KeithInSpace
Veteran Member
I've been completing a paver patio project...a little over 300 square feet in an irregular pattern.
This has involved:
---Removal (hardpan clay and roots...very tough) and transport (stockpile ~300 feet away) of roughly 3CY of dirt
---Unloading and placement of 20,000# of base stone
---Unloading and placement of 2,500# of washed sand
---Work area transport of paver stones (had 3,400# pallets of brick delivered)
When transporting the stones, I loaded them into the FEL bucket in batches of 110. A "band" of my particular paver is 90 stones weighting 535# in ideal conditions. So 110 of them is 653# not including moisture and sand between the bricks. I had no trouble raising or carrying said load. Given that the FEL is rated for 460#, I'll consider this pretty impressive.
During construction, the BX also afforded me efficient removal of all construction waste (cut bricks, especially...threw them directly into FEL and dumped directly into trash bins...never touched it otherwise).
TOTAL, I'm about 35 hours into the project (2-10 hour days, 2-5 hour days, and 2 evenings). ALL ALONE. Not a soul has carried a single brick or a single grain of soil except me and my BX. Given that the low-side estimate for this project is $20/sf or over $6,000, I'll consider it another big chunk out of my tractor's purchase price since I'm completing the project for under $2,000 including purchase of necessary specialized tools ($1,200 of which were the pavers themselves).
Ownership of my trailer saved me ~$320 in delivery fees for the stone and sand.
I have yet to perform final tamp into sand bedding, setting polymeric sand, washing the stones, or finishing the perimeter. I'll provide pictures of the finished product in about a week.
This has involved:
---Removal (hardpan clay and roots...very tough) and transport (stockpile ~300 feet away) of roughly 3CY of dirt
---Unloading and placement of 20,000# of base stone
---Unloading and placement of 2,500# of washed sand
---Work area transport of paver stones (had 3,400# pallets of brick delivered)
When transporting the stones, I loaded them into the FEL bucket in batches of 110. A "band" of my particular paver is 90 stones weighting 535# in ideal conditions. So 110 of them is 653# not including moisture and sand between the bricks. I had no trouble raising or carrying said load. Given that the FEL is rated for 460#, I'll consider this pretty impressive.
During construction, the BX also afforded me efficient removal of all construction waste (cut bricks, especially...threw them directly into FEL and dumped directly into trash bins...never touched it otherwise).
TOTAL, I'm about 35 hours into the project (2-10 hour days, 2-5 hour days, and 2 evenings). ALL ALONE. Not a soul has carried a single brick or a single grain of soil except me and my BX. Given that the low-side estimate for this project is $20/sf or over $6,000, I'll consider it another big chunk out of my tractor's purchase price since I'm completing the project for under $2,000 including purchase of necessary specialized tools ($1,200 of which were the pavers themselves).
Ownership of my trailer saved me ~$320 in delivery fees for the stone and sand.
I have yet to perform final tamp into sand bedding, setting polymeric sand, washing the stones, or finishing the perimeter. I'll provide pictures of the finished product in about a week.
