Gravel-Aid

HomeBrew2 · Jul 23, 2005

I got 25 tons of 1/2" crushed granite yesterday. After getting it spread by the nice guy that delivered it, I realized it was so thick that it was too mushy for my liking. He spread it at about 4" deep. I decided I wanted it about 2" deep, but didn't know it at the time. I'm sure there are some folks that re-spread it by eye or feel ... I could do neither. So I made a quick 'n' dirty depth gauge for the box blade. I had 2 unused 16" ripper shanks that I ultimately inserted in the outboard positions on the BB, backwards. I cut 2 pcs of 2"pipe and stuck them to the under side of the shanks in the "sweet spot". Works better than not having it. Hope it helps somebody else.

Egon · Jul 23, 2005

Neat! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Gauge shanks! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

HomeBrew2 · Jul 23, 2005

Yes! Gauge shanks! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I did try using just the rippers backwards but they still dug too much for my conditions.
Thanks for the reply.
Cheers!

SCB · Jul 26, 2005

Great idea HomeBrew2

HomeBrew2 · Jul 26, 2005

Thanks! You know I like to field test a cheapo idea before I take it too seriously ... it really worked well. I got 8-10 hours out of the mild steel pipe till it wore down to foil. I have more gravel coming so I'll cap the bad area of the pipe pieces then will give the new hardfacing rod a try.
Cheers!

HomeBrew2 · Sep 15, 2005

Update: worked well in the hard-to-get-to area that I got my new dump trailer for. After dumping 2 2.5 ton loads of gravel, I needed to spread it to see how much more I needed for that area.

BadDog · Sep 16, 2005

I think it's nuts to spread gravel less than 8" thick, unless you use separation fabric underneath...then you can get away with less, but I still wouldn't go less than 4-6". Without the separation fabric, the gravel will just work into the soil in a year or two of use, and you'll be spreading more gravel after that. Separation fabric will also reduce or eliminate ruts.

Gravel should be compacted after it is spread. The 'looseness' you say you don't like will completely disappear after you compact it. Use a ride-on vibratory roller if you want it done fast, and use a walk-behind plate compacter if you have more time than money. You'll end up with a relatively smooth, tight surface that will support a decent sized load.

You need a certain depth of gravel installed to support a given load without pushing all the gravel into the earth. 2" will hardly support a human being... let alone a vehicle. 6"-8" is required for 'average' vehicles... more for heavy stuff.

There is a lot of good info online that applies to road or driveway building using gravel... read it and do it once... ignore it and do it forever....

valleydweller1 · Sep 16, 2005

Ditto on the thickness. When we had our new well put in, we had to hire someone to put in a 500' access road. The started by removing sod, which left a road-size "ditch" about 8-12" deep. Then they laid felt, then 6" of 3" rock followed by 4-6" of 3/4-. It still sunk in a bit in spots.

My driveway is about 4" of 3/4-, it was a refresh I had them do while they were there. No felt, plants are growing up (nothing a little roundup won't fix) but it supports a good load, although there is 60-some years of gravel underneath it too.

Greg

HomeBrew2 · Sep 16, 2005

Baddoggie,

First, I concur with your diagnisis ... I am crazy.

Second, I had the foresight to buy a piece of property that did not need the level of infrastructure cost that you had the misfortune of acquiring.

This is sunny Kalifornia man, all I need around here, in the winter, is something to help out with traction and, in the summer, something that will act as a minor dust palative.

The point of my thread was devising a way to get a uniform layer of gravel spread ... I could set my rig up to spread 8 freaking inches if I wanted but I can't figure out how to get drunk enough to do that without passing out prior to the event ... because the application makes no sence whatsoever to my situation.

Possibly, you may want to read the want ads and find a place to live that doesn't require so dang much work just to get down the driveway to your house.

Cheers!

Mark4510 · Sep 19, 2005

HB2,
I had some success with a similar solution.

On either side of our driveway there was an area I wanted to cover with road base. It sloped away about 2-3 inches over about 6 feet and, try as I might, I was not able to get it right with my skills. I also found that I was marking up the driveway.

My solution was to take a 2’ section of 2” PVC, cut a slot in it for the road side of the boxscraper and put it on the bottom side of the box scraper that would rest on the driveway. I did the same thing with a piece of 2 3/8 in steel pipe where the cut was small enough that I had to hammer it on the opposite side. To keep it from settling to the bottom of the steel pipe I just shoved a piece of fire wood in the pipe.

It worked pretty well as it did not scrape up the driveway and gave me a pretty even fill on the downhill side of the driveway although I did have to replace the PVC a number of times..

I am sure others could have done it without a makeshift system like mine but I could not and it worked. If I knew how to weld I might have done things differently.

Mark