From Grass to Driveway

[Gatorboy]

I need to start working on my 1500' driveway. Currently it is just grass that I have been driving on. (Right side of photo)

I have been reading many posts on box blades, rear blades, rotary tillers, discs, etc. and what I think I need to do (buy) is the following:
<pre> ~ Rotary Tiller
~ Rear Blade </pre>


I would use the rotary tiller to break up the grass/soil, and then use the rear blade to do the grading with. After I have it prepared, I can then bring in loads of rock and also use the blade to spread/smooth out the stone.

I will have other projects to do similar work (i.e. Get my building sites prepared for future barns/sheds)

Am I on the right track with the implements I need to buy? If, not, please offer me alternate suggestions. Yes, I know one obvious one is to hire someone else to do it -- but what fun is that?


Regards,
Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann
Fallston, Maryland

 

[PaulinSD]

Well Dave, IMHO, I'd go for the box blade over a regular blade. I've had a regular blade and it worked good for snow and light grading. Since I bought a 5' box blade for my JD 955, I've found I can do more with it, and it has 5 adjustable teeth for ripping. I guess a lot depends on what you want to do with your drive. I'd either till it or rip it, and use the loader to haul out the material, then put crushed rock in. Either way, 1500 feet is a project. But then, thats why we own these machines!! Looks like a nice piece of property, too.

Paul

 

[TractorTim]

I would not recommend tilling the ground before installing gravel. The idea behind the gravel is to have a hard compacted surface to drive on. By tilling the ground first you would double the amount of gravel required to privide a nice surface.When I built my drive, I used Roundup to kill the undergrowth, then spread the gravel on top. A box blade is easier to level with, but a blade can do the job with a little practice. Happy spreading.


TractorTim

 

[Devildog]

Dave
Nice scenery. And a Box blade will do more than you think. But you might as well purchase all 3/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
_____________________________________________
Take care, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires, Befco BRB60
Semper Fidelis

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hold on gatorboy! TractorTim is right! Don't till that soil unless you want the mother of all mudholes! Dump the gravel right on top.

Before winter, while the ground is dry or just a little wet.

Check out these links:
http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/accessroads/stream.htm
http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/accessroads/accessroads.htm

Neither one will come up right now so I hope one or the other works?!?

You probably want to kill all the grass before you dump the rock with something more potent than roundup. There is a product that kills the ground for seven years. You get it from a farmer's co-op or other commercial source. I do not know the name of it though. Also try to get some kind of deal on rock because your eyes are gonna pop when you see how much it will cost for that much gravel.

Pretty place though.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Dump the gravel right on top.</font color=blue>

Seems to be the consensus, Dave, but first you might want to roll out some of that geo-textile road fabric, just to be sure. And hopefully you'll have a hundred feet or so left over to send to your good buddy out here in California. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

BTW -- from what I've read on this board, the key to a good road/driveway is drainage. Will that be an issue for you?

 

[StanInCalif]

Dave -
You need a box scraper w/scarifiers- and ultimately a rear blade for the ditches. I would scratch the surface with the scarifiers to make a better bond, and perhaps do a little light grading. Then, I would call the nearest trucking co. that is closest to the nearest gravel plant, and have them bring x no. of loads of road base (3/4 minus, 3/4 to dust), or whatever it's called in your area, and have them spread it about an inch thick. I would avoid "rock", or any material in which the particle sizes are all about the same. The "fines" are necessary to bind the material. You can plan on repeating this in a few years. I think it is better to put a little down now, and a little later. The reason I mention closest plant is because it's the trucking that costs, not the material.

<font color=green>stan</font color=green>

 

[billboe]

hmmmmmm...

You've got lots of dump the rock/gravel on top advice... Personally, we have always removed grass/topsoil before adding road base. Otherwise, you could have problems with settling and mud...

Just my $0.02...

Billboe

 

[Rch]

Scrape off the top soil and create berms to deflect the prevailing winds. Then plant wind breaks/sight breaks and use-up the top soil for the inevitable landscape projects as the trees take over. Remember, asphalting, say around the house after a few years, will raise the road way above the grade and that can be a problem, esp if the roadway is high all ready. I sold some of the topsoil to the dozer guy to offset his cost. Extra top soil is really handy, especially with a compact tractor/FEL around, for doing your own landscaping and saving big bucks.

RCH

 

[Gatorboy]

RCH, and all...

I am very much welcoming this advice. I will -- in the future-- be asphalting this puppy. Thus this is why I want to scrape it below grade and fill it in with rock for now.

Harv, the only area that concerns me for drainage is down near the road, for that area (about 200') is wetlands, and can get pretty mucky in the early spring. Once I cross over the creek (which for now I will build a ford to cross), it is all gently uphill and dry from there.

Also, for future use, I will need to prepare areas for my pole barn, etc. and I doubt just a box scraper will be able to cut the grass and soil away that easy.

I should point out that I have an 89 HP Kubota M8950. The attachments for those are alittle more pricey than for the compact tractors. I have a quote on a Gannon Box Blade of $2400. So buying a rear blade, box blade and tiller will be sliming down my wallet better than Jenny Craig could do.



