How to spread 11 tons of gravel and pebbles on our parkway
July 17, 2019 10:10 AM Subscribe
We have a large, long parkway (300 or so feet long) and 11 tons of gravel and pebbles to spread on it. What would be the most economical way to pay to have it spread? Guys with wheelbarrows and shovels or some sort of mechanical equipment? The parkway is easy to access from the road, but there is a 10" curb, drip irrigation and landscape fabric already installed which impede access somewhat.
Has the gravel already been delivered? If so, I agree with jquinby, rent the Bobcat.
If it's delivered in a dump truck, the driver should be able to back it in and slowly drop the gravel as he pulls back out. You'll still have some raking at the edges, but if the delivery guy has experience, it should be a nice level spread. You may want to call and discuss this if there's still time.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:28 AM on July 17, 2019 [16 favorites]
If it's delivered in a dump truck, the driver should be able to back it in and slowly drop the gravel as he pulls back out. You'll still have some raking at the edges, but if the delivery guy has experience, it should be a nice level spread. You may want to call and discuss this if there's still time.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:28 AM on July 17, 2019 [16 favorites]
So that's a bit less than a full dumptruck load right?
If you're lucky you can get the dumptruck driver to raise his bed, put it in low gear, and idle his way down your driveway (this is the same as a parkway right?) while 'jogging' the bed lift hydraulic controls such that the gravel falls out in a somewhat controlled fashion.
This will save you much time and effort, unless it's already in a pile somewhere on your property, and is well within the purview of most truck driver's experience. Tip the driver if it's much more than a few minutes, which it should be if he does it well and carefully.
If it's already in a pile then you have, basically, 3 tiers of options that I can think of: by hand with wheelbarrows and shovels and landscaping rakes, with small equipment like the bobcat that jquinby mentiones driven by yourself of a friend, or paying for a larger dozer/tractor to show up with a blade/boxblade with an operator doing the work to your criteria.
By hand is, obviously, the cheapest but has the longest and hardest workload. Whatever the cost for your time, the basic hand tools if you don't already have them, and beer for friends if they help. Try putting a shovel into that gravel pile if you haven't already and are unfamiliar with hand tools. Do it for 3 wheelbarrow loads worth. Now decide if you are down for this with the whole load.
The bobcat is going to be more expensive, call around for quotes, and will basically depend on your ability to operate it and do the job to your satisfaction. The learning curve will be a few hours of you getting less done than you like but you'll pick it up from there. They will drop off and pickup the equipment if you tell them to. You may also consider a remote control tamper such as the Wacker Neuson (yes that's the real name) if you want to *really* do a good job stabilizing the material after you are done. Those things are seriously impressive and may be a nice finishing touch depending on your situation.
Paying for bigger equipment and an operator is going to be the most expensive but will get the job done fast and to your exact needs. Be sure you have an insured company that you are dealing with since you have things that can be easilydamaged, like the curb/sprinkler/fabric/etc, near the job. I'd say less than half a day for a decent sized setup to do this for you. Bear in mind that if you have ANY other jobs that could use that sort of horsepower that you should get them done as well while the machine is on site. It'll be practically free compared to bringing them back out to do something later like digging a ditch or pulling a stump or something.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
If you're lucky you can get the dumptruck driver to raise his bed, put it in low gear, and idle his way down your driveway (this is the same as a parkway right?) while 'jogging' the bed lift hydraulic controls such that the gravel falls out in a somewhat controlled fashion.
This will save you much time and effort, unless it's already in a pile somewhere on your property, and is well within the purview of most truck driver's experience. Tip the driver if it's much more than a few minutes, which it should be if he does it well and carefully.
If it's already in a pile then you have, basically, 3 tiers of options that I can think of: by hand with wheelbarrows and shovels and landscaping rakes, with small equipment like the bobcat that jquinby mentiones driven by yourself of a friend, or paying for a larger dozer/tractor to show up with a blade/boxblade with an operator doing the work to your criteria.
By hand is, obviously, the cheapest but has the longest and hardest workload. Whatever the cost for your time, the basic hand tools if you don't already have them, and beer for friends if they help. Try putting a shovel into that gravel pile if you haven't already and are unfamiliar with hand tools. Do it for 3 wheelbarrow loads worth. Now decide if you are down for this with the whole load.
