Driveway

[dtd24]

Well I have jumped off my grapple build in order to do something with my driveway. The mud has finally took over. In order to give you guys the whole picture story I set up a yahoo photo album.

Yahoo! Photos - dtd24's Photos

This is my driveway as it exists currently from the road all the way to the barn. I have the implements I need I think, especially with the new box blade, but I need more seat time. Not as easy as I expected. Pretty new to this still. I have read alot about gravel driveways, and will be posting more with questions.

The graveled part of the driveway goes from the road to the house. Just past the garage a not very well kept culvert starts on the left hand side and runs up to about 2/3 of the way to the barn. You can see I have made a mess of the slop just kind of testing the waters.

My plan is to start from the house and go up, so that I don't destroy all of my driveway at the same time. I plan to scrap off the slop and use for fill around the house. I will pitch it towards the culvert which in turn will need to be dug out more. Definitely using the geotext fabric first. Clay and shale farm.

Without going on and on, see what you guys think. I will take all suggestions on how to get this done. Operating procedures, constructions techniques, any knowledge of this process.

 

[dtd24]

Oh yeah, I also included the reason to get to the barns, the wifes horses. Huckleberry on the left is a welch pony, and Dreamer on the right is half arab half saddlebreed. Love them both!!! Pony loves Budweiser!!!

 

[EddieWalker]

Great pictures!! Looks like a really nice place you have there!!!

It also looks like two different people built your roads. The main road coming in is your classic example of how it's supposed to be done. Huge drainage with a real nice road will above the water line. Culvert are flowing good and it looks like it's been there 100 years and will last another hundred.

The road with the mud on it has allot of issues. Instead of haveing a crown, it looks like it's bowl shaped and actually bringing water into the middle of it. One side doesn't have any drainage at all. Until you get the sides of your road dug out and create proper drainage, NOTHING will fix your mud issue.

You can do it over time with a box blade, but a dozer or trackhoe/backow will get it done faster and easier. You just need to move allot of dirt to get it right. Don't waste any money or rock or anything else until you have the dirt work done.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[dtd24]

Thanks Ed,
I have only owned it for about 2-1/2 years. Bought it foreclosed. The house was just about destroyed. Did a ton of work to her ourselves, with lots of help from friends and family. New electric panel and all new wiring, fixtures, and devices done by my father mostly. New furnace done by my best friend and I. New pex plumbing throughout the whole house. All new drain lines and plumbing fixtures in bath room done by my best friend and I. New roof done with lots of friends.

Not sure where I would be without my boys!!!

 

[SnoFalls]

Here's a nice link for road builders/maintainers ...

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/TA/T2Center/Mgt.Systems/PavementTechnology/GravelManual.pdf

 

[jbrumberg]

dtd24:

I agree with Eddie. I treated the symptoms of my "bad driveway " with my tractor for 20+ years. My wife would get stuck periodically with her AWD vehicles over the years, but it finally took getting my 4X4 pickup stuck in the "driveway" and during Mud Season last Spring to finally motivate me to contract out the driveway job to a heavy equipment operator. He dug out ~180 cubic yards of rocks, boulders, and clay (next project) with an excavator and industrial TLB and laid down geotextile material and 150 cubic yards of ballast rock topped with river/crusher run. Mud Season has not yet fully arrived in NE, but so far the driveway is holding up well. I did sink my rider mower and utility cart riding alongside the driveway doing some early Spring chores this weekend . Luckily I had the tractor !

 

[dtd24]

Yeah, I played in the mud quite a bit this weekend. Still really soggy. I will post some pics soon.

 

[dtd24]

Well, this weekend was beautiful out so I put in alot of seat time. I promise to take some pictures tonight. I think I did pretty good. I was ablt to get a rack truck full of hay and shavings up the hill!!! Bent my box blade arm a bit though. Looks like I will have some shop time ahead

 

[dtd24]

I wanted to update this thread. I worked like a crazy man for the last two weeks getting ready for some reinforcements. I hired an excavator friend to bring a dozer and a compactor in to help out. I did this driveway the right way. 500 feet of filter fabric and 225 tons of crusher run rubble later this thing is done. DaveD's Super Highway. I cant be anymore happier with this project. I may have gone alittle crazy with the pictures so here is a couple, and the last is a link to the whole project. I didn't have time to put them in order, but you will figure it out.

Old

Yahoo! Photos - dtd24's Photos - 100_1096

New

Yahoo! Photos - dtd24's Photos - 100_1378

Whole Project Album

Yahoo! Photos - dtd24's Photos - Driveway

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the update. It looks really nice with the rock.

Eddie