RDrancher's Photo Thread

[RDrancher]

Moved a gravel driveway I put in last year to lineup with the new entrance. The existing material was ordered by the property owner. No way would I suggest 3/4" rock with very few fines for a new driveway. The owner is an estimator for a mid-sized excavation company, so he's always trying to find a better deal than I can give him. :confused3:

Here's his 20' culvert pipe "deal." He doesn't have a trailer so he paid to have them cut it into 10 sections. It ended up costing him more than I would have sold him a 30-footer for. I told him that he'd be better off with a 30-footer, but he told me to put it in. After I bedded and compacted it in...and spread gravel over the top, he decided that it was too narrow. The inspector in the area won't go for two bands on a pipe...so I dug it back up and he bought a 30-footer from me.


I lined out the new driveway and then began stockpiling. I mixed what fines the gravel had in it and stockpiled as I went so i could take the dirt/gravel mix base at the bottom and use it as a base for the new driveway.


As luck would have it, my tractor stopped running. I picked up the Kubota SVL75 to finish the job in the rain.


I got the tractor repaired today. You can read about it here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/new-holland-owning-operating/266178-another-tc35d-no-start-fuel.html

 

[RDrancher]

A little backyard cleanup.


I separated the limestone rock (two trailer loads) and slabs, and took them to my stockpile at a future jobsite. Then I used some of the cleaner dirt to fill around the septic and aerobic sprinkler lines and hauled off the rest.

 

[MarkV]

John, it looks as if you do great work and you seem to stay busy. That says a lot in the current construction economy. My compliments! Not an easy thing to do for an independent these days.

MarkV

 

[RDrancher]

Thanks Mark.

I definitely feel blessed that we've stayed busy over the last few years. I have a lot of friends in the industry that have really struggled and its not looking a whole lot better for them in the near future. At this time last year I was six weeks behind and at this point this year work has fallen flat on its face...so we'll see. I do stay optimistic and try to keep a good attitude no matter what and I think that actually helps nail the job when the call comes in. The way I look at it is that even if I only get one day a week it still beats working 40 for $12 an hour. It does help that my wife was raised in a construction family. She knows how to sock it away when its good and tighten the belt when its not. I've worked for myself since 1987 and have had a side business since 1980, never collected anything from the government and don't owe anyone a dime. Its been a good life!

 

[jinman]

I've worked for myself since 1987 and have had a side business since 1980, never collected anything from the government and don't owe anyone a dime. Its been a good life!

Funny, I just got a call from a neighbor-to-be who needs a driveway and culvert installed at his place. He just bought property that I sold to the fellow he bought from. I know it's confusing. Would you be interested in that job? I won't do it because I don't have a business and no insurance for such. PM me with your info if you are interested. I'll give him your business name and tell him I've asked. We are 10 miles south of Bowie off Hwy 287 for a location reference.

 

[RDrancher]

Thanks Jim.

 

[RDrancher]

In celebration of the Mayan holiday, I did a little repair for one of my customers. He tells me that the neighbor had a little party and someone backed over the border that I installed awhile back.


I shoveled (yes, I said "shoveled" ) back the peagravel and base material and installed a new length of corral board.


Here's a pretty good photo of the separation between the soil, geotextile and gravel.

 

[kevinwak]

Do you always put a border on the drives that you do? What do you use for a border?

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[RDrancher]

Do you always put a border on the drives that you do? What do you use for a border?

No, most of the driveways I install are without a border. The one shown was at the customers request. In our closest city, the "powers that be" have decided to require 4" of gravel, concrete or asphalt and a border on all gravel driveways and they're actually handing out citations to those that don't comply. Its a bit ridiculous...In these economic times, some of those folks are barely making their mortgage payments.

If I do install a border I give the customer a choice of rough-cut corral boards (like the one above), RR ties, 4"x6" landscape timbers, or metal landscape edging. Ties and timbers are drilled and secured with rebar driven into the ground and then drilled and pinned together with galvanized landscape spikes.

 

[RDrancher]

For the first time since I started this business, we had zero jobs on the board for January as of January 1st. It wouldn't have made much difference anyway since I came down with a dozen or so strains of the flu the day after Christmas and then pneumonia. Last Wednesday was the first day I felt like I could actually do something constructive, and since we had a bit of soaking rain the phone had been ringing off the hook! Rain always wakes folks up and they notice the poor condition of their driveways and parking lots. It's great for business.

So between last Wednesday and Saturday I picked up a concrete parking pad with a short section of SRW retaining wall, about two weeks worth of gravel work, a small back yard topsoil job, and one job that includes three acres of cleanup, complete drainage / landscape grading, a house pad, gravel driveway and culvert. That's more like it! :thumbsup:

So I scheduled one job to start today...and this morning I wake up to this.

God does have a sense of humor... :laughing:

 

[kevin37b]

R.D. you do very nice work . I just looked at your photo thread and am impressed . How do you keep such nice straight tidy edges on those new rock driveways ?Iam sure your phone will keep ringing . Good luck .

 

[RDrancher]

Thanks Kevin. The trick to nice edges is to pull material along the edge with the box blade, go slow enough to control the height of the BB, and not to make too many passes which pushes too much material to the edge. If time and the job allow, I like to use the loader to make two or three bucket-load piles every few feet about a foot from each edge after spreading the initial layer and then spread the piles from there. Final grading with the BB is much easier with a full box. That especially holds true for crushed rock without fines.

 

[LJH]

I'm starting a petition to have RDrancher video his jobs for YouTube, a la Vantagetes or Billstmaxx (two of my favs). Who wants to sign? :thumbsup:

 

[RDrancher]

HA! I'm planning on getting a GoPro this spring since I need videos for my website. My favs on youtube are letsdig18 and BobcatNinja2124. Both of those guys are exceptional operators! Its also been fun watching JimHowDigsDirt progress from a "what in the world is he doing?" operator into a pretty good one.

 

[two_bit_score]

I'm starting a petition to have RDrancher video his jobs for YouTube, a la Vantagetes or Billstmaxx (two of my favs). Who wants to sign? :thumbsup:

HA! I'm planning on getting a GoPro this spring since I need videos for my website. My favs on youtube are letsdig18 and BobcatNinja2124. Both of those guys are exceptional operators! Its also been fun watching JimHowDigsDirt progress from a "what in the world is he doing?" operator into a pretty good one.

Where do we sign LJH?

RD, I'll be checking out those videos until yours are uploaded.

 

[LJH]

letsdig18 and BobcatNinja2124 - yup, both in my subscription list. Haven't check out JimHowDigsDirt but I sure will, thanks. That's pretty much where I'm at - still faking it and learning as I go.

 

[kevin37b]

Check out Diesel Power TV . Lot's of old Cat equipment and good operator . This guy has the patience of a saint .

 

[RDrancher]

Here's a couple of small jobs. On both of them I actually waited longer for material than it took to do the jobs.

Little backyard fill job.


Roadbase for a couple of small driveways at a duplex. Spreading wet roadbase is the worst!


The view of Lake Lewisville across the road.

 

[two_bit_score]

RD, couple questions, please.

On that small a section in the driveway why wouldn't they go ahead with concrete to the street?

I haven't seen you put up anything with 'wash out'. Do you use it? What has been your experience, if any, with it?
Thanks!

 

[RDrancher]

two bit - These are rentals and they wanted to get them repaired inexpensively. If I would have quoted concrete it would have cost three times as much.

By "wash out", do you mean concrete wash out?