I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in" with
2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to build
everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting the rock
down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?

Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
level but will last too and not be too expensive.

wrote:
I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in"
with 2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to
build everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting
the rock down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?

Yes, and recommended


Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
level but will last too and not be too expensive.

I would recommend road planings - don't know if you have tarmac/asphalt
roads where you are?

Failing that, a three layered approach - crushed brick rubble (about 3
inches and smaller), then 2 inch gravel, then pea gravel.

You could probably get away with just brick rubble, depending on how pretty
you want it. - If you level with sand, put 3x2 on top and fill with
concrete, you have a ready made solid standing that should take pretty much
anything road legal.

--
BigEgg

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in" with
2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to build
everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting the rock
down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?

Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
level but will last too and not be too expensive.

Something that really works well, but absolutely MUST be properly and
thoroughly compacted is "washout". Many governments now use concrete
washout as road base. If it's properly compacted, it will eventually turn
back to weak concrete. You should top it with a finer, more dense pavement
for permanence -- it tends to abrade some, and become quite dusty when it's
dry.

Asphalt or concrete tops it well.

Washout is cheap.

Washout is easy to rake and shovel into place.

Washout is easy to level.

Washout is hard to fully compact. A roller or plate compactor is necessary.

LLoyd

I'd put a layer of 2" egg sized or so, followed by a layer of 2B sinze
followed up with a top of crush and run (also called tailings or
screenings depending on where your from)..... that is if you have the
limestone type aggragate in your area.

Around here the old asphalt that is removed by those large grinding
machines, is pretty popular. It packs well and is not dusty, and its
cheap as heck to buy.

On 14 Mar 2005 10:56:38 -0800, wrote:

===I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in" with
===2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to build
===everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting the rock
===down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?
===
===Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
===shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
===level but will last too and not be too expensive.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

I can get that crush and run. SHould I just use it completely?

I plan on hauling it myself in my dual axel trailer.

If you have a soft sub base it will push into the soil quite a bit,
until it gets good and packed, but Its best to get a bit bigger
substrate down as a base first and it will make it a lot more stable.
Crush and run if you keep it damp and run on it gets pretty darn
compacted and hard and wears pretty good. Easy shoveling too!,,,,,Too
bad the larger stuff is not as easy to shovel.

On 14 Mar 2005 12:37:15 -0800, wrote:

===I can get that crush and run. SHould I just use it completely?
===
===I plan on hauling it myself in my dual axel trailer.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

On 14 Mar 2005 10:56:38 -0800, vaguely proposed a
theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

please try to reply to more replies so people feel they are getting
through to you, and why do you keep starting new topics

I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in" with
2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to build
everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting the rock
down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?

Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
level but will last too and not be too expensive.

SHould I not till the ground any more then?

Most pea gravel will roll around under traffic forever. I suggest that
you ask for graded base course material from a local aggregate
supplier, preferably one that is supplying material for highway
construction. It is designed to attain maximum density with the proper
moisture content and wheel or vibratory compaction. Heavy rain will
wash out the fines and degrade the stability, but it is ideal as a
base for concrete or asphalt.
Bugs

Do the layered approach. Follow with a layer of washout/"crush and
run" on top. You don't need much, just enough to fill all the gaps
from the previous level plus a little.

If you wet it and roll it out, you can get a very solid, reasonably
smooth surface.

If you drive over this for a few years and then lay down some cement on
top of it, you will have a floor that isn't going to shift anytime in
your lifetime.

Do NOT till any ground that you do not have to in order to dig it out.
You want old settled fill that has been naturally compacted. You do not
want to fluff up the ground and have it settle later. I'm a bit gunshy
on this, in my area we have a heavy clay/sand subsoil tha packs/settles
into low grade concrete. When you dig it out it bulks up about 30%,
takes some serious copacting to get it anywhere near back to the same
size. If you don't compact it well, it takes up to 10 years to settle
naturally.

wrote:
SHould I not till the ground any more then?

wrote:
SHould I not till the ground any more then?

Not sure what "Till" means - is it like ploughing? or rotovating?

Definitely don't - you are softening the ground, when what you really need
is it to be as solid possible.

--
BigEgg

Around here most people put in 6" to 12" of "Class 5" gravel. It has a
mix of large and small rocks, sand, and some clay. Used as an
underlayment for all the roads so it's readily available. You can also
get a Class 5 made from ground up concrete, it will pack down VERY hard.
All of these need to have a fairly high moisture content then tamped
with a plate tamper. rent the tamper for $30 at your local rental place.

wrote:
I am the one asking about leveling the lot and wanting to "box in" with
2x6's with gravel and park on it for awhile till I can afford to build
everything. Is it ok to ly black plastic down before putting the rock
down to keep weeds, etc, from growing through?

Also, what size rick should I use. I plan on getting it myself and
shoveling by hand. I want something that is easy to rake etc, to make
level but will last too and not be too expensive.