actually have it.

 

[LD1]

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.

Im not sure where the sizing and stone "grades" came from.

But what I posted above I know ohio uses. Its what I grew up with knowing the sizes.

It wasnt until TBN that I learned other areas of the country are different. People talking like 2a modified, or #3 (which we dont even have in ohio), and all sorts of other lingo

But.....stone isnt the only thing that has a meaningless designation:

Like tractor models. (they have gotten better these last 20 years where the numbers actually mean something).....but look at the 1970's-1990's. Tractor model numbers was just some crazy designation that meant nothing at all.

Or what about letter and number drill bits? Most people know a #7 is for 1/4-20 threads and a letter F if you want 5/16-18.....but they mean what exactly?

Or chuck key sizes? Who actually knows what size they use? or do they just find a random one that works.

OR what about machine screw sizes? Like 8-32 or 10-32. Just what does the 8 and 10 mean?

Or nails? Just what is a 16 penny nail? or a 20?

Rockwell hardness scale? Higher number is harder.....so they certainly arent correlating that to the depression depth of the ball or diamond tip? Cause if they did....higher would be softer

I could probably go on all day.

 

[LD1]

This is a very interesting thread in regards to perspectives. A lot of assumptions.

Still am amused that some want to level the pad with stone. Some don't give leveling any consideration and are willing to build a pad with a 18" fall in 30ft one direction and a 12" fall in 30ft in another direction.

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.

 

[The-AJ88]

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.

The parking pad will connect to an existing gravel driveway. Using the existing driveway as the target final grade for the parking pad, the unexcavated area is approximately
1.5' slope right to left over the 30' area and 1' slope front to back over the 30' area. Perfectly level is not required, but I am looking for some improvement to minimize the slope to prevent delivery vehicles from getting stuck in the winter time when they are using the turn around area.

 

[ddbackhoe]

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.

some geeky technical guys. Stone thrown in a pile or raked around the yard doesnt naturally tend to bond together very well. Subgrade and the material chosen to bring up to grade, have compaction standards that actually increase the surface‘s load bearing ability.

 

[paulsharvey]

For the slope issue; I would want between 2% and 6% slope; more is a problem; less can be too. 18" in 30 ft would be toward the max I would want. Of coarse, once again, depends on if we are just parking a car or pick up, or plan on doing a lot of automotive work on this parking pad....

 

[The-AJ88]

For the slope issue; I would want between 2% and 6% slope; more is a problem; less can be too. 18" in 30 ft would be toward the max I would want. Of coarse, once again, depends on if we are just parking a car or pick up, or plan on doing a lot of automotive work on this parking pad....

The pad will only be used for turning around and parking. UPS/Fed Ex delivery trucks will be the heaviest vehicle using it. Otherwise just passenger and light duty vehicles.

 

[paulsharvey]

The pad will only be used for turning around and parking. UPS/Fed Ex delivery trucks will be the heaviest vehicle using it. Otherwise just passenger and light duty vehicles.

In that case, a 5% slope isn't going to be an issue; the turnaround part makes me even more leary of a loose rock topping.

In all honesty, we are all disagreeing on methods, but it boils down to how much you care about looks and your budget. You could spend as little as maybe $500 for a sand-clay area, about 6-8" thick, and spread with a box blade after spraying round up; to a $5000 nice looking, concrete pad, or professionally done millings/crushcrete area. There's not really a right or wrong answer, as long as it meets your expectations.