The BX Utility Drive Project

[Rustyferrious]

I have a two acre lot that is deep and relatively narrow. A ridge of granite ledge cuts across the property at the midpoint, just behind the storage barn. The crest of the ridge is roughly 8' above the grade of the parking area I have in front of the barn. There is a large, relatively flat area beyond the ridge that I want to use as an equipment corral, and possibly build another storage barn (can't have too many of those). I'm building a 40' ramp along the right side of the barn to get me up about 6'. There are two largish domes of granite at the top of the ridge that brings it up another 2'. There is a large oak that limits the width, but I think I can work with it. The tree provides shade from the mid-day sun and cutting it down would be an expensive undertaking. The top overhangs the barn considerably and I would need to hire it out. The space between the double-trunk oak and the barn is 13'. I hope to wind up with a 10' wide usable width after the retaining wall goes in.

I began by clearing away the brush and loose rocks form the work site. The thumb on the back hoe came in very handy.





At the top, a couple of small trees blocked the small pass through the ledge. The root systems were growing in the crevices between the rocks. Impossible for me to pull out so I burned the stumps along with the rock for 6 hours. After cooling, the rock was a lot easier to break up and I was able to yank out the stump with the thumb.







Removing the stump allowed me to get the BX up and over the ridge to clear the area and check feasibility for what I planned for the area.



The next step was the retaining wall. I left 30" between the barn and the wall. I would have preferred 48" but that would have made the ramp too narrow for the boat trailer. I used the back hole to again remove loose rocks and dig a trench for the wall base.

 

[dragoneggs]

Nice project Rusty! Gotta love the BX25D!!!

 

[Rustyferrious]

A couple of large boulders at the end of the trench were too large to move, so I had to break them up with shims & feathers. Once broken up, I could lift them out with the BX.





Next, I filled in the trench with compacted process stone. Getting it perfectly level for 30' is tedious and time consuming, but necessary.



After compacting and leveling, I started laying the wall block. Since the face of the wall really won't be visible, being only 30" from the barn, I was able to save a lot of money by purchasing a mix of discontinued colors and types from the masonry dealer. These Firmawall blocks normally cost $16.00 ea but I got these for $2.50. All are 6" high and use the same interlocking system.



That was as far as I got today. Tomorrow I'm back-filling & compacting the face side (the first row of blocks is below grade). Then filling in the back side with 3/4 stone for drainage.

 

[dragoneggs]

Great deal on the block! Here is my retaining wall project to put in a garden on our steep slope. I posted quite a few pics. If you read through the thread you will see how I backfilled the wall using gravel and plywood temp barrier.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/285396-my-first-many-retaining-walls.html

 

[Rustyferrious]

Very impressive Dragon, I just read through your entire thread. I'm probably going to have to fill in the stone without benefit of the plywood barrier. That entire area is nothing but large buried boulders with a little dirt and leaves in between. I have maybe 6-8" of space behind the block, and I plan to fill that all in with the 3/4" stone and a drain tube, compacting course by course. I'm also concerned with damaging too much of the root system on the tree, I only cut what I needed to for the trench and plus minimum amount of clearance.

 

[Rustyferrious]

Got a little more done today. Laid in the drainage tube. Started setting the 4th course. Back-filled a bit. Would have gotten more done but I once again pulled a bone-headed move! I have a small utility trailer that can carry up to about a ton. It tilts to make loading and unloading a little easier. Manual tilt, no hydraulics. I pulled the pin to tilt it for unloading, but got distracted when a customer stopped by and forgot to put the pin back in. Took off down the drive for the 2nd load. Just as I turned onto the main road, I remembered about the pin! TOO LATE YOU FOOL! The empty trailer started bouncing and cavorting. The hitch held, safety chains in place. Bent up the tongue tilter bracket AGAIN (yes, i've done this before, at least once). Used a ratchet strap secure the tongue to the frame and limped back home. Pounded the bracket straight again, checked the welds (good). Put the #&@%# pin back in and got to the quarry just before the loading cut-off. I'm going to weld a piece of chain to the pin and attach the other end to the tongue. If I forget to put it back in again I'll hear the chain jiggle on the pavement before I get too far (I hope!). Gosh darn idiot that I am!

 

[dragoneggs]

looking good Rusty! These dang retaining walls are work, even with a tractor! But level ground, at least minimizing side slope is good thing.

 

[Rustyferrious]

A little more progress on the drive ramp. I finished laying up the 6" block on the retaining wall. I went up 8 layers but may not need the top layer if I can break up enough of the ledge at the top of the ridge. I found a horizontal split in the rock, roughly 30" down from the top. If I can break up that 30" cap I'll be very happy. I back-filled with 3/4" washed stone and did a little rough grading with the FEL. I also filled in the front of the trench with 3/4" process stone. I used some 3" stone where the wall meets the ledge, to keep things stable and avoid wash-out. The next step is to fit and glue the 3" cap stones, and finish grading the ramp. I ordered the stone for the ramp to be delivered next week. I have just under 10' width from the back of the wall to the tree. I'll move the shrubs in the spring. Getting too late in the year to move them now.