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Tom from NJ
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2002-09-01          41893

I was at church today and the pastor wants to build a walking/ path from a new office/residence building to the church, about 500-600 feet, including crossing a creek. I have a Kubota Bx2200 with a FEL and 4’ tiller, also will have a tooth bar soon. I know this is a small tractor, but I think it will be able to do the job, may take more time, but it is better then digging by hand I am sure!

My questions are as follows:

1. What type of path material would you suggest, something of low maintenance, and will be easy to walk on and drain well so it is not muddy? Mulch , stone, etc., ??, should we put down a base of stone and then mulch on top of that, what about using landscape fabric, and how deep would you make the path, will we need edging to hold the material?
2. What would be the best way to dig up the soil, a lot of clay and rocks, till it first and then dig out the soil, or use the FEL to dig out the soil? I really do not want to buy another piece of equipment if I can do it with what I have, but then again I am always looking for a new toy!

Thanks in advance for your help .

Tom


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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2002-09-01          41904

I think you should be able to do the job with what you have. The only impliment that may be nice is a box blade with rakers to level the material before and after you lay it down. It is difficult with a FEL.
I would suggest crushed lime stone finds as the material. It should compact to give a near cement type feel. ....

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Stan
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2002-09-01          41906

Tom,

Sounds like you can do this w/ what you have, although as Peters said a box blade might help.

when you dig out for the path, dig down about 2-3", and then fill w/ the limestone screenings.

When you dig for the path, try not to disturb the edges, go for a clean cut. this will help better define and stabalize the path.

Also, after you spread the screenings, water them until the surface is a little moist - then compact. You can use your loader, or try using a lawn roller if someone else has one. The screenings compact nicer if the a a little moist - just add a little at first, too wet seems to be worse than dry.

Also, it might be just my technique, but I find it better to work the dust, let it settle, then come back later - sometimes the more I work it the worse it gets.

Good Luck !

....

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Murf
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2002-09-03          41958

I agree with the comments, but would add a word of caution. Don't leave the limestone crushings as the topping, while it makes for a good, inexpensive base, it is not the sort of product to leave on top for a walkway. When it gets wet the limestone dust will track all over the place. Probably the best (read least expensive) items to top it with are either washed gravel, or ground up asphalt (readily available in most parts of the country). The advantage of these is, as I mentioned, they will not create a muddy mess every time it rains, I doubt anyone wants a lot of muddy foot prints all over the Church. Best of luck. ....

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Peters
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2002-09-03          41964

Murf;
Were are you getting your crush from. Maybe not limestone but lime?
We have some 8 miles of the material on a private road at our cottage and paths to the door.
I have not seen any dust track in once it has been wetted. ....

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Murf
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2002-09-04          41987

Well unfortunately you're a little far away or I'd ask you to send me some because ours sure is messy. So bad in fact that driving on a wet side-road topped with it leaves your vehicle looking like its been white-washed after it dries. In fact the lime dust is so bad on freshly worked sections I have seen lawns killed from the lime dust settling on the grass and washing inot the soil when it rains. We use generous amounts of CaCl (Calcium Chloride) in a water-based solution sprayed on the roads to bind the surface and keep the dust/muck down, but it is very expensive to do very much more than in front of residences and near intersections. Best of luck. ....

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Peters
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2002-09-04          41989

I am talking about the material out of the pits north of Buckhorn. Our cottage is in near Aspley but we enter through Mississaugua Lake/Gold Lake area.
Not so far as you think Eh. ....

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Ted@Abbeywoods, LLC
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2002-09-04          42005

Dear Tom, not knowing the physical condition of the persons who'll be using the walk I'll go out on a limb and give you the method I use frequently. Your congregation may have some handicapped members, some may be wheelchair bound, some may have walking disability, be that as it may, most pros here in CT have to make paths and sidewalks accessible to all (private property in some communities is an exception, I'm not sure how temple or churches fit into that as they serve the public but are "private" property).

Your small tractor should do just fine, it will take you a bit longer, but it should be up to the job. Layout your walk, excavate down (if your soil is firm enough you won't need forms) to the frost code depth for your area that pertains to walks for pedestrian traffic. Fill with half inch washed gravel and level to a height three inches from your finish grade height. Using a vibratory plate compactor work the gravel to at least four inches below the final height. Add three more inches of half inch gravel and compact again to within two inches of finished grade. That was the easy part.

Now you need to decide on the final surface. The gravel you just put down is essential for proper drainage, don't cover it with plastic, if you want to use anything use a porous landscaping fabric. For just plain foot traffic I'd use granite "crusher run," sometimes known as stone dust. It must be granite to prevent tracking it indoors, compact it until it is hard, then water it in. After the water has drained away, add material until the surface is level, and compact again. This surface should hold up in all but the most severe rains and will not be severely damaged by frost. It also should be smooth enough and firm enough for handicapped traffic, you won't catch a toe or bog down a wheelchair (ladies with spike heels beware). I have used this method in the borders of my Japanese "karesansui" dry zen garden designs, only I use granite to edge for retention (and looks) and also to define the width of the walk.

