DUST CONTROL

[Catman8]

I have this dirt road that is elevated above my house that is 15' wide and 660' long and I am being dusted out by every vehicle that drives on it, I am looking for a permanent fix or long lasting solution and I can't afford asphalt or concrete. I live in a agricultural part of California and they advertise seasonal dust control products that they spray on your roads for about $1000, I don't want to put any hazardous products on my land ( petroleum products or used motor oil) and don't want to spend $1000 per year for a road I don't use and getting the two neighbors that use the road to pay for this is going to be a problem. Is there a product that will last more than a year or a type of soil that won't give off dust, I'm so tired of breathing this dust and having everything I own covered with dust, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rustyiron]

Beet juice is used, not sure on the cost but for not a lot of money I've put down calcium chloride flakes that work well. I don't think you will get a year out of it, maybe.
I've used old motor oil in the past and I understand your concerns. My situation was on my drive that was right next to a small swimming pond, elevated above the pond and some storm water was able to wash off of it and go through the lawn & find the pond. I never ever had a sign of oil the pond (or the lawn for that matter) and you know all it takes to see that rainbow sheen is a single drop of oil. I applied it with a 2" pipe that had holes drilled in it at about 2" canters. It screwed into a 55 gal. drum with a valve & a tee with the ends capped. You could control the application rate well between the valve and travel speed. I'd lay the barrel down on a set of forks on the tractor loader. I think that with common sense used considering how much you apply and the immediate upcoming weather there are no environmental concerns with your >10,000 sq ft dust problem. But try the calcium flakes first.

 

[RNeumann]

Dust-Off(R) Dust Suppressant

This is what I used on a few thousand feet of road. The problem with doing it yourself is the tank and pump needed. Plus because of the clean-up most water trucks won't do it. If you got a little set-up and sprayed yourself you could cut costs. After a few years the road will have a shine from the product-it works well! I learned about it from a local query that used it on a shared road- lots of trucks every day and it held up great.

Good luck

Edited to add MSDS for product as it provides some info regarding environmental concerns. BTW I used the product in CA and the product was used on a road that is a river crossing in CA (query described above)

http://www.sfm.state.or.us/CR2K_SubDB/MSDS/DUST_OFF_ICE_MELTER.PDF

 

[Snobdds]

Chip n seal. Tar/oil base with chipped rock on top.

 

[Catman8]

Dust-Off(R) Dust Suppressant

This is what I used on a few thousand feet of road. The problem with doing it yourself is the tank and pump needed. Plus because of the clean-up most water trucks won't do it. If you got a little set-up and sprayed yourself you could cut costs. After a few years the road will have a shine from the product-it works well! I learned about it from a local query that used it on a shared road- lots of trucks every day and it held up great.

Good luck

Edited to add MSDS for product as it provides some info regarding environmental concerns. BTW I used the product in CA and the product was used on a road that is a river crossing in CA (query described above)

http://www.sfm.state.or.us/CR2K_SubDB/MSDS/DUST_OFF_ICE_MELTER.PDF

I found a company that sprays the product you mentioned and I am awaiting a return call.

 

[Catman8]

Chip n seal. Tar/oil base with chipped rock on top.

So if it's illegal to dump oil on the ground, how are these companies allowed to spray it on the roads.

 

[tjkubota93]

So if it's illegal to dump oil on the ground, how are these companies allowed to spray it on the roads.

That stuff is more like asphalt than used oil.

 

[sixdogs]

Calcium chloride is universally used on rural roads to keep dust down. It works and is easy to apply. Also, plant some trees along side the road for long range planning. you can always cut them down if they pave the road or get in the way.

 

[Snobdds]

It's a viscous tar/oil product that holds the chips in place. It doesn't run all over the place.

 

[Catman8]

Unfortunately, this dirt road is an easement running half through my property and there are only two residence that use the road, so one neighbor has already told me that there is not a dust problem, so I can already see some problems with what I can put down because the last thing I need is him telling me I damaged his car.

 

[Catman8]

Calcium chloride is universally used on rural roads to keep dust down. It works and is easy to apply. Also, plant some trees along side the road for long range planning. you can always cut them down if they pave the road or get in the way.