The bobcat is going to be more expensive, call around for quotes, and will basically depend on your ability to operate it and do the job to your satisfaction. The learning curve will be a few hours of you getting less done than you like but you'll pick it up from there. They will drop off and pickup the equipment if you tell them to. You may also consider a remote control tamper such as the Wacker Neuson (yes that's the real name) if you want to *really* do a good job stabilizing the material after you are done. Those things are seriously impressive and may be a nice finishing touch depending on your situation.
Paying for bigger equipment and an operator is going to be the most expensive but will get the job done fast and to your exact needs. Be sure you have an insured company that you are dealing with since you have things that can be easilydamaged, like the curb/sprinkler/fabric/etc, near the job. I'd say less than half a day for a decent sized setup to do this for you. Bear in mind that if you have ANY other jobs that could use that sort of horsepower that you should get them done as well while the machine is on site. It'll be practically free compared to bringing them back out to do something later like digging a ditch or pulling a stump or something.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
I do this with 7 ton loads every few years. It gets dumped in a pile and it takes me about 7 hours to shift it using a wheelbarrow and a shovel. It's hard bloody work!
posted by night_train at 10:47 AM on July 17, 2019
posted by night_train at 10:47 AM on July 17, 2019
Shoveling gravel sucks.
Pay teen-agers to do it, or pay the guy who rents out skid-steer loaders.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:49 PM on July 17, 2019
Pay teen-agers to do it, or pay the guy who rents out skid-steer loaders.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:49 PM on July 17, 2019
By "parkway" do you mean what also gets called a "planting strip," that stretch of ground between the sidewalk and the street? If so, then the ideas of how to spread directly out of the dumptruck won't work, that requires the truck to be able to drive down the area itself. My guess is that the most economical option will be a skidsteer (or rubber-tired tractor with a front bucket) or laborers, plus people with shovels and rakes since the skidsteer won't be able to reach everywhere without damaging the landscaping and irrigation.
Cost effectiveness of a skidsteer plus labor, vs just using labor, is going to depend on the specifics of the space you are trying to fill, labor costs where you live, efficiency, etc -- we can speculate, but without that information no one will know for sure.
If this all sounds like a hassle and you just want it done and taken care of, you should just hire a landscaping company to take care of it -- they already have the labor and either will own or can rent the machinery. As people have noted, shoveling gravel is no fun at all.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:51 PM on July 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Cost effectiveness of a skidsteer plus labor, vs just using labor, is going to depend on the specifics of the space you are trying to fill, labor costs where you live, efficiency, etc -- we can speculate, but without that information no one will know for sure.
If this all sounds like a hassle and you just want it done and taken care of, you should just hire a landscaping company to take care of it -- they already have the labor and either will own or can rent the machinery. As people have noted, shoveling gravel is no fun at all.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:51 PM on July 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
As an aside, a Bobcat (skid-steer, that is) is a great deal of fun, though it is much harder to drive than the pro operators make it look. I had so much fun when I rented one to remove some bushes and scoop up a bunch of decorative gravel that my wife won't let me rent one again. She objected to the doughnuts I accidentally carved into our lawns. Turns out there is a reason they call them "skid-steers."
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 9:24 PM on July 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 9:24 PM on July 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have an image from a US construction handbook of a short conveyor belt system which is drawing gravel from truck and shows a construction worker swiveling end of conveyor to distribute gravel. Enables placing without disturbing parkway strip.
Am traveling and don't have pic to send, will put up Saturday.
posted by unearthed at 4:59 AM on July 18, 2019
Am traveling and don't have pic to send, will put up Saturday.
posted by unearthed at 4:59 AM on July 18, 2019
Damn! couldn't find the image BUT I found the company who makes it Stoneslinger Ontario. The machines seem to pop up all over the US too.
May not be worth it for your wee job, but if there's a lot of hassle and risk of damaging recently installed landscapes this would be a morning's work or less for a contractor with one of these.
posted by unearthed at 8:11 PM on July 20, 2019
May not be worth it for your wee job, but if there's a lot of hassle and risk of damaging recently installed landscapes this would be a morning's work or less for a contractor with one of these.
posted by unearthed at 8:11 PM on July 20, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jquinby at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2019 [6 favorites]