Thanks for all the good info! I will be leaving the pad a compacted lime stone sand base. With concrete going for $125 a yard my budget will not allow that. The limestone sand, we have around here compacts down very hard even under wet conditions. I use a sand floor in my barns and I have found them to work very well. I am planing on putting gutters on the building to channel water away. I hope to start on leveling the pad in the next few weeks if the weather holds. But with that being said I am excepting some very cold temps, so the ground may freeze up and stay that way for awhile.
Grading Dirt Work
- Thread starter farm guy
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Mechanos
Veteran Member
Another technique that works well is to use a box blade with the scarifiers down to rip up the sod or break up hard ground. You're not really trying to move any dirt with the box blade... just loosen up the sod/soil. Then use the loader to scoop up and move the loosened up soil. Once you get that layer moved, make another couple passes with the box blade scarifiers and then scoop and move that layer. That way you are not trying to dig so much with the loader.
I agree with you, there have been several people who have suggested box grader with teeth. My Tractor Supply has one for $599 for a 5 foot one with six teeth and the reviews on it are all five stars. I think with that and the loader I should be able to get my pad ready without too much trouble. Also the box grader will make a nice counterbalance on the back for the loader work.
With a 55 horse tractor, how much is a 6 foot box blade?:licking::thumbsup:
I checked Tractor's web site, $649 I was thinking of going with the 5 foot since it has more reviews and was thinking that I should be able to dig a bit deeper with a 5 foot blade then the six foot because of less ground resistance. Any thoughts?
I have a 7 foot on my 5530 mahindra and it will pull it across the dirt like its not there!
If your tractor puts out 50 or more ponies I think the only thing you would have to do is add weight and it should have no problem.:thumbsup:
Verticaltrx
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2009
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- VA
- Tractor
- Kubota B3200/L2501/SVL65-2/U35-4, IH 454/656, Ford NAA, Case 1845C/480E/450C LGP
Don't even fool with those box blades from TSC on a tractor that size. You will wreck it in short order unless you are very careful. They are meant for tractors about the size of my B3200 Kubota or Ford NAA. You need something name brand and heavy duty for that size tractor. Woods, Bush hog, Land Pride, etc are good places to start looking.
Mechanos
Veteran Member
I would look at a minimum of 6.5' for your tractor.
I very big thank you to all the input on this. I talked with a contractor friend of mine. He came out and shot some elevations on the pad site. He told me we will need to remove about 5 feet of dirt front the back section of the pad and add 2 feet to the front. We are going to be a tag team, I am going to clear the area of light brush and debris left around. Then he is going to loosen up the dirt with his excavator while I move it. He will use his track dozier to finish grade the area and move the 3 ton rock at the edge of the pad. I was not going to move it but since he is digging down so much we got to move it. Thanks again for all your help!!!!
RaydaKub
Veteran Member
Nice to have friends in the right places! :thumbsup:
Mark Page
Platinum Member
I've only done some minor grading with my 45 hp Massey with no FEL. What has worked for me is to use my 5 ft. tiller to loosen up about 6" of top soil then move it with my blade. Then repeat the process as necessary.
Hi All,
An update, I got a box blade from Tractor Supply 6' and I love it was able to do about 85% of the grading with it and my FEL. I was able to do so much that my contractor knocked $500 off the price to do the finish grading! I love this blade it is built like a tank! Now the building is up and I got some place to work on my tractor! Thank again to all for all your advise!!
An update, I got a box blade from Tractor Supply 6' and I love it was able to do about 85% of the grading with it and my FEL. I was able to do so much that my contractor knocked $500 off the price to do the finish grading! I love this blade it is built like a tank! Now the building is up and I got some place to work on my tractor! Thank again to all for all your advise!!
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