Looking for a roller....

[jim_wilson]

I am currently in the process of using my BX23 to dig out all the roots, stumps, topsoil, and assorted junk the previous owners buried in the yard so my driveway will run to where I plan on building a garage. I have had to dig down about 2 - 2 1/2 feet to get to clay. I will then have to bring in fill to bring the grade back up to where I want the driveway to be. Which leads to my question - I will have a sizable area that I need to compact as I lay the fill down in 6" lifts- it will be approximately 100 feet long and from 11 to 20 feet wide. I have not been able to find any rental places in the area that have the little steam rollers so I have been thinking of getting a lawn roller and using that to do the compacting. Agri-Fab has a 48" and a 36" steel roller. I did some quick math and the 48" if you believe their specs actually has more weight per inch of the roller than the 36" version does. I have been thinking of getting a 48" version and then filling it up with either calcium chloride, beet juice, or cement to get the weight up as high as I can for better compacting. I have also seen the Hoelscher PT roller and that looks like a real nice piece of equipment but the price it at like $1200 which is a bit high for me. I have seen the Agri-Fab 48" roller at Northern Tool for $200. I have thought about building one also but for $200 for the Agri-Fab seems like a pretty good deal. Anybody have any other ideas or know of any other options I should look at? I have a few other rolling projects lined up too so the roller would get used for a few other things than just the driveway.

 

[glalonde]

Jim,

The rollers you are mentioning.. are they ordinary lawn rollers that you normally fill with water ?

A few years ago, I've filled mine with sand. This caused the handle at the elbow section (where the roller pins are inserted into the handle) to break after a few hours of usage. My roller was not made for such a weight.

Have you considered renting a compacter ?

 

[755inNY]

Jim,

A roller as you described will never do the job that is needed for compacting the fill. You need something much heavier and something with vibration would be even better. Are you putting all stone back? Check with your local asphalt companies, paving companies and stone suppliers. You may find one of them that will rent a roller. There is an asphalt plant near me that rents small rollers, paving machines, dozers, etc to small paving contractors. The little guy can't afford the capital investment but has the labor to move asphalt. Another option is to contract with a paving company to send a guy out with a roller and run it for the day. I know you probably want to do the job yourself at your own pace to save $ but you may be surprised (pleasantly) at the cost of hiring someone to bring in the stone, doze it and roll/compact it. Probably less than a days work.

Jeff

 

[jim_wilson]

The rollers I was looking at are the ones you see at Northern Tool that fill with water. I know the instructions I read said that if you fill them with sand they should only be filled halfway. You probably had one of the same ones I was looking at. Sounds like my idea of filling it with cement probably wouldn't work. I will have to look around a little more and see if anybody rents out the small pavement rollers. One of the reasons I was trying to avoid renting is that I think it is probably going to take me at least a couple of days to fill in the area I have excavated and bring it back up to grade. This would mean at least a couple of days of rentals and I bet the rental fee on a pavement roller around here (northeast MA. ) is probably at least $150 a day. Then I also have other projects where I am going to have to do some compacting so I figured buying a roller to do all these jobs would make sense moneywise spread over all the jobs I had to do.

 

[jim_wilson]

Would one of the vibratory compactors be a good option to use? I think I know somebody who has one of these that I might be able to borrow. I know it would take longer than using a pavement roller but free is free. I was looking at some specs online and they were claiming that they generate like 3000 pounds of compaction force etc. That seems like a lot more than one of the small pavement rollers would generate.

 

[neilly2]

http://www.bomag.com/worldwide/index.aspx?fm=%2fconstruction_machineries%2f0E13C8CC390C44DABE3BA1E4B8F3F2F7.aspx&DID=100000000&Lang=10000

This is a link for a size/type compactor that would do that size project. This should be available at a Modern or United rental shop. Something this size would warrant a second person to roll while you place fill, but you'd be surprised how productive it can be. I don't think much larger of a roller would be cost effective.

Vibratory compaction is required for soils in most conditions. Depending on the soil your filling with you should be able to go to a 12-16" lift with no problem.

Also, some of the trench rollers I'm talking about come with wireless remotes. Theoretically, you could do the whole job yourself without ever leaving your tractor seat.

 

[neilly2]

That link isn't working right. Click on products > light equipment > multipurpose compactors.

 

[SteveBenson]

I looked for a "real" lawn roller for a long time. It doesn't appear to be an item that is mass produced by anyone at this time. I found a welding shop in upstate NY that makes them and a bout a 72" model. It's built like a tank and weighs 1600# loaded with water and appears to be undentable after 2 years use.

www.gwfab.com

 

[jim_wilson]

Cool - that is what I was looking for. How much did this cost? I downloaded their catalog and noticed that they make a number of different widths.

 

[jmc]

Jim,

Do a little research on soil compaction and you will probably find that vibration does not help with clay.

So far I have built 3 buildings with cement floors on compacted red clay fill. I put it down in 6 inch lifts and compacted it with the tractor wheels, with the FEL full of dirt. Those small front tires with all that FEL weight exert a lot of pressure. Back and forth, in both directions if you can. If the clay is too wet, it just mushes sideways. If its too dry, its so hard that you wonder if its just compacting a thin top layer.

On top the compacted clay is a layer of crushed limestone. No floor cracks, except at the ends of the saw cuts, where its supposed to crack.

The attachment is the pad for a 36 X 53 pole barn. Note all the tire tracks.

John

ps If that clay is not well drained, I'm not sure if it matters how you compact it. In my cases, its always going to be dry.