From Grass to Driveway

   / From Grass to Driveway #1  

Gatorboy

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
3,106
Location
Bel Air, MD
Tractor
Kubota M8950, Bobcat 873 SSL & Kubota ZD-331
I need to start working on my 1500' driveway. Currently it is just grass that I have been driving on. (Right side of photo)

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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

gatorhead.gif
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #2  
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
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #3  
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
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #4  
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
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #5  
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.
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #6  
<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?

HarvSig.gif
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #7  
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.

waver.gif
<font color=green>stan</font color=green>
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #8  
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
 
   / From Grass to Driveway #9  
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
 
   / From Grass to Driveway
  • Thread Starter
#10  
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

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