I have a small stretch of flattened ground that I want to level so that I can park an rv in that place. I recently bought a backhoe so I want to try to level this area myself. It is approximately 40' X 14' and flat but it slopes up 2 or 3 feet over the 40 foot run. I haven't gotten out my laser level to figure the precise rise but that seems like a reasonable estimate for now. I'm wondering if there is some trick or technique that you all could share with a novice to get me going here? It would be a real shame if I ended up changing my 3' rise into a 3' drop, know what I mean?
Depends on what you're digging. If it's sandy, just fill the front bucket with rocks or anything else that's heavy and start back dragging off the high end to the low. Use the float function when you start getting close. Clay you probably want stakes with cut and fill indicated on them. So 18" cut stakes to either side of your pad at the correct spot as determined with the level. Then fill stakes with 18" on either side of the pad. You will probably be using the hoe in clay or other tough digging, might just want to run a level string on each side and eyeball how much you cut and fill from that. So much is about how good the access is, ground conditions, your skill, machine you're using; makes every job unique.
good info , i just learned something
I'm working with clay. Horrible muck in the winter, impenetrable concrete in the summer. The pad has a steep hill on one side and the hill continues down on the other side. I had a fella with an excavator dig my pond out last year and I had him carve this pad out of the hillside while he was there. I was expecting to bring him back to level it after the wet clay had some time to dry and settle but instead chose to buy a machine.
Welcome to the Forums Chad Duncan!:drinkup A backhoe is a jack of all trades and a master of none. Personally I hate trying to grade anything with a backhoe, the front end is designed more for load and carry than grading. Basically it wallers too much to hold a consistent grade. However mountains can be moved with simple a shovel and wheelbarrow if one has the time and money to do it. El Hombre gave some good advice on how to go about it. Also keep in mind drainage around the pad as you described it as cut into a hillside. I prefer to route the water coming down the hill side around the pad and out via a ditch or swale, rather than across the pad and down the slope. This will help keep the pad from washing. Post some pics so we can give better advice as we're flying blind here.
I'll take a picture or two this weekend to illustrate what I'm trying to accomplish. I intend to run a perimeter of landscaping ties back filled with some sort of rock as the final pad and in the next few years I want to put a 'Green roof' over the whole thing that will run into the hillside so there shouldn't be any water there when I am finished. That may sound a little confusing but a couple pen strokes on this weekends pictures should clarify that.
That's a pretty manageable size, I'd use the hoe to loosen the soil. Pull the material toward the hoe or pile it to the side and move it with the bucket. Dig close to the final grade with the teeth close to horizontal, the way most digging should be done. Then close in on final grade with the teeth vertical to leave a rough surface to let dry out, then use that for your "grade able" finish material. For final grade use the loader bucket to back drag on diagonals, then across and lengthwise. Like CM said, the loader bucket is not good for grading, and with worn pins and a new operator it can get ugly fast...
Worn pins? Check! Novice operator? Check! Crummy muddy ground with no ability to come at it from a side or diagonal? Check! On the bright side, at least I'm not in a hurry.
If you can go a machine width wider all the way around it helps. You have to remember that a backhoe using the loader grades from the back axle. This means the tire and air pressure need to be the same because it will change the bucket pitch. You have to start level to grade level. Like other members said, it's a small project. I would cut it out with the hoe and dress up with the loader bucket,
just start moving dirt you will figure out what works with your machine and soil conditions pretty quick... but as said i would start by using the hoe sitting side hill using the outriggers to level the hoe....pull dirt from high to low.....once i got a place my hoe could drive relatively level i would try the frount bucket to move dirt down....if that didnt work i would just move it with the hoe end and level it with the frount bucket...as others have mentioned the hoe needs level ground to work from 14 x 40 really isnt a huge issue.....as others have said planning for dranage IS a huge issue though....