Don't know if it's true but one company told me that calcium chloride does not work in California because you need moisture for it to work and CA. Is to dry:confused3: If calcium chloride will rust tractor rims what will it do to someone's car

 

[sixdogs]

Unfortunately, this dirt road is an easement running half through my property and there are only two residence that use the road, so one neighbor has already told me that there is not a dust problem, so I can already see some problems with what I can put down because the last thing I need is him telling me I damaged his car.

Get the town to put it down?

 

[Catman8]

Get the town to put it down?

Unfortunately It's not a county road it's considered a public right-of-way and it's up to the two neighbors who use it to maintain it and they are not the ones eating the dust so they see no problem, I'm trying to find the best solution before I approach them.

 

[sixdogs]

Hire a road crew to put it down after they tell you that's what you need for dust control. Just tell the neighbor you need some sort of dust control and since we share the road and the responsibilities, let's hire this maintenance guy and we'll split the cost. Your neighbor and you jointly maintain the road so that means split the cost.

If they say it's not a problem, agree with them. No problem for them but big problem for you and one day these roles will be reversed and he will have some issue if the road to his driveway washes out and you tell him to pound sand. Just negotiate.

 

[Rustyiron]

Don't know if it's true but one company told me that calcium chloride does not work in California because you need moisture for it to work and CA. Is to dry:confused3: If calcium chloride will rust tractor rims what will it do to someone's car

I had wondered about that. It was very dry here that summer I used it, but I think it's more about the humidity in the air.

 

[Looking4new]

Calcium Chloride and or Magnesium Chloride will suck the moisture out of the air and dampen the road thus keeping the dust down. That being said, I would make the road rough enough that the neighbour would have to drive slowly in order not to damage his car. If he wants you to help fix the rough road, tell him it is not a problem for you and he can pound sand/salt.

In the middle of the night, when everybody is sleeping EXCEPT for you, get your car/pickup truck and go onto the road in question and in numerous places spin your tires. Every time you spin your wheels on gravel roads you create pot holes. If not graded out they become large pot holes and eventually shock breaking pot holes/craters. Need I say more?

 

[woodlandfarms]

Trees, very leafy or fir trees. Neighbors on our road keep the blackberries (which are an invasive plant) growing along the edge of the roadway to keep summer dust down.

I agree with Looking, I would just let the road go to heck and people will slow down.

 

[hturner12]

Since he thinks it is not a problem setup a trail cam to video him making dust, then start sending him bill for dust and dirt removal send them certified. When he refused to pay offer 2 options we work together to control dust or I see you in court

 

[Haoleguy]

I would double check with your town/county hall to see if there is any stipulation in the road agreement that the 2 neighbors have. There might be a maintenance clause that could be used to argue that the current maintenance is insufficient to meet the road agreement. My property has something like that between ourselves and 2 neighbors. Similar to your situation, but opposite, I'm concerned about the first house on our shared dirt driveway as in the summer they get hammered with dust in dry times. They don't complain but it's unacceptable to me and we don't want to put down oil. I would be interested in the ballpark price for dust off, how often it needs to be applied, and weather winter snow removal essentially scrapes it away. Thanks for bringing this up.

 

[RNeumann]

It doesn't get scraped away unless you remove it with the snow removal. We did it once a year with great results- year 2 and 3 were even better. You can do it more often if you like. The product is cheap, it's the set-up that costs $. If you had a little spray rig you could do it yourself. Don't quote me on the amount but I'm guessing 55gal mix would do 25-50' of 12' wide road.

Driveway/Road easements are a part of the property. Most are very similar though. If you don't have a copy (it came with your title/mortgage paperwork) then go to the title company and ask for it. They will probably provide it for little or no cost.
The typical easement includes language requiring the road be maintained to the original condition. IE smooth, proper drainage, no pot holes etc. The other part of the language divides cost. Typically the portions that are used by the party's are paid for by the party's. In OP's example the first part would be divided by 3 the next portion divided by 2 and the the guy at the end of the easement is paying for the section he alone uses. Having been in the same situation in CA I know it is tough- especially when one party doesn't feel it's an issue. You can push as much as you want but the end of the day it's probably cheaper to just take care of it, as the $1000 figure once a year is peanuts when lawyers are involved or the neighbors start honking or driving fast just to piss others off. Sad but true- especially in that part of the country.....