Adding parking space in yard

I'm sitting here waiting on the last load of ABC M to be delivered. I got 60 tons, for $21.50 a ton and 150 delivery from Vulcan on 66.
I have the rate sheet back at the office for all the types of gravel, and none are over $34 a ton until you get into boulders.

Hmm, I need to get a dump trailer and buy some rock then.
 
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Had to have a little fun on the gravel like first!


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Well I’ve learned 2 things about myself in the last month.
1) I’m no body work guy
2) I’m no tractor/grader guy.

What I see in my head and want to do vs what I was able to do with the tractor were very different. After a while I got a little better but I’m defiantly not efficient with a tractor. And my area is far from level or uniform, but oh well.

I cut all the grass off and dig down 2” and some areas my have gotten extra deep. The bucket would just dig in, and I wound up just using the box blade, but it was inconsistent.
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Elena being my little helper. The wind was killing me and I forgot to get sod staples to hold down the geofabric.
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Elias even hauled a few loads for me!
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I’m not done, and need one more load to finish it. I need to clean up the edging and get the rest of the rock out of the yard. I ran out of energy and day light. I went ahead and prepped the entire area I wanted rock while I had the tractor instead of just enough for the rock I had. I could really probably finish it with just another 10 tons but who knows. The power lines prevent a big truck from getting back there where I need it so I’d probably just finish it out with several trips in a smaller truck.



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I feel like I could have cut in like I wanted and done it a lot neater with a skid steer. But the blade for spreading was priceless.
I even loaded the tractor back up and backed in, into my new parking space. Already happy about it because I could not have parked that heavy load there without the rock, and I literally have no where to park it that wouldn’t be in the way of my wife leaving for work in the morning. So it’s already been worth it!


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It’s supposed to be more of a straight line running to the driveway. I have to take all that gravel out of the grass and over where it should be. Fun stuff.
 
Another 10 tons?

I really don’t know. I guess this could pack down and I’d realize I need a lot more. I don’t know about this stuff, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing on the tractor. My buddy gave me a 2 minute crash course and sent me home with his tractor. I’m learning every day! Lol
 
I really don’t know. I guess this could pack down and I’d realize I need a lot more. I don’t know about this stuff, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing on the tractor. My buddy gave me a 2 minute crash course and sent me home with his tractor. I’m learning every day! Lol
I've got a plate compactor you can borrow if you want.
 
That plate compactor will lock the ABC in tight. I have always just let traffic take care of it, but when I poured my carport slab at the old place, the concrete guy gave me a great price to dump and spread gravel.

That was all I expected... but he had one man almost the entire day going back and forth over it with a plate compactor. Tight as concrete for 4 years (until I had to blade it for some other work).

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Curious hijack for you guy.
@rodney eppes especially.

I just had 10 loads of stone delivered. 5 "big base" and 5 "crush run"...by a long time friend.
I specifically told him I wanted his normal rate. He has a 22.5T truck. Charged me $275/load. I thought this was going rate but y'all got me thinking eh gave me a buddy deal. That aint how I roll...

Is $400+ rally the going rate for gravel?

22.5x23.75=534 for one load of Crusher Run but that doesn't include delivery so tack another 100 on. Ya got a good deal in my area. Quarry's vary a lot in different areas. Sometimes they compete and have price wars.


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Have you thought about a top layer of "pug" (wet pea gravel) or ground up asphalt. Both make a good top layer, but need to be compacted.
 
I really don’t know. I guess this could pack down and I’d realize I need a lot more. I don’t know about this stuff, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing on the tractor. My buddy gave me a 2 minute crash course and sent me home with his tractor. I’m learning every day! Lol

Just like me in the mini excavator! It can be frustrating when your hands cant get the machine to do what your mind is envisioning!
 
I'm one of those guys that's always been lucky and is pretty proficient with every piece of equipment I've ever used. Not sure why...

Projects that require equipment are always fun! Looks good too and extra parking is ALWAYS nice!
 
Just being able to park this here out of the way without fear of being stuck makes me super happy.
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By the end of the day I should have it all cleaned up and have my XJ and truck parked there, with the trailer behind the truck. The trailer won’t be on the gravel but at least I can hook up to it without getting stuck! Hope to get all the rock out of the grass, and fill some dirt into some low spots and put some grass seed down on the area I tore up.
 
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Mostly finished, till I get some more brought in. I rolled the XJ back and forth several times, I’ll ramp it this week. I’m gonna need to do some type of border along the edge. I dread that cause it sounds like a lot of work....
 
Did not even think about the added space allowing me to park my car there too! My car always had to be parked in just the right spot so my wife could back out of the garage. I have a 2 car garage but I park the YJ in there now. This was so long over due!!
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Tractors, are probably one of the Harder machines to get used to. Takes a lot of time & experience. Box or scrape blade works much better than a loader bucket. You can "back drag" with the loader bucket too. Not too hard once you get the hang [I should say angle] of it.
As per all the debate on price, yes, Quarry's do vary, in different area's. And contractors get different prices, according to the quantity they buy, or contract price they may have. Most of the time, my Boss charges what the stone/material cost him, plus a delivery charge. His delivery charge is based on the time he figures is involved. If the job is based on the amount of material, then it is cost plus x amount per ton, to cover expenses. Most of the Contractor's we work for, were paid by the hour. But occasionally there is a Huge stone job, which we get paid by the tonnage! That's when you have to haul fast, heavy, & No stopping, for lunch or breaks! { If you do, make if Quick}
 
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