Ken M
Member
Probably not what you thought was it?
After 20 years of a limestone drive it grew up in sod. We joke about having a "green" driveway. I scraped off 2+" of the squishy topsoil this past spring intending to put down a fresh layer of limestone just to have a clean (drier) surface. I started to think about a concrete slab but this area has (had) terrible base material and heaved 3" in the winter. It kept me from pouring a slab for my "outdoor" workshop. The concrete job and base preparation is another story but I just had a 19 x 21 foot pad installed.
Now the problem was that the rest of the drive needed a nice clean layer of limestone. In order to get the water to drain properly (and be flush with new pad) I had to grind down and level/smooth the existing base about 2" lower. The surface was a firm base of gravel mixed with dirt. I could not scrape it down with my TC-21 without loosening it first. I don't have a box blade which is probably the tool of choice. I tried a couple of homemade tools I had for the Cub Cadet including a small ripper tine... but just couldn't get into the hard rocks. Then I remembered the old Brinley plow. Hasn't been used for years. Well that dug right in. I had to watch that it didn't go too deep. It wasn't pretty but it did tear up the surface enough and loosen it so the bucket could scrape. Using a combination of the loader bucket and a rear scraper blade on the Cub Cadet and shovel, rake and mattock I managed to remove about 2-1/2 yards of material. Four days of work. It's all smooth, graded and ready for 2" of #6 crushed limestone. I have 12 yards (18 tons) ordered for next week. Even if I get a good spread job I'm sure there will still be plenty of raking and scraping to do.
Ken Louisville, Ohio
