Site Prep for Garage

[kmacht]

I'm in the process of getting a pole barn designed and am curious as to how everyone here leveled and graded where they put their garages they built? Where I want to put the structure has about a 2' drop over 40'. I have cut all the trees down and left stumps sticking about 2' up. My original plan was to use an old backhoe I have to pull the stumps and do the grading but I am spending more time and money fixing the backhoe than I am getting any work down. The latest is that it needs a new $600 forward/reverser pump. Has anyone hired a bulldozer or excavator to do site work? If so, what type of work did they do and what did it cost? I know it will vary all over the place but was looking for a ball park estimate just to get an idea. It is winter here up in the northeast and all the places that do this type of work have switched to plowing for the winter and are not interested in coming out to quote the work until the spring. I need to decide if I should wait until then or if I should spend the winter and the money to fix up the backhoe while I wait for the ground to thaw.

Keith

 

[lakeroadster]

Are you planning on a concrete slab? You'll need to compact the fill that is added to level the site, and do so in multiple lifts.

I'd wait and have a reputable contractor do the job. Know a reputable contractor?

 

[kmacht]

No concrete. I already have a large garage for all my projects. This will truly be a barn for the horses. Stalls will be crushed gravel covered with rubber stall mats, the tack and feed rooms will have wood floors and the aisle will be tamped stone dust. I can take care of all of that with my tractor and front end loader but pulling stumps and the initial leveling is beyond its capabilities. I have always done all the work around the house myself so I don't have a regular contractor lined up.

Keith

 

[Kaizen]

the guy that excavated for my 30x36 used a mini excavator with a 2 foot bucket. I spent a couple hours digging around a 36 inch stump and cutting the 1 foot roots with my chainsaw. He came in and pulled the rest of the root and flipped the stump out of the way. he preferred the mini as it was more precise and didn't tear up the good soil.
but I was doing a pad/foundation. for you i'd just take off the grass and loam then start trucking in rock and compacting it in lifts. so one side will be level or slightly higher then the ground and the far end will have a 2 foot increase of rock. if you can lower the surrounding area of the front through removal of loam and grading then that will reduce the amount of increase you need on the back end.

 

[rburke65]

I hired a guy with the right equipment to come in and push all the top soil off to the perimeter ofthe build site. Then brought in 350 cubic yards of clay, compacting as we went. The build is elevated above the surrounding area and is high and dry. Was it more than I thought?....yes. But I'm happy. 32'x56' and spent...?..$4,000 in site preperation.

 

[larry_g]

I would suggest that you get the hoe fixed. You know how useful they are in a farm setting and you will use it. That said I would not beat the hell out of my equipment if hiring a bigger hoe to remove stumps would be more efficient.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ard]

I hired a contractor to grade, fill, and use a sheepsfoot compactor. For the barn it wasnt too crazy, but the riding arena had areas with 20 ft of fill. (One side is cut into the hill, the other side 20+ ft of fill.) Every 12", water truck to moisten it. (This was California in the summer... I paid for each truckload of water to be hauled in. )

For the arena, I poured a 12x12 grade beam, appx 200x80 ft, 'pinned' to the grade every 20' with a post hole drilled down 24"...two pieces of #5 steel all around. Hasnt settled a bit in 7 years. A testament to the site prep and compaction they did.

In stalls, we have crushed rock w drains under, then topped with DG (decomposed granite) All stalls are defined by concrete stem walls. By doing a careful job of leveling, plus nice square concrete stem walls, the mats stay put. (DG flat to about 1/4") The biggest issue Ive seen in barns is a **** job leveling or compacting, then mats flip up or shift, then 'stuff' gets under, and you never get them to all sit right for years on end. Puddles will form; soft spots develop; it will be a never ending PITA.

There was a thread here somewhere about rubber stall mats, I promised to post a picture there.

Just FYI.