Regards,
Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann
Fallston, Maryland

 

[MOG]

Standard practice here in northwestern PA would be to remove the topsoil and then bring in the gravel. If you don't remove the topsoil and have any rain or, frost you'll be sorry. The first driveway I put in I used my father-inlaws' L4200 w/loader and 60" tiller. It worked great. Tilled it first, then removed the topsoil and stockpiled it for later use. If your land is naturally wet you may want to haul in a coarse gravel with softball size stones (sometimes called "overrun") for a good base then a crushed or, screened for the top and finish grading.

 

[Bird]

This thread puzzles me a bit. You mention a picture and some of the other guys mention it looking good, but I don't get any picture and it doesn't show any attachment.

Bird

 

[Gatorboy]

Bird,

I just inserted the image in my message. But click here to see the same picture.


Regards,
Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann
Fallston, Maryland

 

[cowboydoc]

Gatorboy,
I would take off the first 4" of soil with your loader bucket. It's much easier with a skidsteer if you could rent one for a few days but you can do it with loader bucket. You will need a toothbar to do it though. Next put down the geotextile fabric that Harv mentioned. Then I would put down a layer of 2 and 3" rock. Then put your road mix on top of that. That should make a really nice road for a long time.

If you're going to asphalt it later then I wouldn't go to all that work. All I would do is bring in some 3" rock. If you have a good dumptruck driver they can spread it as they dump it. Put one layer of this over the top of that road you already have started. Drive on this for a few weeks and it will all settle into the ground and give you a nice base. Then bring in your road mix and put that on top and you will be fine. Definitely the route I would go if you're going to be blacktopping later.

Also I agree with the other guys that no way I would till that up. You will be dumping rock in there forever and a day if you till it up. But if you only tilled say the top couple inches and you were going to go with the soil removal, fabric, etc. route then you would be ok. Just make sure you took out all of the dirt that you tilled and you were down to hard packed dirt before you put down the fabric and then the rock.

 

[RichNJ]

Here in NJ we do the following with the local materials:
1. Take out the topsoil.
2. Make any adjustments for water, swales, pipe, etc.
3. Lay in a base of shale to just above grade.
4. Drive on this until the house construction is done.
5. Re-grade level across the driveway.
5. Put on 2 or 3 inches of 3/4" or 5/8" roadstone. Have the dumptruck "tailgate" the stone out making at least one pass on each side and overlapping the passes in the middle of the driveway. By overlapping this will make a slight raised crown in the middle of the drive for water runoff. Roadstone is 3/4" or 5/8" crushed gravel with "screenings" added. This packs done to make a very good surface to drive on.
I'd wait a couple of years before paving to make sure everything is settled in.

To save time you may want to get a bulldozer to strip the topsoil. I've learned to leave the big jobs to the big equipment.

 

[Gatorboy]

Richard,

There sure is alot of ways to do a job. I think I am still leaning towards tilling (couple inches down) and using the Rear Blade to clear off the loosend soil. I would then use the geotextile fabric and then lay down the rock. I should then have a decent driveway, and if/when I asphalt, I should have a beautiful base.

It seems to me that the rear blade I linked to above, would be more useful than a box blade, for I can tilt left up/right up, forward/reverse, angle, etc. and with attaching sideplates can move dirt like a box blade. Am I missing something? Please excuse my ignorance, for I have not used either attachment.

I am in no rush, so I may do my 1500' of driveway in sections, and though it would be faster and easier to hire a bulldozer to come in, it would be more fun for me to do it myself.

By the way, I don't have a loader on my tractor.

Regards,
Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann
Fallston, Maryland

 

[TerryinMD]

Dave,

What are you going to do with all of the soil you've tilled and bladed? You're going to have to move it somewhere. Not having a FEL may be an issue.

I just did a quick calculation and you should have somewhere near 146 cubic yards of soil that you've moved with a tiller and rear blade.

Just a consideration.....

Terry

 

[Gatorboy]

Terry,

<font color=blue>What are you going to do with all of the soil you've tilled and bladed? </font color=blue>

That question is easy -- I have 11 acres of open field that could use some fill.

But you have uncovered a huge weakness in my plan -- How in the heck do I get it there? Looks like I'm gonna have to dig down deeper and buy myself a FEL and a hydraulic tilt on my pickup truck bed.

I think it is time to call Regis Philben and get on that show "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire"

But actually, I have plenty of room along the entire driveway to spread out the fill.

Regards,
Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann
Fallston, Maryland

 

[MOG]

Dave,

I wish you had a loader. If you tilled and stockpiled that topsoil the next year you could sell it and make a buck. People are always wanting topsoil around here.

 

[TerryinMD]

Dave,

Just bring 20 or so yards up to Sharpsburg - I'll be able to use it. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

MOG has a good idea. Storing it for sale might not be a bad idea. It could offset the cost of some new implements. Or, you might be able to find someone local who will haul it away for the cost of cutting your new driveway and maybe hauling in some stone.... Never hurts to ask. Good topsoil is a valuable commodity. Just look at what happens to the topsoil from many of the developements in our area. It is stripped and sold off.

Terry