New Driveway over Grass? (not sure where to post this)

[Parker22]

Hey guys I am just getting started in this sort of business. A few months ago I bought a single axel dump, and a skid steer. I also have access to one of our farms tandem's and my fathers backhoe (This is my side business that I hope turns into something, because right now the farm cannot afford to let me in).

Anyway, so far I have done a few drive ways that already had a good base, they simply needed more rock on top. As well as a few demo jobs (breaking/removing concrete... and building tear down). But a new customer has asked me to put in a new "driveway" for him. What it consists of is a grass lot where a grain bin is located, they have a fuel tank for their equipment next to the bin. They want to be able to load/unload the bin and fuel up without being in grass.

The area is slightly uneven and I suggested I cut off a few inches to make it more even, then lay road pack, then clean 3/4" over top the road pack. They made it clear that they do not want road pack, and to just lay the 3/4" a bit thicker than normal. So far I have only done the driveway (that already had a base) because 1. I ran out of time (full time college student) and 2: I wanted to ask around if just 3-4" of clean 3/4" rock with little grit would last over top the grass.

I will do what they want regardless of wheather it will work or not, but I just want to be sure that it will work for them, of not I will insist I lay a bit of road pack or something with fines, then a couple inches of 3/4".

Thanks!

 

[hvy 1ton]

It will last a couple years before it gets push down into the subgrade. 4" of road base laid down on top of geotec would be my minimum for loaded grain trucks. Cutting down a couple inches to remove the organics should make the 3/4" last longer. At least it will keep the grass from growing through the rock for a while.

 

[robin yates uk]

personally speaking, you have to strip the topsoil because any base you put in will soon disappear.It is difficult to give a clear answer because you don't say how much traffic uses the area.

 

[Parker22]

Light grain trucks will use this area, as well as a couple tractors. This guy is a small farmer, has 2 tractors, no 4wd's or anything like that. Traffic will not be frequent at all.

 

[robin yates uk]

I would remove the topsoil,top 6 inches, add geotech layer, add your stone and finally give it a light vib roll. good luck

 

[RDG]

I would do what the customer wants after all he is paying for it cause the customer is always right LoL. the grass will eventually grow thru but then sometimes that helps hold the metal in place and stops it getting spread around and if its only light traffic it will probably be good enough, after all it depends on how deep his pockets are $$$ wise, no good doing a $20000 job when he can only afford $5000, just my 2 cent worth. Cheers RDG

 

[buckfever]

Why are you only using 3/4" stone? I would strip the topsoil off and build a road of #3's or #4's. Geotech is great for underlayment but is a little pricy for just a low traffic access road.

 

[BDFT]

Strip the sod and topsoil down 6-12" then build it up with 6" or so of 3" crush, compact and then finish it off with 1" crush. DO it right or don't do it. Nobody ever remembers when you do a good job and they never forget when you do a bad one.

 

[tuney443]

Your top is what your base is.Words to live by.Get rid of ALL organic material first,ground conditions will dictate type and thickness of your aggregate.You're not building an interstate,but you don't want muddy ooze pumping up through your top either.

 

[Bluetop Man]

The guy doesn't need a road built to interstate standards. For the light duty application you describe, enough rock on the grass should hold up in IL if not used heavily when wringing wet. When the rock disappears into the topsoil eventually, just add more rock. By then the customer will have had another round of farm subsidy payments from the U.S. Gub'mnt and can well afford it.

 

[D&GExcavating]

Might as well do it right the first time around. Just strip the top soil off, and then build up from there. It might no be as much of the case here, but just remember your work is your calling card.

 

[Bluetop Man]

They made it clear that they do not want road pack, and to just lay the 3/4" a bit thicker than normal

I are a farmer, and we'uns ain't as dumb as we make out to be.

 

[sstocker31]

road crush is more expensive than 3" minus pitrun. I'd do a good base of 3" minus and then not as much road crush over top. This will give a good base and then next year you can bring him another load of road crush to dress it up.....just an idea....

 

[CM1995]

If you end up using different sized stone, you need to put the largest stone you are using on the bottom layer and then choke it off with a finer sized stone for the top dressing.

As others have said, strip all the sod/organics off the driveway and undercut any other soft spots your encounter. In a perfect world, with a customer that has unlimited funds, you could undercut 2', install geo-grid, lay down #2's or 3's, a layer of #57 and top it with 3/4 crush. Compact each layer with appropriate moisture content and they would have one helluva road. Unfortunately we have to give our customers the most value for their budget.


So my suggestion would be to determine how much money they have available for this project and come up with a solution that gives them the best job from what you have available locally from the gravel pit and what their budget will allow. This is what is tough about this business, you have to know what your time and materials cost - plus your profit in order to price and complete jobs. Don't worry we have all been there, won some..lost some, it's all part of the business. In time you will gain this knowledge, albeit it can be hard learned and expensive knowledge.:cool2

 

[hvy 1ton]

I probably overspec'd that a bit. When I hear grain bin this pretty much the minimum i think of:



That, and spread axle hopper trailers turning around. Around here it's either no bins or a full-on grain handling system with all the fixings.

 

[5030tinkerer]

Another concept with the Geo use. If the customer cannot afford to get a decent packing with the rock above the Geo, don't put Geo down. Without 12" or so of rock above the Geo, any grader on the new 'road' might well pull up the geo, making a pretty good mess in short order and ruining perfectly good fabric.

 

[Randy88]

I have no idea what subsoil your dealing with, how far down it is, how wet the ground is normally, how much natural drainage there is, there are a lot of variables your dealing with that nobody but you can really answer, each site is up to the one doing or looking at doing the job to determine, but remember, no matter what the customer wants, if in the end it doesn't turn out how they'd like it, it'll be your fault its not right, as for the customer being right, thats never the case, the customer always wants the best job for the least amount of money spent, which is seldom possible to be done, so in the end, it takes considerable comprimise, plenty of diplomacy and the abilty to convice the owner what you believe will give them the biggest bang for their buck, as for hardly ever used or seldom used, thats today, not tomorrow and tomorrow it will be forgot what the job cirteria was you were given.

I've seen plenty of examples where each of the suggestions were used and either some worked out or none worked out,or all worked just fine, depending on the soil types, rainfall, traffic usage over time and a host of other variables, each person gave recommendations for their area, climate, soils, drainage considitions, etc, which are fine in their areas, but might not quite fit your area or conditions your in, just something to keep in mind.

Welcome to the business and also the forum, I've always found it handly to go look at other like kind jobs in your area and see how they were done in the past and ask some questions locally of farmers as to how they like their driveways and what they'd do differently, a shovel and a few minutes will usually tell you volumes as to how others have done those same jobs and figure out what works and what doesn't. Best of luck