With a few cooler days in the weather forecast we thought it was time to order some topsoil for the planned fill and grading of our property. We ordered a truckload, i.e. 15 tons of brown topsoil to be delivered to our address. For a full truckload or starting at 15 tons there is no delivery charge.
I really had no idea what 15 tons of topsoil would look like, and in my mind I had a vision of a small mountain, so we were surprised to see that the delivery truck was only half full when it arrived. I kind of expected the load to look a lot more than this heap that fell out of the truck. It was a big truck that could haul 25 tons I found out after my phone call to the company to make sure we got the 15 tons and not less than what we ordered.
We do not need to cover the whole area of this 80 x 120 feet piece of land, but there are some low and uneven spots that we want to even out. Every spring we noticed some large puddles of standing water in certain areas that took forever to dry out. So we are working on filling them in.
With the tractor’s help it was easy to scoop up the dirt and bringing it to where we want it. However, the tractor does not fit behind or next to the shed where we also wanted some fill, so I dumped several less than half full buckets of the topsoil into the wheelbarrow that Benno had to manually carry to those areas, empty it and then to rake it all by hand.
Benno and I took turns driving the tractor and scooping dirt as it turns out to be a fun thing to do. But we also need to hand rake so it is only fair that we are both working with the rakes. We even got two little helpers who wanted to participate to move some dirt around.
As it turned out, our helpers tired out quickly and needed to rest. Oh well, I guess Benno and I have to do the work ourselves.
It did not take us long to decimate the pile with the tractor, it is just too easy (maybe we should go back to the ole shovel technique) and this little heap of dirt we have left is not going to cut it to finish the job. We are going to use it up and then calculate how much more we’ll need to complete the rest of the property.
Next blog should have some more progress to report. Thanks for dropping by and stay tuned.
Ordering more dirt then you need can easily be spread out and by the time you are finished it will hardly show. Great job. Don't overwork your helpers.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy the cooler temperatures.
It's about time.
Rick, I really don't want to cover the whole property with dirt. It just means more grass seed and more watering. Our little helpers would just love to play in the dirt or dig and see if they will find something ;-)
DeleteGreat job but you do look like you're having too much fun! We were also surprised with our 1/2 load of A-1 gravel when he brought it, thinking we'd need much more.
ReplyDeleteLove that the 'supervisors' get a nap break. :)
I guess some topsoil is heavier than others and looking at gravel I suppose it is even heavier but has more volume. Unless you are in the business it is difficult to judge quantities. The little helpers get tired by just watching us.
DeleteGreat use of the mini tractor. Love seeing the doxies out helping.
ReplyDeleteThat's why we got the tractor so that we didn't have to overwork the shovels ;-) The helpers are always fun to have around although we then get nothing done!
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