It's Still My Favorite! Stone Driveway Addition Using Dozer and Pull Grader Box [John Deere]

[@johnmetcalfe1917]

everyday is a good day when you get to play outside rather than being stuck at a desk..:)

[@digdrivediy]

You got that right John!

[@aaronburford5701]

Neil. this one was so impressive to watch because of the use of the big equipment you used to grade! YOUR SKILLS ARE THE BEST!

[@anthonysullivan2744]

Love the channel. It's my personal favorite. Makes me wish I still lived on the farm. I loved anything associated with firewood.

[@digdrivediy]

Well thanks so much Anthony!

[@livedlearnedDIY]

I NEVER say this, but it must be nice! Having a cool boss/friend that lets you work on this project. Also getting to use that awesome bulldozer. Cleanest most professional gravel driveways and roads on KZbin. Great work Neil! I'm jealous.

[@digdrivediy]

It is nice. It isn't lost on me either. Greg and I have been good friends since High School so there's a bit of history there and makes it easy to throw it back and forth to each other. So far it's been working out great! Plus I only live a few miles from our office. I go home for lunch every day ;)

[@d.a.ballou9740]

That was a pretty impressive truck driver to be able to remove the "extra" stone like that!🤣🤣 Great video and thanks for the laughs!😁👨‍🚒

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! That move is not for beginners :)

[@gregkneubuhler5798]

It turned out great. I couldn't be happier. Now it's time to get that barn built leading up to it!

[@digdrivediy]

I agree. It turned out nice once we got enough stone in there! I'm ready to see that pile of lumber turn into a barn too!

[@danslawncare8594]

Great job Niel. Looks great.

[@FloridaDeere]

Neil, you are true stone artist with your tools, all of them. From the bulldozer to the backhoe to the 316, you make it look easy, but I've done it and it isn't. The final product looks beautiful.

[@digdrivediy]

You're too kind. It's a lot of fun but does take a couple thousand hours of practice :) Thanks so much!

[@maxhenry9724]

318 is the best small tractor ever made. I couldn’t do without mine. It’s had a FEL on it it’s whole life.

[@digdrivediy]

They are great!

[@PeaceIntheValley]

"If you don't want dirt somewhere, don't put it there!" Great quote!

[@digdrivediy]

The credit goes to Paul Baughman for that one. I think I've repeated that a few times now most likely :) He would always tell me that after I'd put dirt somewhere that I would have to move again!

[@pdxbk]

If Yogi Berra was a farmer...

[@slice40]

Always enjoy watching your clips.

[@claudethomas8084]

I rebuilt a 318 with a cozy cab and built a box scraper somewhat like your and it works great. Good job like your videos

[@digdrivediy]

Couldn't agree more Claude!

[@Andyrob323]

Looks great, Neil! Thanks for the Sunday morning entertainment

[@digdrivediy]

My pleasure Andrew!

[@tee-steel.0158]

I love the trailer with the tilting deck 👍

[@aaronburford5701]

Rewatched! I love seeing you use the box blade and grading gravel! You are the best!

[@JimFinlayson]

Happy to see you include the fails. It makes us amateurs feel normal when nothing goes as well as the easy peasy KZbin video. I’m very jealous of that Indiana dirt. Here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed part of Maryland, clay and sand is the norm.

[@stickmanmob]

Mkmmk

[@digdrivediy]

I have enough fails to go around for everyone Jim! :) We are fortunate to have the dirt that we do here. I've been to some other areas where I wonder how they get anything to ever grow! Thanks for watching!

[@jakeofalltrades2]

I've been using my 955 at work alot lately. I work for appliance manufacturer, zline kitchen and bath. Our Kubota work tractor was down, I however did get it fixed. I love getting paid to play on the tractor all day!

[@Hilltopangler]

That turned out real nice. That grader box is very impressive.

[@digdrivediy]

I love it!

