Big Multi Year Project About to Begin...help!

[nybirdman]

Good luck with your project,quite an undertaking.My only thought is...a town road that you are going to improve..no doubt "traffic is going to increase and there is nothing you can do about it.I can hear it now..**** we been coming up here for years..yikes.Probably mostly for hunting,four-wheeling ect.
I would approach the town and see if you could make it a private road.Sounds like you are going to do the up-keep and snow removal.

 

[Localmotion]

Good luck with the project - I really look forward to following your progress on TBN.

Regarding the self sufficiency aspect, there is a really good contact (albeit in the UK) who has done vey similar to yourselves - the father Dick Strawbridge is actually the UK prsenter of Scrapheap Challenge (Junkyard Wars). Their website may well be of interest to you, so see some of the projects they have undertaken: http://www.newhousefarm.tv

:thumbsup:

 

[beppington]

Oops, I forgot about it becoming an actual town road. I still think you need to grade it to create ditches on the sides & raise the road height, but I don't see how you can avoid bringing in material, whether gravel, or limerock, etc.

 

[DAY]

It's hard to tell from the pix- is it one lane? Do other properties adjoin/have access to "your" road? I think you initially said it was surrounded on 4 sides by National Forest. Who put the road in, and why- just for access to the land you are buying? Maybe it was simply a logging road a long time ago. You don't have to answer me/us, but be sure YOU know the answers. Road building ain't cheap, but, as someone said, if you have a gravel pit, you have a good head start.

The used municipal truck and plow is a good idea. So is getting something with tracks. Even a small, old dozer will do more work in less time than a fancy new CUT.

finally: The old saw "Measure twice, cut once" is applicable to a lot more than carpentry!

 

[dave1949]

Well, that is less 'road' than I pictured. If you are going to bring that up to carrying log trucks, etc. and be able to get concrete delivered for your building projects, you have a challenge. Any chance there is a base of 'bank run' gravel under it? One of the wet spots looks like there might be some there.

If you put culverts in where needed and rock the wet spots, that lane will hold some traffic as long as you stay off it when it's soggy.

One question is, how long before you want to start building? If you have 2-3 years to work on the road, that would help.

I would recommend hiring or buying an excavator and make a first pass where you fix all the really ugly areas, get all your culverts in, etc. I would try to do it right the first time , you will have plenty of maintenance without dealing with something that was done marginal to begin with.

You might find a contractor that does town roads in your area. They have the equipment and usually reasonable prices on large quantities of stone. If cost is an issue, be upfront and tell them you want to work on it over a period of several years where every year the road gets better until it's done.

You mentioned steel culverts, the smooth interior plastic culverts are good too. Easier to handle and don't rust. You need to bed and cover them 12" or so with fines before putting on the gnarly stuff. A mid to heavy front end loader can punch the big rocks into the culvert with down pressure on the bucket. If installed correctly, I think they are better than steel.

Dave.

 

[Sulla]

Great comments thanks.

We are quite literally surrounded on all four sides by national forest. Seems everybody except the folks with this property gave the land to the government. This road actually runs through the North Eastern third of the property. It intersects with another town road, not much better than this one at the Western terminus of the property.

There is another, better road parallel to mine that is maintained by the Forest service in the summer time. The only problem is that from the forest service road to my property the road is used as a snowmobile trail in the Winter. It is the primary North/South corridor so I don't want to mess with it. Plus we like to snowmobile and having the trail here is nice.

No one uses these roads other than for snowmobiling and hiking, they don't go anywhere. All three just kinda stop in the woods and turn into deliverance country. I'm not too worried about increased traffic, though I suppose anything is possible.

The town is very small, 300 people, and they are very cooperative so far. Whatever I want to do with the road is fine with them as long as they don't have to pay for it.

I don't think there is any road bed underneath the mud. I think it was simply a hastily built logging road that was turned over to the town when the logging company finished, what looks like thirty years ago. With any luck I'll find some gravel on the property. I scouted out a couple of dry river beds, I'm hoping to dig a few test pits in the next few weeks to see what's what.

