I'm in the process of trying to scoop up about 30 yds of stone from around my filled-in (Dirt) swimming pool. Looks like the previous owner had laid down some fine pea gravel first (about 4-5" thick) then laid regular sized stone over that about 6-8" thick. I've made a few passes with my box blade and it worked fairly well but as I go deeper i'd like to minimize the amount of soil i am also digging up. Would a lawn rake do a decent job of dragging the stones a distance of about 25' without making a big mess?
Rake Lawn rake to remove stones???
- Thread starter JohnMC
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DiskDoctr
Platinum Member
JohnMC,
Depends what you call a mess /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If you mean will it tear up the soil, a lawnrake (aka landscape rake, York rake) will be better than a box blade.
It will leave stragglers along the entire 25' and if you are dragging across anything other than dirt (ie dragging stones across a lawn), you will most likely lose many of the stones along the way.
If you have one available, try it.
If you just want to remove all the bigger stones, find a couple of neighborhood kids wanting a few $$ and have them pick the stones and load them into a FEL bucket, or other trailer (like the tow behind ones for lawn tractors).
Hope this helps.
-JC
Depends what you call a mess /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If you mean will it tear up the soil, a lawnrake (aka landscape rake, York rake) will be better than a box blade.
It will leave stragglers along the entire 25' and if you are dragging across anything other than dirt (ie dragging stones across a lawn), you will most likely lose many of the stones along the way.
If you have one available, try it.
If you just want to remove all the bigger stones, find a couple of neighborhood kids wanting a few $$ and have them pick the stones and load them into a FEL bucket, or other trailer (like the tow behind ones for lawn tractors).
Hope this helps.
-JC
You would have to play it carefully to get many of the stones without also still dragging too much dirt along with it. If you have the rake all the way down and a short top link, you'll dig dirt. Angle the rear back some and you won't dig so much dirt, but you'll probably lose a lot of rocks. If you can get the height just right, you can drag a lot of the larger stones and they'll start building up, holding each other in as you go, but you'll still lose quite a few. Still prob. less soil gone than with the BB. John
Junkman
Super Member
From someone that has been there and done that, just scoop them up and don't even give the missing dirt any thought. When you are finished, just buy some loam and plant grass. It would be easiest to just use a front end loader if you have one. No matter how you do it, you are going to have a mess. A landscape rake isn't the tool of choice for removing the amount of rocks that you describe. It is for leveling and removing stones from the soil. It also carries a lot of the soil with it in the process.. I have a small mountain growing from the rocks and dirt that my landscape rake have removed from my present project. I really could use a rock/dirt separator to put some of the soil back.
beenthere
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I think Junkman has the answer, but am wondering if the Harley Rake (powered) would also be something to use if you can find a rental. They will 'push' the stones ahead, and allow the dirt (free of stones) to pass over the top and stay in place. The end result is a fluffed up dirt bed ready to plant (seed).