Hi everyone!. I have about 9 acres. There is about 3 acres of flat ground on top of a hill (kind of like a platuea.) I want to take the drive up this hill. It is about 50 feet high, and 250 feet long. Ill have abou 200 feet of width going up the hill to work with. My initial thought was to start on top, about 50-100 feet back on the flat area. That way i could have a 300-350' length taking the grade from 20% to 14-16% if i were to go straight at it. I thought maybe 1 or 2 switchbacks would help alot to, but dont know where to begin on that. Below is a link to what i am working with. Going straight at it would be my first choice, but if its too steep that wont work. Any suggestions? http://www.skidsteerforum.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=52&gallerypage=0&path=Driveway
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Depending on what the dirt is, some will make good packing but some is horrible is its hard to pack and prevent it washing away when it rains. Other members in here will give you a better idea as they do this work all the time.
nobull1
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I did a similar job a couple of years ago, but only for a 8' path/trail. I used the material from the hill to build the path and switchbacks. One of the things that worked well was grading the path to the hillside to prevent washouts. We installed power lines and lamp poles, then clear stone to the inner ditch to grade, to help add more width, and to eliminate the ditch. Any questions just ask. http://www.bluebarn.ca/gallery/portfolio.php?cat_id=1&PHPSESSID=6a7e79f4a8faa08f57b4f2c0fdf53c4d
Brian
hmm. So basically it would probably be a bad idea to go straight at it without a switchback? Even with 2 ditches and a good crown?
sterlclan
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the drive may stay put but....if you get snow or ice I wouldnt want to go up or come down I try to keep the straight sections as short as possible so as not to get too much speed.just my 2c ....Jeff
Ha, didnt even think about that. Im in ohio though, so we never have bad weather LOL! I guess that decides that then.
. Now to figure out how many switchbacks, and how to route it. Hopefully i can avoid the larger trees on the hill. So any suggestions on getting the high side to stay once i start digging into the side of this hill? I guess starting at the bottom would be the best place to start .
nobull1
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I would love to see pictures of what you have to work with. It would make it a lot easier to figure out which way to lay it out. Myself I like to start at the top and work my way down, this way you are pushing your spoils down hill. As far as holding the bank up...well it depends on the angle and type of material you have to deal with. When I did the job in the pic's I was reaching as far as I could with the excavator and pretty well had the banks built were I wanted them as I was building the road. The material in this case packed pretty good and was undisturbed soil. You might have to build some retaining walls to hold the ground if the slope or soil don't work out for the intended plan. This is one of those jobs that the more time you spend in preparation/design the less time you will spend doing the job. On hourly jobs I tell customers that the smartest money you can spend is me walking around thinking about what to do instead of just going and digging like a mad man....most agree. Wish I was closer as I would love to help figure it out in person. I love those design and build projects.Ha, didnt even think about that. Im in ohio though, so we never have bad weather LOL! I guess that decides that then.
Brian
I wish you were closer too
. I can take some better pics for sure. Ill be out there on saturday so ill post them saturday evening or sunday. Thanks for all the help!well, in addition to my bobcat breaking , so did my camera..... so no pics yet. I had a couple of more questions in the meantime though. The soil seems to pack together very ver well, so i was happy about that. Where the drive will come in off the road is somewhat steep, but i started building it up with soil/clay that i am removing from another area. The grade is much more manageable now, but then i started reading that when installing a gravel driveway it is best to remove all the top soil. Is this true?..i hope not.... If it is, then what can i use to build up low spots with?I wish you were closer too
Top soil in general get's soft when wet and will not compact very good. But you will have to be the judge of what type of dirt your working with. How deep your putting it or how much rock is going over it.
But when doing a dirt job, first we cut off the top soil / sod and put it a pile. Down to the red clay and go from there. I've had many jobs that the top soil was so bad that I used it for fill. I hope I may of helped a little.
Dennis