Clearing driveway and building site | Page 4 | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

With the help of one of my friend's sons, I have been slowly progressing in running string and ribbon to mark out the project. I've identified and marked water flow patterns of the native terrain including the future location of a swale. I've rerouted a few sections of the driveway to better compliment the natural terrain and completed the edge lines of the driveway. I've removed about half of the center line (no longer needed and in the way), and begun marking trees for removal.

I've taken additional measurements for the stream crossing (minus fill height, whoops). I took a (likely inaccurate) measurement of the stream's flow rate within a few days of a good rain. My calculations came out to about 2324 gpm (gallons per minute) at the culvert entry point which measured about 7 feet across and about 10 inches deep at the time.

Just today, I revisited my preformed concrete pipe supplier for some quotes, answers, and spec sheets. Their spec sheets did not include hydraulic capacity (water transit) for the different pipe sizes. I will try to get that from them tomorrow. Ideally I'm hoping for about 5000 to 6000 gpm, but I've presently no idea if the pipe diameters I have in mind can move that much water. I'm looking at the Reinforced Concrete Arch Pipes in 42", 48", and 54" sizes.

I also priced their 12" diameter round precast pipe for the culvert at the lip of the driveway going into the road. I would use that same pipe to manage the pond level if I can afford to include a pond at this time.

I still need to visit the various gravel and sand pits to see the quality of each in person. Then once I finish roping off the excavation plans, it will be time to begin interviewing and getting bids from contractors to do the dirt work.

Good news, I might have clay after all!

Today, thanks mostly to my youthful helper, a hole was dug about 2.5 to 3 feet down. Not quite deep enough to get past the roots, but I think it was past the organic topsoil layer... I hope it was.

I collected a quart size gatoraid bottle's worth of soil from the deepest part of the hole, very careful to avoid any cross contamination from topsoil by first clearing all loose material out. I plan to do a shake and settle test later, but for now, I just am happy to finally have broken ground to get the sample soil.

I will need to sift the dirt carefully. There are stones and bits of roots and other organic debris. I am very excited to finally learn what sort of percentages of sand, silt, and clay are in my soil. I am hoping to be able to perform the test in the next few days, and then it could be a day or two before it all settles so I can get my final result.

I also did a sort of perc test. Nothing legit or official. Mostly it was as a clumsy test of clay content. I filled the hole with 6 buckets worth of water, marked the waterline and then waited 20 to 30 minutes. The water level appeared unchanged.

That bodes well for having decent clay content. I hope the shake and settle test will confirm that.

Here are a few pics...

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