New Driveway Construction

[FF117]

Web Soil Survey - Home

Find your place here and it'll tell you what is going on on top of the hill. Sounds like you have a soil type change. Also some info on how well it'll hold roads and structures.

I would think 3" rock would be hard to keep in place. I made some silt dams out of 12"+ rip rap one year they were carried away in next rain. I've had better luck with straw bales and drive a stick through them. Just leave a crack between the bales to let hard rains through. Or else it could try to cut a new ditch.

You've made good progress. Looks like a nice place.

Got the soil figured out. I don't know how the heck they got all of those soil types mapped properly, but the map almost spot on with where the soil actually changed. The soil at the top of the hill is "Bunkum silty loam clay". It didn't say anything about compaction, but says it's somewhat poorly drained. I attached the spec sheet.

It's too late on the 3" rock. I already put it down. Wish I would've read your post prior to heading out today. Oh well, hopefully it turns out OK.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Ran into an issue today. Stopped into rental store to change reservation date on the sheep's for compactor and found out that they had a smooth drum reserved for me instead. I specifically asked for the pad foot when I made the reservation. Actually we had a lengthy discussion about it and they had to bring it in from another store. Not sure where the breakdown happened but now I'm stuck. I called around and the only sheep's foot available is a small trench compactor that is pretty light and not very wide. Should I go ahead and try the vibrating smooth drum or try to compact using my tractor? Just worried that the smooth drum would be a waste of time and money, but maybe it's better than nothing. Soil is clay and I need to make a decision soon. Any input is appreciated.

Go ahead with the smooth drum. The vibration makes up for a lot. If your in clay and it gets wet just wait until it dries out as churning it while it is plastic is a waste of time.

 

[Egon]

Go ahead with the smooth drum. The vibration makes up for a lot. If your in clay and it gets wet just wait until it dries out as churning it while it is plastic is a waste of time.

Drum roller, hill, wet clay = fun time.

 

[kevin37b]

Nice looking work . I would have got the fabric under the 3" but you still can . Just , aint that a handy word , pull the fence and push 3" up and roll fabric out . Get material on drive and pull 3" back in . Now is not the time to get burnt out , long way to go . A problem driveway will haunt you with all the traffic you are about to receive . Experience is something you get after you need it . Good luck !

 

[farmer2009]

Got the soil figured out. I don't know how the heck they got all of those soil types mapped properly, but the map almost spot on with where the soil actually changed. The soil at the top of the hill is "Bunkum silty loam clay". It didn't say anything about compaction, but says it's somewhat poorly drained. I attached the spec sheet. It's too late on the 3" rock. I already put it down. Wish I would've read your post prior to heading out today. Oh well, hopefully it turns out OK.

Once your in WSS and you draw out an Area of Interest. Then go to soil data explorer. Then to building sites. Then to unpaved roads. It won't tell you how well it will pack but will tell you how suitable it is for your uses. A 1.00 is bad. A .01 is best. According to the site my drive is on some of the worst soils. All areas are 1.00. But it still holds tractor trailers. Just takes a lot of rock. I usually add 100 ton a year and last year I had to add 200 ton. Mine doesn't have fabric under it to my knowledge. I didn't build it.

I don't think I'd abandon anything because of what the site says but it may help you make up your mind if you're on the fence about something.

 

[FF117]

Once your in WSS and you draw out an Area of Interest. Then go to soil data explorer. Then to building sites. Then to unpaved roads. It won't tell you how well it will pack but will tell you how suitable it is for your uses. A 1.00 is bad. A .01 is best. According to the site my drive is on some of the worst soils. All areas are 1.00. But it still holds tractor trailers. Just takes a lot of rock. I usually add 100 ton a year and last year I had to add 200 ton. Mine doesn't have fabric under it to my knowledge. I didn't build it.

I don't think I'd abandon anything because of what the site says but it may help you make up your mind if you're on the fence about something.

That site has a lot of information, thanks. I have a couple of 1.00 items listed under the "rating reasons". Both soil types are listed as "very limited". Glad that I'm using fabric.

Top of the hill:
Bunkum silty clay loam, 5 to 10 percent slopes, severely eroded
Very limited
Bunkum (90%)
Frost action (1.00)
Low strength (1.00)
Depth to saturated zone (0.75)
Shrink-swell (0.50)
Dusty (0.09)

Bottom of the hill:
Keswick clay loam, 10 to 18 percent slopes, severely eroded
Very limited
Keswick (90%)
Shrink-swell (1.00)
Low strength (1.00)
Slope (0.96)
Frost action (0.50)
Dusty (0.09)

 

[RDrancher]

Drum roller, hill, wet clay = fun time.

Yep. Right up there with loading one in a dump trailer.

 

[Egon]

Yep. Right up there with loading one in a dump trailer.

Hopefully the unloading goes slow rather than quick!

 

[FF117]

Compacted yesterday and today with the smooth drum roller. The vibration seemed to help quite a bit. The roller has a way of making imperfections in the dirt work show up. We had just enough rain on Friday to help the compaction, but it dried out pretty quick. Spent most of today extending the driveway the final 100'. I'm getting more and more concerned about the loamy soil. It's frustrating because it's 50" deep so there's no way to dig down deep enough to get rid of it. Guess I"ll just have to make sure water runs away and hope for the best. I compacted the heck out of it so hopefully that helps. Rock is coming Tuesday, no turning back now.

 

[RDrancher]

The loamy section will be fine with the geo.