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Temporary ground sheets/surface


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I've got to make sure that none of the mud/clay spoils get stuck to any vehicles and then driven out onto the road. I'll be putting down some hard standing in the next week or so once the drive is dug up, but I need to put something down to allow the muck-away vehicles to get onto site. 

 

I don't have mains water yet but I do have a small 12v pressure washer that I made up - but I don't think it would be powerful enough to clean wheels, especially the treads - and I also can't see drivers happy to hang around while I attempt to clean their tyres...........................

 

I'm looking for something cheap and cheerful and wondered if some thick DPM would do the job? A mate suggested used astro turf which can be picked up on Ebay for less than £100 but the problem is actually transporting it as it's pick up only. Ideally something that can be rolled/folded up so I can keep it as clean as I can and out of the way when not needed. Any suggestions on stuff that has worked for you?


 

Cheers

 

Vijay

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I had the same issue. Solved by employing a teenager. Well, one and a half. Let me explain.

 

I found out the hard way that the lad in question, despite protestations to the contrary,  didn't know how to use a deck broom, or hose, or shovel or leaf blower. And had to be taught. Taught by the other teenager I employ. Had to be taught that each vehicle that left the site would cause the same problem, and the sooner the mess was cleared up the easier his job would be. Had to be taught that a leaf blower doesn't work well when used against a strong wind. Had to be taught that eye protection, though '...seriously uncool, man...' is essential. Had to be taught that a shovel outperforms a deck broom with large lumps of clay. 

Both lads from the same locality, one very privileged indeed, one the opposite. Not hard to work out who taught whom. 

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Most drivers won't want to leave the hard standing of the temporary drive. Probably best to load them there, that way they won't get too dirty. Remove any serious lumps left after loading from the temporary drive and roadway with a shovel and a brush.

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problem is I can't get the hard standing/temp drive down until the spoil is removed and I would need the aggregate lorries to get onto my plot, where there is earth/clay - that's the bit I need to cover temporarily with something ;)

 

I've already had the neighbours having a dig that they don't want any muck being left on the access road, so I don't want to give them any opportunity to moan 

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Hire some temporary roadway. 

 

The other alternative is get the machine driver to excavate the driveway first and pile the soil on site. Get the first load of agrigate tipped just inside the gate and the machine driver can level it to form the hard standing. If necessary get a second load of agrigate tipped and levelled, then you have a clean loading area. 

 

If i were the tipper driver I'd refuse to reverse onto site before the hard standing is in place. A recovery truck big enough to pull a loaded 8 wheeler out of a bogged down site is the best part of £1000.

Edited by Triassic
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11 minutes ago, Triassic said:

Hire some temporary roadway. 

 

The other alternative is get the machine driver to excavate the driveway first and pile the soil on site. Get the first load of agrigate tipped just inside the gate and the machine driver can level it to form the hard standing. If necessary get a second load of agrigate tipped and levelled, then you have a clean loading area. 

 

If i were the tipper driver I'd refuse to reverse onto site before the hard standing is in place. A recovery truck big enough to pull a loaded 8 wheeler out of a bogged down site is the best part of £1000.

It's more work but that makes complete sense :)

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But is it!

 

You've got to form a driveway anyway. You don't want to be taking muck onto the road. Dig out the driveway first, backfill the hole with hardcore, the cheap recycled stuff will do as it's going to be below the finished drive, never to be seen again! 

 

Are you you going to save the top soil on site for making good after the build? Will the muckaeay firm do a deal on the recycled fill? 

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It's just work I hadn't planned on right now - but I own the digger so I guess it makes no difference in the long run :)

 

I'm in two minds whether to put a cheaper hardcore down as in my post above. I'm wondering if putting down the 150mm sub base layer and then topping up and re-compacting as I need to in the future might be a better idea?

 

Yep, already strip a hell of a lot of top soil into a big (huge) pile ready to landscape in the future.  Not sure what you mean by recycled fill?

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Recycled fill means crushed rubble etc, it can work out cheaper than freshly dug and crushed stone, but it might contain various detritus from demolition (bits of glass, wood, etc). Perfectly fine as a basic fill material that will have something else on top.

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£5.00 per hour. Worth double that for the entertainment value.

 

The image of him using a blower to clean the bed of a low loader will stay with all  those of us who watched it. Billows of dust arcing high into wind and descend in a dense cloud round his head. Priceless. 

The way he attacked a huge lump of best Lancashire Glacial Till with a house brush had us all pi55ing ourselves. And his idea of steel-toecaps had the ground workers enjoying themselves stamping on his toes.

 

"I say! That was decidedly uncool Mr Simpson"

"Less uncool than dropping that road plate on your foot eh?"

Off he went to buy a pair of Aldi's finest

Worth every penny.

Ian

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10 minutes ago, Crofter said:

Recycled fill means crushed rubble etc, it can work out cheaper than freshly dug and crushed stone, but it might contain various detritus from demolition (bits of glass, wood, etc). Perfectly fine as a basic fill material that will have something else on top.

 

Might? It's almost obligatory for there to be all kinds of junk - I found taps connected to a foot of copper plumbing. I filled a wheelbarrow without even trying (and this was just in the surface layer, god knows what lay in the rest of the 150mm...

 

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