Hardcore tracks - DIY or use contractor?

[Feldspar]

We have a Mid Tier capital grant to put in 1.5km of hardcore tracks. We have 1km to put in by the end of this calendar year year. The tracks must be constructed to the following spec:

Hardcore tracks

• excavate a trench at least 2.4m wide and at least 150mm deep, or down to a naturally occurring hard surface
• profile the edge of the track with the excavated soil
• overlay the area with a geotextile membrane if the base of the trench lies on subsoil (a geotextile membrane is not needed if the base is bedrock or chalk)
• fill the trench with stone or hardcore to a depth of at least 150mm, and compact it
• finish the top of the track with a finer material (of 18mm to dust) to a depth of 25 to 50mm, and compact it into a convex camber
• direct any track runoff to a ditch or other stable drainage outlet, or divert it on to grassland

I am just considering whether we should try and build these tracks ourselves, or whether we should use some contractors.

Firstly, I wonder how long it will take to construct 1km of track to this spec? To ensure things go smoothly, how many people would you need working at the same time? I am worried that to try and take this on ourselves will take too much time and compromise the main farming operation.

Secondly, what method would you use: would you order loads of stone which are dumped nearby and then carted to the track route, or would you have stone lorries tipping onto the actual track route using a 'just in time' method (if that's the right terminology)?

Thirdly, what are the things to watch out for when building tracks like these that I might not have thought of being relatively inexperienced in this area?

Fourthly, if using a contractor, what are the things to ask for and watch out for (i.e. watching out for shortcuts, important aspects to agree spec-wise and include in the scope of works, etc.)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bobk]

Don't you need planning ? you would here.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Dig out the dirt, start from the road and get Lorries to reverse back and tip on membrane. Level off stone, next lorry tips on top of that so you work away from road down new road. Complete hardcore tips, compact. Road will have been compacted well by delivering Lorriies anyway. Repeat with fines then roll again.

A lot of the success in this will depends on the skill of the operator. Don't use a pissy small digger, get materials lined up first so it runs smoothly.

Drains are important depending on soil type. Sitting water on roads will destroy them with regular use.

Good luck!

 

[Tarw Coch]

What you need above all else is a good operator on a 360, everything else should fall into place after. Good operators aren't that uncommon but it always surprises me that some are no better than me despite the fact that's what they do full time.

 

[Feldspar]

Dig out the dirt, start from the road and get Lorries to reverse back and tip on membrane. Level off stone, next lorry tips on top of that so you work away from road down new road. Complete hardcore tips, compact. Road will have been compacted well by delivering Lorriies anyway. Repeat with fines then roll again.

A lot of the success in this will depends on the skill of the operator. Don't use a pissy small digger, get materials lined up first so it runs smoothly.

Drains are important depending on soil type. Sitting water on roads will destroy them with regular use.

Good luck!

What sort of size digger do you think would be ideal? Would you dig out the dirt as you go along, or do all the excavation first and then start with the stone?

This is a rookie question I know, but is there much of a market for topsoil from already compacted dirt tracks, or is it just best to level adjacent to the track?

 

[Doing it for the kids]

13 tonnes plus.

If excelant topsoil there may be a market for it, need to get it out though so store to the side then use new track to haul out again. You need a good stone man, where are you based?

 

[Grouse]

Absolute Minimum 8 ton 360, preferably a 13 though, anything else on this job is just a toy.

Anything bigger on a single track road can be a bit cumbersome

 

[Greenbeast]

What sort of size digger do you think would be ideal? Would you dig out the dirt as you go along, or do all the excavation first and then start with the stone?

This is a rookie question I know, but is there much of a market for topsoil from already compacted dirt tracks, or is it just best to level adjacent to the track?

i couldn't get any of the local firms to take ours but then the neighbour came and hauled it down the hill and paid me for most of it

 

[Feldspar]

13 tonnes plus.

