Machine Shed Pad |
About 10 years ago, the same time that the house was being built, my loving wife had a contractor dig out a Foundation for the Barn I planned to build. He dug it on a slope in a place i thought maybe would work. Well, I never felt it was the right place. So no barn. But I didn't do anything with the excavation since I couldn't fill it and build on the fill. So there it sat. Years later, we built the Garage so I didn't need a concrete floor. So EUREKA! I could build on fill! If I could build on fill, I could fill wherever I wanted! I could even fill against a wall and have a loading dock. A Two-Fer! |
The lay of the land before the fill. The little bit of dirt is where I dumped the gravel/dirt mix that sat around after the Driveway Relocation project last winter. Note also the front of the Dump Truck which moved this mix. The Dump Truck page features dumping this gravel/dirt mix in this very location! Click here to see the old Black Claw sitting in the excavation, futher proving I didn't know what to do with it (excavation or pickup). |
This is after starting the fill of the original excavation. The fill will be where we are standing, going flat out such that the original pad will be about 36" below grade. Note the Earthforce EF-3 Backhoe to the right and the goats in the background. |
The EF3 digging out the ancient fill. The astute eye will note the ant hill I am destroying just to the right of the backhoe bucket. One of the biggest challenges (not the ants cause they are very little) is getting all the crap weeds out of the nicely dug fill. After digging, I have to pull out thistles, burrs, and Alanthis trees, the former two leaving their pesky seeds to send up forests of this junk next year. If I'm lucky, it will be flat enough to mow or TVK (Total Vegitation Killer - See the G-Cart MOCAP). |
My secondary source for fill. This is red clay, overcome by a mid-atlantic jungle of locust, warthog, and Altanthis weed trees. First I fight them, then I mine the red clay. |
The EF3 moving a load of fill. You can see the stump in the background, to the left of the Dump Truck. Just in front are some Railroad Ties waiting to go onto the next layer. |
One big pile gone, 10 to go. We can now see straight through. I'll take out the two trees to the right and level out the pad. That's where the Machine Shed will finally go. |
A better view, turned to the right. Here the cliff dock is apparent. Its about 36" tall, just right for the F250, but a bit short for the Dump Truck. The shed will be about where those two trees are in the center of the picture. The pile in the background will level up the back of the pad. |
Now we stand to the left of the cliff dock. We are looking right where the piles were. Now those two trees in front have to move. That awaits the leaves coming off, the Front Wall being finished, and time. |
Wall construction. Note the stepped placement of the ties. That's designed to hold them in place after the rains and frozen earth starts pushing on them. I also have some refuse to clean up.. |