I had a guy do some repairs on my road. We have had close to 30" of rain in the last 60 days. I had more slop than a road. he was going to haul in some shale and spread it out. well after getting the dozer stuck several times, pushing up mud in the middle of my working pens, and about 20 loads of big washed rock his $800 quote turned into a $4600 bill. that;s not the worst of it. He scraped the slop off the top and put the rock down which just sank in the new mud. It is far worse than before and the mud that is pushed in fornt of my pens has left them inaccesiable. he can't push the mud because of the mess he made pushing it where it is now. to make a long story short, make sure the people you hire know what they are doing. any tips on road improvment
buyers beware
- Thread starter plbcattle
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polledbull
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plbcattle":24u7skzb said:
I know you already probably know this , but it will be hard to do anything positive until you get a base built back in the road . You cant build, or in your case rebuild a road in the mud. It will have to get pretty dry to work on the base . Then you can regrade it to divert the run off water in the direction you want to go. I know this aint much help, good luck
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
I'm not convinced I would have used shale for that application. We usually laid down some good coarse pit run with fairly large rocks 6"-8" in it to tie up the mud a bit. Works real good in cattle pens and muddy areas and then for roads we would put 3/4" down granite on top. Relatively expensive but I've found doing things the right way first usually saves you money in the long run. I guess to, if it was a long road, the 3/4 down might not be feasible but I could spread quite a bit of that for $4600.00
Anywhere that doesn't have a good grade is going to be a mud problem. You can incorporate the rock into the soil/mud, but if the water doesn't run off, all you create is a rocky mud mess. The few places on this farm that aren't sloped are very rocky, and they still collect mud. In normal (whatever that is) precip years it's not a big deal. Years like this it seems like the cement is muddy.
dun
dun
I would never to use shale. To high of a plasisity index. Use ground limestone or "cliche". The lime will help dry it out and also hardens it. You can also use about a 5% mix of cement to help set it up. regrade the dirt when its dry,role it to seal it off. Let it stand if no rain is coming for a day or too. This helps it cure out, then cover with the limestone. I would also recomend using rock 2" and smaller. The key is not to cover the subgrade up too wet or the mousture will come out to the surface EVERY time and cracks will show. My TXDOT neighbor did this to my drive and it worked great. This is how thye construct roads in some parts of Texas.
Scotty
Scotty
As others have said you need a crown in the road and somewhere for the water to go below the elevation of the road to get it away. Use larger rock for the base and smaller on top to finish. Washed rock is super expensive around here and will not pack like white rock-no lime to tie it together there either. I have used creek rock because at the time I got it for free,just had to haul it, but was never real happy with the results. Like road building with marbles. Have never done it but I like the idea that Scotty had with the cement and lime. If you build up the roadbed and can get rid of the water that should be an all weather road. Good Luck to you.
fit2btied
Well-known member
I agree with Chuck. Our experience with the rounded-edged creek rock is that it rolls out and never packs liked the jagged-edged crushed limestone. But if you have access to creek rock, it is cheaper, as long as Big Brother doesn't catch you operating your equipment in the creek.
brokenmouth
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why did you let him start if it was that wet
Jeanne - Simme Valley
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I'm reading these posting a little late, but I'm surprised no one recommended putting down "netting" prior to putting the rock down. I've never used it but it is highly recommended for "mud holes". And no, I don't know what it is really called. I really thought someone would have talked about it.
plbcattle":1den8pag said:
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
Netting or fabric is usually used for stabilizing soil against erosion, I'm not sure it work in this case.
D.R. Cattle
Well-known member
Not sure if you have access to this material, but I've been getting asphalt millings for my drive. When a highway job is on, they try to get rid of them cheaply and I raised my hand as a donor. Comes pretty dry like gravel, but after the sun bakes on it it gets just like asphalt on the highways. You could even spray it with a petroleum like diesel lightly and it will melt into itself quicker, but I'm pleased with the results by just box blading and leaving it. I got the first couple loads for the cost of the dump truck delivery, basically free material.
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
On a different but rela ted topic. Many moons ago when I was younger I worked at a Tupperware plant. Some of the top guys used shredded plastic from obsolete colored tupperware containers for their driveways. Pumpkin Orange and Avocado green. Pretty strange looking. I'd bet it would tie up the mud pretty good though but what would the neighbors think? :roll:
Jeanne - Simme Valley":1vugq431 said:
There are a couple of things in this vein. Ones is a burlap type material that is an actuial net. It breaks down after a number of years, after all, it's just basicly hemp/jute.
The stuff that lasts is mat type of stuff and is called geotextile cloth/mat/pad. It's all synthetic and will last beyond my greatgrand childerns kids.
dun