Is sliding a concern? You may want to dig a hole with level bottom, then fill with drainage, or at least crushed stone to drain. Cover with filter fabric, and top with good gravel. A pad this size you'll always have much of the tractor off the level, so back dragging with the front bucket might not work very well. Use laser, transit, or hand held level electrical taped to a long 2x4 to check your grade. I'd use the back bucket for most grading. A 2' hand held level is useful to level the tractor. If the swing tower is plumb, much of the leveling can be done from the backhoe seat. You do not want exact level. A 1.5% grade is needed for drainage. When it rains, mark puddles, and fill. When the gravel is at exact grade, I would spread, and rake a 1" thick layer of 3/4" washed stone to reduce tracking. Another material I like under an RV is EPDM "rubber" roofing. Sheet material similar to inner tube, it'll prevent moisture coming out of the ground where it condenses on the frame of your rv. Also, rain splash on earth will make a mess of the RV
If you are finish grading with the bucket, it is way easier with some fill in the bucket. When filling from a pile dump out a couple buckets to start grading. Then get another load and knock the first loads down without dumping your current bucket. Some will spill out but that's fine. Push forward and/or backdrag... works the same. Wheel roll your fill with the load for weight and when done dump that load and repeat the process. It is surprising how effective this simple technique works on compacting fill with limited machinery. "can't grade with an empty bucket"
I agree with ScottAR,right on the money!!Ron G
So here is the spot I want to level: And from the side: Maybe it's steeper than I thought. This is where the future green roof will go: I don't want to fill the low end because I want to maintain as much headroom under the roof as possible. I guess the only thing for it is to use the hoe and just keep digging/ pulling it forward. I'm not sure how to run a stringline for this. If the string is on the dirt at the high end then it would be several feet off of the ground at the low end and I'm not sure how easy it would be to accurately read it that far up from the ground. (maybe very, I have no experience trying to read a string from up in the cab of this thing) Would an 'L' shaped stake pressed into the the side of the bank with the string running level from the low end but off of the side of the pad be easier to read? It would only give a line on one side but once things get a little closer I could run a typical stringline down each side without such a drastic height difference. Or should I just try to eyeball it until it is a bit closer?
You need to get a transit and a helper to shoot grade and make a bench mark some place for reference.You can establish the cut and fill numbers from the grades you get after recording the grades from what you shot at various different spots inside the perimeters of your work areas.Ron G
You could use your pond as the level, or it might be easier to use a bucket and 25' of tubing/hose, put the bucket in the middle and mark the perimeter. I'd set your bucket with the teeth engaged, usually the top of the bucket ears are close to horizontal at that point to give you a guide to keep the bucket at the same angle of attack. Measure that height off of the depth it dug and set your string line that high above your final grade.
I would dig a ditch or two from the low side to the high side with the bottom at level or a slight grade upward from the low side then using the bottom of the ditch as a guide to dig out the rest of the material. Have you got a place to put all that material?
I don't think you have enough material to flatten this. I believe you'll have to fill. Thousands of gallons of water will come from the horse pasture each storm. You need a swail in the pasture to turn the water that wants to come to your motor home. Essentially, a stream channel to move the 26,000 gallons of water per acre in a 1" rain shower. If you use the steep cut bank as your source of fill it will undermine the fence. Wet clay is a fluid that will always move. If you want semi permanent, remove 1' of clay from the lowest corner, continue the cut to a near level. You want a slight pitch to the lower corner. Lay a rectangle of perforated schedule forty 4" DWV pipe. At the lower corner continue to daylight. Fill with crushed stone. Cover with filter fabric. Cover this with gravel. Top with either 3/4" stone, or EPDM sheet. The steep areas surrounding want stairs, and topsoil with grass. This looks like a road to the pond? Are you blocking access to it needed for future pond maintenance?
The material taken out can be used to widen, and lengthen. For this, a piece of 2 X 4 with a spirit level will be sufficient. A laser level is nice but for one project, a big expense.
At the base of the fence, on the other side of the fence is a roadway that either absorbs the water or diverts it through some stroke of luck. I haven't seen a single stream running down that bank yet. The 'road' we are looking at was half built with mud I had pulled up out of the pond and some small amount of the original bank was pulled down. Once the green roof goes over it I'll have to see where the water runs and then I'll put in a french drain wherever I need to. Once I have it fairly flat I will build a frame out of landscaping ties (2 or 3 tall) and fill that with some sort of rock (roadbase maybe) and that's what the RV will sit on. After the the roof goes over it I am going to look at enclosing the three remaining sides. The pond side is south so I will use glass on that side to take advantage of solar heating in the winter. But this is all getting out of the original topic. If I do need to use some fill, I have a lot of leftovers from digging the pond out last year. In fact I have to move a few of them to get to the pad spot.
You'll want it to sit higher than the immediate surroundings. This means the upper corner at present grade must be lower than your pad. As the base of the bank runs toward the present lower end it's OK to let the ditch rise also, but maintain a gentle drain to the low end. I assume the RV has to come in from the high end.
Do not make work for yourself.You can buy a rotary beam at HF pretty cheap these days and do most of the work over a cup of coffee so you only need to handle the material one time.I would think that using a lake for reference could be pretty complicated and if it rains you probably would have to start all over again.You probably would like the laser enough to keep it but you could always sell it when you are done with it.Ron G
I have a laser level. 12 years ago it cost about $800. It sees quite a bit of use, but if this is your only project it's a waste of money. I never use it for rough work unless I'm talking about more area. If I were building a house it'd be invaluable. A pad for a motor home must drain. The difference between 1/2% &1% grade isn't important. A spirit level fastened to a 2x4 will do
I have dug a lot of cellar holes with a locke level but you do need a bench mark for reference.You also should have a line level,cheap and almost indispensible.A folding rule is nice too.Ron G