Regrading and filling in sand road?

[Clover13]

What is the method to regrading a sand road with a box blade without it turning into a soft mushy mess? I like the look of the natural sand road so don't want to use crushed concrete or millings. There are numerous pot holes and a couple large puddles (10-15 ft x 6-8 ft). Can I just bucket in sand from the woods or edge of the road to fill in spots?

 

[dirtydeed]

There are lots of great tips on youtube for doing those tasks...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HozFLzn5UdY

Do you have a rear blade that you can use or just a box blade? Moving sand from the sides can be done very quickly with an angled rear blade.

A box blade will work as well, but may take a bit longer. If you don't want to make it mushy, keep the tines up and use the curved cutting edges to cut the surface and keep the material in the box to be moved or mound up a pile while pushing in reverse and move it with the loader.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the box blade....it's only sand, so you can easily fix any mistakes...

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

A compacting roller will do a world of good on the potholes that you fill in.

 

[boz1989]

Keep the water off it. Raise it up, put a ditch in, whatever it takes to eliminate standing water will help.

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[SidecarFlip]

Keep the water off it. Raise it up, put a ditch in, whatever it takes to eliminate standing water will help.

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Be nice if our Rod Comission learned that. Haven't figured that out in 30 years.

 

[RCW]

Clover - I see you're in NJ...

If your area has been as wet as mine in upstate New York, you need to leave it alone until things dry out.

When things dry out, your experience with the BB, or whatever method you use, will be better. I think your BB will be fine then. I wouldn't look for another implement right away.

I would deal with your puddles. As dirty said, it takes a little practice with a BB, all centered around the length of the top link...shorter will dig, longer will smooth....not ideal if it's wet, but will keep them from getting bigger. You may find that there is enough material around them to even them out.

Rough/dig them up first more aggressive (shorter link/with shanks), then smooth/grade with longer link/no shanks....

 

[Daren Todd]

Be nice if our Rod Comission learned that. Haven't figured that out in 30 years.

We said the same about our road till we got a new county judge. Judge inspected the county, then had all the dirt roads paved as the crew was redoing the main roads

Came home one night and there was about 4inches of base rock and the road was seal coated. Two months later they were paving the main road by the house. Came home and our street was paved

 

[Clover13]

Good ideas, thanks guys! I do have a TnT on the 3PH, so it's easier to make on the fly adjustments with the box blade. I think the first challenge is to get some dirt IN the holes. There doesn't appear to be enough road material to do it, so we'll have to get some from the woods (sand ground) or get some delivered (maybe crushed concrete for a better base and then top dress it with sand to maintain the look). The puddles are pretty deep at this point, getting risky for cars. Compacting wise, I think the tractor itself might do the task, but I wouldn't mind getting a roller for my lawn at some point

 

[Missouribound]

We said the same about our road till we got a new county judge. Judge inspected the county, then had all the dirt roads paved as the crew was redoing the main roads

Came home one night and there was about 4inches of base rock and the road was seal coated. Two months later they were paving the main road by the house. Came home and our street was paved

What did that do to your taxes?

 

[Daren Todd]

What did that do to your taxes?

My property taxes went up about 5 years ago after the county re-assessed the area after the second tornado struck County pretty much butchered it since quite a few homes weren't there anymore. Idiots used Google earth to assess They prudently decided to assess the area again after the uproar, boarding on riots started from folks that saw major increases on there property taxes for lots that resembled blast areas and no longer had livable homes.

They then decided to keep things the same for current homes that were left unscathed and sent someone out to assess the effected properties.

They paved two years ago, and so far I haven't seen an increase.

Now my home owners insurance went up $250 a year because of the two tornados.

 

[Jchonline]

Good ideas, thanks guys! I do have a TnT on the 3PH, so it's easier to make on the fly adjustments with the box blade. I think the first challenge is to get some dirt IN the holes. There doesn't appear to be enough road material to do it, so we'll have to get some from the woods (sand ground) or get some delivered (maybe crushed concrete for a better base and then top dress it with sand to maintain the look). The puddles are pretty deep at this point, getting risky for cars. Compacting wise, I think the tractor itself might do the task, but I wouldn't mind getting a roller for my lawn at some point

Crusher run or a mix of 2 inch size rock down to dust is a pretty stable mix for roads. Sand sounds very messy to me, but it is easy to shape. We have DG here in Colorado (dissentigrated granite) which is already variable size and it is fantastic road material. In TX we had sandy loam and it was really nasty after the rain. Mush and push.

 

[Clover13]

Crusher run or a mix of 2 inch size rock down to dust is a pretty stable mix for roads. Sand sounds very messy to me, but it is easy to shape. We have DG here in Colorado (dissentigrated granite) which is already variable size and it is fantastic road material. In TX we had sandy loam and it was really nasty after the rain. Mush and push.

Met with my neighbors who share the private road and discussed options. One neighbor has a buddy who owes him a favor, so it sounds like his buddy will take care of the big puddle areas to patch them up and give us some time to find a long term solution.

I like the sand because we live in the woods and it gives it a nice woodsy look. And as you mentioned, it's easy to move/shape.

They are talking about millings or crushed concrete. The problem with both is it's probably a lot harder to managed the road ourselves with tractors and blades?

The real problem is the road is too low. I think it's 30+ years old now, and over the years has just been getting dug out more and more, plowed down more and more, etc. It sits like 2 feet below it's banks, and is only about 1.5 car widths wide in most areas. I think it used to be 2+ car widths wide. I think the only real "fix" is a massive amount of sand or stone to build that back up and then crown it properly so the runoff can go out and into the woods. Unfortunately that's gonna cost quite a bit.

In the end, I don't want to pave it, I don't want to mill it...gravel would be OK, sand would be best if we could manage it somehow. Not sure how it will work out, as my neighbors seem to be leaning on the cheap and functional over maintaining the look. My neighbor just milled his driveway and it just flat looks out of place in the woods IMHO.