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Moving wet clay?

11K views 26 replies 11 participants last post by  Bmw0323 
#1 ·
Building a house and we need a lot of fill dirt (4000 yards plus ).Just wondering if my 2032 is up to doing some of the spreading of the clay they will be dropping off. I'm not planning on using it to do all the work but some. I have a box blade and was wondering if anyone as had any luck with moving clay?
 
#2 ·
It will handle it but will certainly take a while. I would look for someone with a trac loader to pay them to come spread it. It will be quicker.
 
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#3 ·
Agree, hire the initial spreading. You can put the finishing touches on it. :greentractorride:
 
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#4 ·
You can rent a 3000lb Track Skidsteer from Sunbelt Rentals for $1700 for the week or $605 a day.
 
#5 ·
Or he can spend maybe a week using his tractor a few hours a day say 30- 50 hrs total and maybe $15-20 worth of diesel. :dunno::dunno:

Seems like a lot of good seat time to me and money left over for some vacation time. :munch:
 
#6 ·
A 400 load pad is HUGE. Like two days with a dozer and a bunch of passes being rolled. This would not be a feasible option if your having dump trucks coming. Hate to use the word impossible, but that's exactly what it would be if you tried to keep up with the loads. If it was 4 loads that's easy but 400 is extremely large. I can't believe the slope your trying to build on. Might be worth looking into adding a basement or something.

Brett
 
#7 ·
My neighbor who's new house are in a few of the pics I have posted just completed the grading on his lot with more than 300 truck loads of topsoil brought in. It happened over the course of a week and they ran 2 Track Skidsteers every day for a week to level out the lot. It will certainly take a lot of time and planning to complete with your tractor which is why I would :flag_of_truce: and pay someone else to come in and do it.
 
#8 ·
dirt work?

I have to agree that this time is for a bigger machine to level the bulk of the material out. several years ago the state widened out our little road by my aunt's house. she gave me the dirt for fixing my bottom land. I had 3 state tandems dumping at my place for roughly 2 wks, now they didn't haul every day , but I was proud of my little deere for making a dumping ramp for them tandems to dump on. but when they was done hauling I rented a dozer from my neighbor And finished Land vehicle Vehicle Construction equipment Bulldozer Soil
the job. good luck, big jim
 
#10 ·
After reading the amount of dirt needed will have to agree with the others.
 
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#11 ·
I'd want a D6 at minimum just for the compaction between lifts.

Without knowing how big an area you're working, or if they're going to side dump into a valley, or what - it's really not possible to say either way if you could do it or not. If you're filling in a gulley and you can back a 15yd truck up to it and heave-ho over the edge, then your machine might keep up. If you're building grade, it's going to get ugly trying to keep ahead of the trucks hauling fill and you might run out of space to unload them. If paying by the hour, that could get expensive for you.

But really, I wouldn't do that much fill with little machines. Even a little tracked skidsteer is going to be working pretty hard to keep ahead of a chain of semi's (and if you're talking 12-15yd dumps, that's going to be a lot of days of hauling and spreading).
 
#12 ·
Another 4000yd project for some perspective.

https://calpolyhcs.wordpress.com/2011/11/

Something I meant to mention earlier is that wet clay is either slimy or sticks to itself. You're going to have one hell of a time pushing it with a 2000# machine, considering a dry yard weighs 1.5x more than your tractor.

Looking at my road, and using the 5065E on it: I was maxed out on lift capacity with a 3/4yd bucket and didn't have enough ballast to do that with a full scoop anyway (taconite is extra heavy stuff), and that still took me every bit of 45 minutes to push over a 25yd delivery (2 trucks at a time), and the stuff flowed nicely. Dealing with clay I would've had traction problems since it was raining 2 of the three days we hauled. I have high clay soils on parts of my property and they turn to grease wet (well, they stay greasy most of the year is more like it). Even loamy sand can be a chore when it gets wet, and even worse when it turns to rock after drying. Heavy equipment has it's place, and sometimes you just have to acknowledge you don't own the right tool for the job.

