Need input - gravel

[/pine]

just curious what was the grade of the gravel you had spread ?

usually even the less than sharpest drivers can spread a fairly consistant layer...the size, type and moisture content can have an effect but a 6" difference in the same stretch is lame...

 

[beenthere]

But.... the OP has to deal with what it is now....and that is a range from 2" to 8".

Sometimes the luck of the truck driver draw, and he/she knowing how fast (or slow) the load is emptying when one comes to the end of the 200' drive.

So gotta deal with the hand that's been dealt.

 

[zzvyb6]

Putting 2" of gravel on a bumpy driveway gives you a bumpy driveway 2" higher. An angled 8' landscape rake will do the best job (if it has the gauge wheels).

Other than that. an "A" framework made out of long 2x4's dragged behind the tractor does a good job of making the roadway flat. Set the entrance of the frame to be wide enough to capture the gravel and the exit about a foot narrower. Use some weight on it to keep it into the gravel. The idea is to gather it inward and discharge it at the end. The pro models have a spillway or 2 part way down the frame. Backing the loader in float mode is a good way, too (as mentioned).

 

[/pine]

But.... the OP has to deal with what it is now....and that is a range from 2" to 8".

that's obvious...I was just asking a question and making an observation...that's all....

...even the worst driver should be able to maintain a steady speed that *should* dispense the aggregate at an even rate....unless there were extenuating circumstances with the condition of the gravel or the existing condition of the road prior...maybe it was the drivers first loads ?

 

[crazyal]

Even though I have a dozer I would say use a short length of chain link fence with a couple of 2x4s width wise. If it's loose gravel just dragging that back and forth works wonders. You can even add a few cement bricks for weight.

 

[jdmar]

All great points. The only comment I have is to try and save a bucket or two of gravel if you can. You can then fill in the spot that will drop after the rains and cars drive on it! This spot travels around the world putting low points in unsuspecting driveways. The best way to prevent from catching this nasty infection is to have an extra load of gravel on hand...then you are assured of not having to use the extra gravel.
Peter

 

[teg]

Anytime I have gravel delivered and spread on the "driveway", I also get one extra load to be dropped as a pile, just to have around. With over a mile drive, it doesn't last too long.

 

[PILOON]

A good trucker csn do a great job of spreading with the chain method.
However, even the best driver will do a terrible job if there was heavy rains prior to his loading.
Water makes the gravel sticky and clumpy and often a sledge is needed to get the laast bit out of the box.
Also you generally pay by the tonnage, and trucks are limited to max load limits.
Why pay cartage for water?
Always buy gravel on a nice hot dry day! More so for sand.

 

[alchemysa]

Just dump it in evenly spaced piles with the FEL than roughly level it by pushing or backdragging. Then use a drag frame to smooth and spread everything. It doesn't have to be heavy or huge. Mine is just a metal frame about 6 feet wide x 2 foot with a couple extra flat bars running from side to side. Weighs only about 30 kg. (An old metal bed frame would be ideal as a start). If you need extra weight throw on some bricks or timber. Then you just drive up and down the roadway. If possible don't drive in straight lines, drive in a loops and zig-zag patterns. In my experience that helps to get a more level finish.

 

[Ken45101]

I doubt that you really need it a consistent 2". What you probably want is a smooth, even surface.

Patience and practice are your most important tools.

Best tools are a box blade or a landscape rake with wheels. However, an experienced operator can do a great job with just a FEL bucket, especially over a short distance like 200'.

If you have really rough areas (piles and dips), backdrag with the front of the bucket tipped up a bit (or you could do it with the front tipped down a bit, 45 degrees max, experiment to see what works best for you). Keep the tractor in float mode. You definitely do not want to back drag with the bucket straight down (90 degrees) and not in float mode, that's a good way to bend the loader hydraulic rods.

Once you get things reasonably distributed, then use the bucket in float and with it flat on the driveway. That will help even things out for the final finish. It will take time and practice.

It's amazing how an experienced operator can smooth things out.

Ken

 

[beenthere]

................. It will take time and practice.

It's amazing how an experienced operator can smooth things out.

Ken

Good comments Ken.

Add, it is also amazing how quick an inexperienced operator can smooth things out. Just go at it like rolling out pie dough...push or pull it to where you need it, and whatever works.