If excelant topsoil there may be a market for it, need to get it out though so store to the side then use new track to haul out again. You need a good stone man, where are you based?

Wouldn't be amazing topsoil I don't think given it's been used as a track. We're south east of Cambridge.

 

[Feldspar]

Absolute Minimum 8 ton 360, preferably a 13 though, anything else on this job is just a toy.

Anything bigger on a single track road can be a bit cumbersome

We already have a 6t excavator. Sounds like that'd be too small.

 

[Greenbeast]

We already have a 6t excavator. Sounds like that'd be too small.

we hired the neighbours 5t and it took us about 4 days to do 800m2 of track and hardstanding down to 300mm and crush in, bigger machine would have been quicker but i was shuttling the spoil with my 2.5t dumper and couldn't keep up

 

[Lincs Lass]

Absolute Minimum 8 ton 360, preferably a 13 though, anything else on this job is just a toy.

Anything bigger on a single track road can be a bit cumbersome

13tn with 6ft grading bucket ,,I laid a track 4 mtr wide ,300mm deep ,,8 wheeler every 15 minutes ,was non stop dragging it out and leveling it down enough for the next wagon to back over

 

[ARW]

Get a contractor with two big machines 13 tonne plus or even better 20, the bigger the digger the better value for money. First digger can be digging off then the next can be levelling stone straight from the wagon. You won't regret it if you get good operators

 

[Feldspar]

Get a contractor with two big machines 13 tonne plus or even better 20, the bigger the digger the better value for money. First digger can be digging off then the next can be levelling stone straight from the wagon. You won't regret it if you get good operators

Doing it like that, how many metres at 3m wide would you expect to do in a day (accept it will be a ballpark figure)?

 

[Lincs Lass]

Depend on regularity of loads

 

[ARW]

Doing it like that, how many metres at 3m wide would you expect to do in a day (accept it will be a ballpark figure)?

its hard to say, probably as fast as you can lead the stone in! Say 4 20 tonne loads an hour, digger man will keep up with that on a big machine so you could lay 600 tonne on a good day

 

[Feldspar]

Think from what everyone is saying re size of machines, skill of operators and the amount of time, it's probably going to be better to get specialist contractors in. We still have a lot of ditching to get done this year on top of the normal field work.

 

[Bruce Almighty]

We did a similar job in 2009/10 with crushed stone from a nearby roadworks / new island that had just been completed. They brought it to us for free, they wanted rid & we were glad to have it - we had the correct EA exemptions in place.

They were trucking it in with 8 wheelers, we had a bloke on our 12 ton 360 digger, he scraped the soil off, laid the stone & then put soil back on top so it could green over for SPS (at the time)

All went well until the Council turned up after the job was done, someone had reported us for laying a track (even though the dirt track was already there)
We would've got it in advance on ag notice, but as it was retrospective, it was 3 X PP @ £170 at the time + a whole lot of worry - what if we have to dig it up again ?
It all turned out OK in the end

 

[S J H]

I'd have 1 13t machine in, for about £300 a day, I expect you'll do it for less than the grant, going by the other prices. If you have 2 machines and you're held up with crushed, you'll be bleeding money.

 

[S J H]

We did a similar job in 2009/10 with crushed stone from a nearby roadworks / new island that had just been completed. They brought it to us for free, they wanted rid & we were glad to have it - we had the correct EA exemptions in place.

They were trucking it in with 8 wheelers, we had a bloke on our 12 ton 360 digger, he scraped the soil off, laid the stone & then put soil back on top so it could green over for SPS (at the time)

All went well until the Council turned up after the job was done, someone had reported us for laying a track (even though the dirt track was already there)
We would've got it in advance on ag notice, but as it was retrospective, it was 3 X PP @ £170 at the time + a whole lot of worry - what if we have to dig it up again ?
It all turned out OK in the end

Cover it over, then clear the dirt off again when the dust settles,