RDrancher's Photo Thread

Bob77064 · Mar 14, 2013

Looks real good, big improvement.

deerseeker001 · Mar 14, 2013

looks nice good job.

two_bit_score · Mar 15, 2013

Thanks for 'catching up'! I look forward to new posts on this thread.

EddieWalker · Mar 15, 2013

With all the country driveways that you do, how many of the people who live there have tractors? I'm wondering if they did it themselves and messed it all up before hiring you, or are they mostly just people without a tractor of their own?

Eddie

jinman · Mar 15, 2013

John, Wise County is re-surfacing (re-graveling) our road right now. I cannot believe the number of gravel trucks coming and going. In some places, they are putting in a foot of fresh crushed rock roadbase. It's premium stuff with just the perfect amount of powder. After laying and grading, they are coming back with water trucks and a roller to compact it. It's not pavement, but it's about as good as crushed rock gets. I'm very pleased with the job they are doing.

RDrancher · Mar 15, 2013

EddieWalker said:
With all the country driveways that you do, how many of the people who live there have tractors? I'm wondering if they did it themselves and messed it all up before hiring you, or are they mostly just people without a tractor of their own?
Eddie

Eddie, thanks for asking that question. Now I can go on my favorite spiel.

There are several reasons why folks hire me to do their drives...even the those with their own tractors (and that's quite a few.) I don't build or rework a driveway like anyone else around here, or pretty much any homeowner with a tractor or skidsteer either. When I spread new gravel I don't drag a landplane, RR tie or chunk of old fence along a driveway and call it done. In fact, I'm still not sold on using a landplane for gravel at all. I grade (or re-grade) every driveway (road , parking lot) I build or repair. I'm a stickler for drainage. I don't fill holes with rock or spread pretty new gravel over old problems...collect a check and leave, just to have the same old potholes and and other bad stuff show up a few months later.

The largest gravel delivery company around here was started back in the 60's. The guy had a paving attachment mounted on the back of a dump truck...NO grading for new drives or re-grading before spreading a topping of new gravel. They might remove the top layer of grass and soil, but that was it. He could lay down a beautiful looking driveway with his attachment, but all of the unstable ground and potholes turned folk's driveways into junk in short order. That same company delivers load after load everyday around the area. They still tailgate loads, which looks fine for awhile, and even when they spread with a tractor or SS, they just spread. No grading, no actual concern for soft spots, or the drainage or potholes that plague the homeowner at all. That's exactly how all of the other guys do it around here too.

I do it differently, I'm the most expensive guy around, and I stay really busy. I do know for certain that I am blessed to have this much work!

RDrancher · Mar 15, 2013

jinman said:
John, Wise County is re-surfacing (re-graveling) our road right now. I cannot believe the number of gravel trucks coming and going. In some places, they are putting in a foot of fresh crushed rock roadbase. It's premium stuff with just the perfect amount of powder. After laying and grading, they are coming back with water trucks and a roller to compact it. It's not pavement, but it's about as good as crushed rock gets. I'm very pleased with the job they are doing.

That sounds pretty good there Jim! In between the time that I found and then bought the house I'm in now, the county paved the road. Pretty cool!