I'm really interested in learning more about your project as well. Anything that involves that much dirt is likely to be pretty sweet. :bigthumb:
 
#13 ·
Hire a dozer or rent one one if you know how to run one.
You need to knock clay down as quick as possible.
Getting a rain on it while you are already struggling with your tractor will not be a fun deal.
 
#14 ·
I say, if you are up to it GO FOR IT!

They are correct it is a little slower than bigger equipment but it can do the job. Just make absolutely sure you have a tooth bar. My soil has a lot of clay also.
 

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#17 ·
They are correct it is a little slower than bigger equipment but it can do the job. Just make absolutely sure you have a tooth bar. My soil has a lot of clay also.
You're perched atop a nice 30-40yard pile there Randy. He's talking about moving 100x that. How long did that one take you? A day? That equates to 3 months straight pushing on his project. :)

I'd actually rethink using clay Bimmer. A good sand base will pack down and still drain water. With the water table already high, I think you might end up trapping rain above a saturated base and could be headed for long term water problems. You need to remember capillary action works in dirt when there's enough fines to hold the molecules of water (my wettest ground which isn't spring fed is also my highest elevation by 80 feet above the lake). 4000yds later, you could end up with a wet field just like you've got, only 4' higher above sea level.
 
#15 ·
After putting a like on the one thread that stated good seat time. I re-read to see 400 loads! I thought that was a mistake with an extra 0. Don't try this with your machine, I take back my like!. Seriously, hire a dozer to do this. Like stated, clay and wet clay will be almost impossible to lift the full bucket and without rear ballast you may get into trouble. If you have a month or so to do this job, you may get it accomplished but if the trucks are going to stay on the job, you better have a football field to store it.. A tractor with a bucket is a lousy leveling machine too, not easy to get a good line. A large backhoe, easier but not the right machine. I have spent 42 years doing this and have been thru two dozers, I bought them for a reason, speed and getting the job completed correctly, nothing like a dozer to keep up with 15 yard loads and ending up with a great job. Good luck with you project.. (I wish I was there working my dozer on your job,, all we have around here is glacial till with lots of bones, it would be a pleasure to spread clay)! JT

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#16 ·
It was just a thought about using the 2032. I am building on old farm land and the water table is the current grade. To install the septic field we had to raise the house 3 feet from current grade and that is why we need the fill dirt. I will hire a dozer and let the pros do the work. Thanks to all for the reply's.
 
#18 ·
:bigthumb: Good luck with the house!
 
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#20 ·
Up here your foundation would crack the first winter as the ice pushed in on the walls.

The sand they built the beach road out of holds water from my swamp and it's 2' above water on one side and about 5' above on the low side. That road heaves all over in the winter from the ice formation. Like 3-4" of elevation change across a 50' stretch. There's no way you'd keep your house plumb built on something like that. As it is, I'm wondering if I'm going to have to reset my culverts every 5 years.
 
#22 ·
You can do it with a shovel and wheelbarrow too. Not that I'd want to, but it can be done. :laugh:

I know what you're saying, and I'm just poking fun. I just don't think this is the right project to do it with the smaller equipment. 400 yards, and it'd be a more viable option depending on when the house was needing to be built, but not 4K.
 
#23 ·
:laugh: My dad hand dug a full basement under a two story 'cape-cod' in the mid-west in the early fifties. It was also before power tools so all the rafters were hand cut, including those for two dormers. :good2:
 
#25 ·
As you can see?????

The house as of today.as you can see we need fill dirt!!!!!
 

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#26 ·
What's the desired result there, Mike?

Do you want a big flat yard around the house, or do you just not want it so steep off to the sides?


You might be able to get away with having a few trucks dump during the week and then use your tractor to push the stuff over and spread it on the weekends or in the evenings. As you get the grade built up around the driveway area, they will be able to back up to the edge and unload into the spots needing more fill.

Once they're done driving on it and you get it graded, you'll want to rip it up with a scarifier before seeding it or you might end up with a patchy lawn where there's too much compaction for the seed to take.
 
#27 ·
We have hired a trucking firm to bring in the fill and use a doser to slope it out to 125 feet from the house. Once the septic gets done I will bring in topsoil and spread it with BB for final grade. just a side note we had someone drop off 120 yards of clay last week for free. I use the loader and the BB to move it in about 3hrs,
 

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