Help..Quick fix for mud hole in drive?

[Varmintmist]

Looks to me like you have a little pitch in the grade. The right side is lower correct?

If that is the case then you either have to get the pipe way out in the field to the right to get a 10-12 in pipe to drain, or put in a smaller pipe.

How much water do you get? Do you need to put in a culvert at all or can you ditch it later?

If you dont get much water normaly and you want a quick fix. Drag the mud out and toss in a 4-6 in sced 40 pvc. Backfill with stone and cover with modified. As long as the pipe is covered 1/2 its diameter it will hold the weight. Sced 80 would be better but this is a temp fix. 40 will hold and its cheaper.

As for needing a backhoe, there are these short manualy operated ones sold every day, pick-maddoc's /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If you need to get it trenched, they work. Not near as fun as watching a backhoe, but they will move dirt. If you are only going with a 4-6-8 in pipe, the deepest you need to go in 12 in. The bottom of that mud puddle in close to that now.

If you dont want to pipe it, get the mud out and fill it with 3in and top it with modified. Or just fill it with threes and let the mud come up through.

Long term, you will have to steer the water away from your drive. Either by ditching, putting a swale on the high side, or grading it into a culvert. If you leave the water in the drive, you will keep having this problem.

 

[DocHeb]

If you have some of those nefarious cedars from the Texas area, cut a mess of 4-5" cedars as long as the drive is wide and lay them parallel across the drive. A little bumpy, but you will get across.

 

[Deerlope]

1 tandem load of # 3 crushed stone smoothed out to let whatever drives in &out get over it will make a good temporary fix. Been there done that. Let the delivery trucks pack it.

 

[BobReeves]

Was up early working on the drive and hadn't checked the forum until now. Wow where do I start, thanks for the tips gang all good ideas. Goodolboy, thanks for the rock offer but think we are OK now. Had a load of 3 inch dumped in the hole, managed to get it pretty level and then had two loads of 1 1/2 crusher run dumped in the drive. Am getting pretty good with that old MF 135 and box blade. The 3 inch looked a bit intimidating with 5 foot mounds but I just backed into the pile and slowly managed to get it spread.

After doing this I think I will go back to plan A. The area on both sides of the mud hole are low. If we get any rain at all I have standing water on both sides. The water on the right drains across the drive to a shallow natural pond on the left. Plan A is ditches down both sides to the street which has a ditch lower than the standing water. Will try to remember to get a picture tomorrow.