Depending on the creek, you could bridge it or use plastic construction pipe. I'm not sure of the flow rate, depth, or widths involved - you probably aren't either. You should have a landscape architect check it out and spec. the construction method.

An alternate that is a bit more difficult to use is "cold patch" asphalt. It can be bought by the truck load or in bags. You need to wet it down while you are compacting it, but it also will provide a tough durable smooth surface if you work at it.

Finally, your building codes may dictate concrete, and the entire process may be subject to inspection. Maybe a member of the congregation knows the local codes and can help guide the project legally. Take your time, this is something you'll take great pride in when finished (oh by the way, if I were to do it, it would cost $50 to $75 a yard not counting the creek). Good luck! ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-09-05          42026


I believe I'd start by planning the project and think about the 'tractor how-to's' later. The tractor very likely is equal to the task--especially is a blade or scraper is available.

There may be all sorts of project complications. If it's a public walkway on publicly used property, then a bunch of codes probably apply, and the codes likely would be different than codes for residential properties. If a creek is involved then environmental officials may also be involved. It would be very good to ensure that officialdom is satisfied before any work starts. If something isn't up to applicable standards, the church's insurance may balk at a claim or inspectors may show up and start saying things like 'tear it out' or the daily fine for operating is ___. Maybe there's somebody in the congregation with contracting experience and knows about these things.

A couple of comments: I don't know if hills are involved along the path but paths on hills invite erosion whether they're on the grade or transverse. It's a good idea for the design to accommodate run-off and ice if in a cold climate. Funny thing about people; they can transverse a grassy slope just fine. Put them on a walkway and they expect it to be level. If the path transverses a hill, then cutting a side grade probably is required.

A publicly used bridge probably has a bunch of code requirements and using a culvert may be easier--depending on the depth of the creek bed. However, the 25 or 50 year high flow volume should be known. The problem is that if the culvert is too small it gets blown out. If it's just a little small it creates eddies on the front side that erodes the face and sides of the culvert fill. Steep culvert fills often have to be faced. Again, if it’s a waterway, environmental stuff almost certain applies.
....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2002-09-05          42037

Peters, not so far indeed, EH!... Heck we're almost neighbours, my place is about 15 minutes north of Minden on Hwy. 35 (at Carnarvon).

Which explains why the material on your road is so nice, it's like what's on my road, it's NOT crushed Limestone, it's crushed Granite, BIG difference. When you crush Granite all you get is sand, when you crush Limestone all you get is dust. If you stop and carefully look at the material on your road (but watch out for traffic) I think you will find that it is all 'sparkly'...

Best of luck. ....

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Bob H.
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2002-09-14          42379

I have built some walkways before in my business and always used crushed granite. There are usually two types available. Course and fine. Fine is usually called quarter minus and nothing is larger than 1/4 inch. This is the stuff that works best. If the soil is fairly hard underneath, you only need about 2 inches of the DG. Use 3 inches if the soil is soft. Water it good when smoothing it out and when done smoothing while it is still wet, roll it with a water filled hand roller. When it dries it will be hard as concrete and when wet it will still maintain its solid consistency. You will not get any of it sticking to shoes and it takes abuse real well. It is used in a lot of parks and it looks good, works good and takes a lot of abuse. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-09-15          42406

Around here, most things are done in pit-run. I guess glaciers did the granite crushing and left something between fine and course plus sand and rock dust.

At least pit run on driveways compacts well but is a bit messy until surface sand and dust washes out. Then you get a pretty durable layer of more or less crushed granite. I'd say maybe less durable because it won't support the weight of blower skid shoes during the spring thaw.

Pit run here is an alternative simply because it's inexpensive and very available. It isn't going to look as nice on a walkway as if you started with clean stone. However, the stone bedded into sand freezes well, and snow blowers can be used without making rock showers. I don't know if snow removal is a consideration.
....

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Bvan
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 16 New jersey
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2002-09-15          42436

Tom, there are a lot of great ideas here I have a few additional thoughts and comments for you. Guessing from your title I would say you are in NJ. Lets say you are doing 600 feet at 4 feet wide 2,400 sq ft total. First do you have to be perfectly level? You want a smooth path but can you follow the natural contour of the ground? In other words can the path meander up and down a little as long is frendly to those who might be walking inparied? This means only minimal tilling would be needed only to make a smooth surface. I can't see doing major excavation if it can be avoided. If you have to many rocks I would fill rather than till. You only need to be smooth enough to stone on top of. So unless you have bolders this would work. It would also be easer to go around anything large rather than breaking your equipment. We are talking a path not a sidewalk.

I would hand rake the area and tamp with a foot tamper before spreading stone so that minimal product is lost in the sub soil. The best stone type product for NJ and for those heels and wheel chairs would be 3/8 crushed stone or what they call quarry blend (3/8 to dust). Quarry blend woud tamp to a nice smooth surface and still be porrus. Asphalt millings would also work well tamped. It would be nice to end up with a 2 1/2 to 3" thick finished product. Any surface dust would be taken of with a good rain or wash down. I would pull in fill (top soil) to the edges do a little seeding and keep the path clear of weeds with a little Round-up. Pressure treated 2x4's set vertically and pinned with rebar make a reasonably priced edging if the buget allows. ....

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