Good thoughts and appreciated. The organic bit was a concern I had that you
confirmed. It'd have to be removed before the stumps cut down, if I went
that way, otherwise I'd just be revealing more stump. One thought put forth
was 5" of stone.
ABC stone is a crushed mixture that packs like concrete. NC DOT uses it a
lot and it's fairly reasonably priced.
The dozer guy who cleared the stumps for the house insisted on them being
about 4' proud and then had some he walked the dozer around trying to get
'em loose. That's why I'd expect them to tear up the surrounding area when
they get to a decent sized one. I agree mightily about 12' wide. F350 dually
longbed with a gooseneck ain't too cool on a 8' driveway.
TomNie
"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
...
"Tom Nie" wrote in message
...
In answering a workshop question I thought some of you might have some
ideas
on a rural driveway down to my new shop.
The deal is I'm trying to save money and trees. If I do the normal
clearing
they'll take out more trees than the minimum and they'll have the land
all
torn up removing the stumps. Most of the top ones are good sized pines
and
then hardwoods usually 18-24" after that.
So, I'm wondering about cutting the trees as ground close as possible and
just covering with ABC stone. When they rot I'd just fill with more ABC.
I
think it's going to be too expensive to have a stump grinder go even
lower.
Probably be about 250' of road.
Thanks for the thoughts
TomNie
It's amazing the things one sees here. Well... you are at least aware
that
you're going to end up with problems as the stumps rot. How much stone
are
you contemplating over the ground and stumps? Are you planning on cutting
the top few inches of organic material off before putting down the stone?
You'll likely end up with a soft driveway if you don't. Build on an
organic
base and you'll pump that crap up through during the wetter periods. Get
enough pumping going on and your stone will just become a part of a nasty
quagmire.
What do you mean by ABC stone? I've never heard that phrase before.
There's no reason to take too many trees. Saw down, or have someone saw
only the trees you want removed. I would take the stumps out. You won't
end up with unmanageable holes, but you *will* be doing the job the right
way. Any dozer operator, or hoe operator will cuff off the area around
the
driveway and leave it in a very presentable condition, so you shouldn't be
concerned about the land being all torn up. My driveway is 350 long and
wanders up through the woods to the house. It's only wide enough for the
driveway and the trees come right up to the edge. There's no reason yours
can't be the same. Do remember that if you expect big trucks up your
driveway, or if you have to deal with snow, or any of a host of other
considerations, you'll want to build a driveway that is 12' wide. Want to
make life miserable for a delivery driver? Build an 8' wide driveway that
winds up through the oh-so-pretty trees. Imagine yourself having to back
that truck up that driveway.
You laid out the "save money" line, so I'll talk to that for a second.
Don't get so focused on saving a penny that you screw yourself by telling
a
dozer operator what to do or not do. You'll just be posting here in 6
months, complaining about the rotten job you got. All because you tried
to
take it on the cheap. A workman is worth his wages, and you'll be set for
life if you just do the job right up front and don't try to save too many
pennies. Tell him what you want, agree with him how it's going to be done
and let him do it. He'll likely have some very experienced advice to
offer
you - you should listen to it.
--
-Mike-