I don't need to be in for five years, though I'd like to be all set up in three. My goals for this year are to bring the road up to a reasonable standard, though certainly not town specs. Establish base camp and put up a kit barn or some other building to store my equipment. And clear a couple of acres to prepare for next years growing season.

As for the road I'm thinking about putting in 18" inch culverts at the four water breaks,maybe adding a fifth. Dig out the mud to get down to what is most likely clay. Putting down a layer of rough gravel roll it and then bring in the good stuff for the road surface. I think it's going to cost more than I'd hoped. But better to do it right the first time.

Or I could just steal the forest service's gravel!

Any additional ideas would be welcomed.

 

[Sulla]

Well, that is less 'road' than I pictured. If you are going to bring that up to carrying log trucks, etc. and be able to get concrete delivered for your building projects, you have a challenge. Any chance there is a base of 'bank run' gravel under it? One of the wet spots looks like there might be some there.

If you put culverts in where needed and rock the wet spots, that lane will hold some traffic as long as you stay off it when it's soggy.

One question is, how long before you want to start building? If you have 2-3 years to work on the road, that would help.

I would recommend hiring or buying an excavator and make a first pass where you fix all the really ugly areas, get all your culverts in, etc. I would try to do it right the first time , you will have plenty of maintenance without dealing with something that was done marginal to begin with.

You might find a contractor that does town roads in your area. They have the equipment and usually reasonable prices on large quantities of stone. If cost is an issue, be upfront and tell them you want to work on it over a period of several years where every year the road gets better until it's done.

You mentioned steel culverts, the smooth interior plastic culverts are good too. Easier to handle and don't rust. You need to bed and cover them 12" or so with fines before putting on the gnarly stuff. A mid to heavy front end loader can punch the big rocks into the culvert with down pressure on the bucket. If installed correctly, I think they are better than steel.

Dave.

I'll look into the plastic culverts, easy to handle and no rust sounds good to me.

 

[MikeD74T]

Good luck with your project,quite an undertaking.My only thought is...a town road that you are going to improve..no doubt "traffic is going to increase and there is nothing you can do about it.I can hear it now..**** we been coming up here for years..yikes.Probably mostly for hunting,four-wheeling ect.
I would approach the town and see if you could make it a private road.Sounds like you are going to do the up-keep and snow removal.

Sulla, From your description we might even be neighbors. I'm about 2 miles west of Mt. Cabot, north of the Presidentials???
As for applying for a private road, I'd advise against even asking. Would need a vote of the town which is not likely to pass & will most likely make you more enemies than friends. Just the fact that you have a Mercedes is bad enough. Don't know where you're from right now but NH takes land access much differently than many other states. Ask around to find out who hunts the area & get to know them. Most will keep an eye on your place & your stuff when you're not around. MikeD74T

 

[aczlan]

Most will keep an eye on your place & your stuff when you're not around. MikeD74T

And if they know who's stuff it is, they will know who shouldn't be there using the equipment.

Aaron Z

 

[schmism]

I've never made a road or even graded, but this seems logical to me - Maybe somebody can correct if it's wrong:

I'd start with a rear blade, or grading scraper, tilted at a 4-degree angle

I think your vastly underestimating the amount of time and material needed to get started on the road aspect of his project.

Personally i wouldnt consider attacking more than about a half a mile of road with standard tractor implements.

By my math he has at least 1 mile and as much as 3 miles of road he is going to need to maintain not to mention plow snow in the winter (you do remember he's in northern New Hampshire)

at that point youve hit real motor grader status. My local CL currently lists about 7 different motor graders ranging from 5-20K all in workable condition.

I also think a standard light duty one ton dump isnt going to cut it. I have one and its barely large enough for me and my 400' of drive and parking area.
for a mile+ of road you really need to consider a F800 or the like.