 

[scootr2d]

A few things contributed to the uneven spread ,
1. It was indeed clumpy, quite a bit of moisture,
2. The driveway is very wide (14-15 ft ) so there was overlap between the first spread on the right side top to bottom , and the second spread on the left side top to bottom. (created quite a hump in the middle running down driveway).
3.The driver raised is bed too high on last run , misjudged how far over on left side he needed to be and hesitated when he started clipping tree branches running down left side of driveway.

looking down Driveway it naturally slopes left to right slight grade , so 6,8 inches were deposited on left side (already the high side just my luck) for reasons stated above. and 2-4 inches deposited on low side. (if it had been the other way around it might have automatically leveled perfect.

I've manged to use FEL with a lot of short back and forth 8 foot movements to more evenly spread working back and forth across the width of driveway (the short forward and backward jerky motions were not pleasant as you could generate no real rhythm and made for a long day , but It has lessened the hump and provided somewhat of a more rough consistency in Depth along the whole 200 feet as I was able to continue the 8 foot motion backdragging across the width pulling 8" and hump to the low side on the right.

I will next try Chain link or what others have suggested to drag lengthwise top to bottom , and bottom to top (will probably be a much more pleasant operation getting to work lengthwise now rather than the width wise and all that back and forth motion which I had to contend with yesterday.

 

[Egon]

A rear blade with gauge wheels may be worth looking into as grading will be an ongoing project as the years go by. :thumbsup:

Using the bucket for long stretches of leveling with a short wheel base tractor can become very tiresome as well as difficult for even the best of operators.

 

[scootr2d]

A rear blade with gauge wheels may be worth looking into as grading will be an ongoing project as the years go by. :thumbsup:

Using the bucket for long stretches of leveling with a short wheel base tractor can become very tiresome as well as difficult for even the best of operators.

On my list , (I need to recover from the purchase of the Paynes debris forks This past month) Next investment will have to be a thumb for backhoe first As I just finished road through woods to tap sugerbush and now need to move logs around for winter firewood Cutting (hardwoods) , Fall evening bonfires and camp wood (Pines) , wood chips for hen house (Larger branches) and goats Browse (smaller branches ). We try to waste nothing on property. Wife and I both feel we are just stewards of the land as it will be here long after we have departed this earth.


So for now , it's FEL and hand rake for Driveway maintenance



Champagne taste , Beer Wallet. :laughing:

 

[Egon]

Champagne taste , Beer Wallet. :laughing:

I take it that you are imbibing the "Champagne of Beer":thumbsup:

I only drink beer when it has been a good bottle day!:ashamed:

 

[scootr2d]

I take it that you are imbibing the "Champagne of Beer":thumbsup:

I only drink beer when it has been a good bottle day!:ashamed:

Everyday is a good bottle day for a Belhaven Scottish Ale. Especially after spreading Gravel with hand Rake.

Approximately whereabouts in Nova Scotia are you ?

My Ancestors are Acadians from Yarmouth County , Sur name DuLong ,
first Marriage blessed by Father Jean-Mandé Sigogne at Sainte-Anne-du-Ruisseau in 1800's Most of my family hailed from East of Tusket. Originally known as "Eel Brook".

 

[Egon]

Ahh- I'm a good Alberta boy married a Nova Scotia girl from Liverpool and retired out here to a nice little town called Bridgewater on the LaHave River.:thumbsup:

 

[PA hayseed]

just an FYI 2b or b2 gravel is already 95% compacted once dumped out of the truck. The settling of the stone into the subbase will create the dips.

I didn't know how to do anything with the FEL when I bought my first tractor. Now I know how much damage can be done in a relatively short period of time. It is gravel, your not going to hurt anything by spreading it incorrectly, you will just make a little more work. I believe it is through this process that you will learn what does and does not work with the fel.

If you have a tooth bar on your FEL you may want to remove it when backdragging with the bucket. Before long you will have a feather touch on that FEL.

 

[CWOSCSU]

Did my driveway for the first time this past fall. Driver couldn't spread the stone, so I had to move and level 40 ton with the FEL. Took a couple of hours to get the hang of it, but was much easier then I expected. I dumped and then back dragged. Then went over one more time in float.

Came out ok, but still had some waves and ridges. I didn't have the cash to get a BB or rake, and really didn't want to hand rake 700 foot. Asked a friend for advise, and he told me to use an old bed boxspring. Yes, a boxspring with the fabric cut off. I thought it would never work, but I tried it. And to my surprise it worked like a charm. I really couldn't beleive it. I used it after winter and it spruced the driveway right up. And, it was free.

Mike.

 

[D7E]

Last fall i had 4 semi loads ordered for the drive and went to the trouble of tracking the D7 all the way back home ready to level it , When i got there the belly dump had layed it perfectly , Did'nt have to touch it....There are still drivers out there !