[@kyleanderson5315]

Brutus and the grader box always make a good video. And makes me want one...even though I have an asphalt driveway.

[@BigFarles]

Very cool video. I bet your boss is happy to have you around for jobs like this.

[@digdrivediy]

I hope so. We work pretty well together.

[@aaronburford5701]

This is the 2nd time I have watched this. Again your attention to detail is 2nd to none and you have all the toys abd tools to get it done.

[@davevmey]

Enjoy watching you do dirtwork. You are good with machines. I have maybe 100 hours on a dozer and try to avoid using it as it's not familiar to me. 1000's of hours of seat time in skid steers so that's what I'm comfortable with. It's neat to see how well that little box grader works for the final grading. Also entertaining watching you wave at everyone driving by while you're working.

[@michaelmcguire3983]

Nice driveway! Greg is lucky to have you and your skills. Take care my friend.

[@digdrivediy]

I think it will serve him well and now we can have a passing lane with an off ramp as well!

[@robfate8781]

I love your box grader . I need to build one. Great video!

[@mark-ew8hk]

Will see ya next time GOOD JOB!!!

[@casycasy5199]

your job sites are always so neat very nice job

[@digdrivediy]

Thank you sir.

[@DustinOhioState7431]

Nice video Neil! The driveway looks great!

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Dustin!

[@earlyriser8998]

nice job...and showing a lot of neat techniques

[@chrisw7551]

You get to play with adult Tonka toys at work, I'm jealous lol driveway looks good! Awesome video

[@digdrivediy]

It's a pretty good gig!

[@MrKamccarthyinc]

Awesome as always Neil. From a $200k dozer to a $2k 318, getting it done!

[@digdrivediy]

Haha! So true, but $2K might be generous for the 318 :)

[@MarkWilliams-vp7xw]

Those are some a++ top notch truck drivers

[@henray76]

I love watching that done the right way. To may people drop small stone on top soil and get mad about pot holes

[@digdrivediy]

Very true Henry. I have seen stone dumped on top of the grass! Makes me cringe!

[@ericreinoehl9402]

Well done, it takes time to make it look nice. Looks good

[@johnhamilton9229]

A stone artist or a stone professional? Skilled for sure. 👍👍

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks John!

[@enduser1982]

Long overdue for this kind of clip ...Great video!!

[@digdrivediy]

I was thinking of you as I edited this one. Thanks for hanging in there for one. I just did another driveway project today that turned out awesome.

[@enduser1982]

@@digdrivediy no matter the clip, I'll be here to watch. I'm very Loyal to those I enjoy

[@shanesherwood343]

Looks good Neil Looking forward to seeing the barn go up I love pole barns

[@jamesnagle7894]

Nice runway, great job!!

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Awesome job. I didn’t realize you were an experienced Dozer operator. The most impressive thing was the way that guy untailgated the material when he got too much Feels like that’s a trick they don’t teach you until you’ve been doing it a couple weeks

[@digdrivediy]

Hey thanks Brock! Running a dozer was never my strong suit, but I can get by when need be is all. It's fun to run one every once in awhile when the opportunity comes up. That "untailgating" trick is only for the experienced veteran truckers! :) Thanks for watching!

[@roncorbin1500]

Good Job Neil , looks awesome.

[@digdrivediy]

Thank you Ron!

[@randywilson6869]

Nice job

[@hollandduck79]

thanks for the video Neil

[@digdrivediy]

You are very welcome

[@jasonnett9972]

Turned out looking great!

[@imdavid28]

Dude! You were going like Mach 3 doing those circles on the John Deere! Thanks for going over the details of the driveway- what gravel to use when has been a mystery to me and I appreciate the clarification

[@digdrivediy]

I'm glad someone enjoyed that part of it. Thanks David!

[@marykoch5168]

pp

[@paulatkinson2849]

Jealous of the range of choice of 4 wheelers u have to choose from 😎

[@digdrivediy]

Yeah, we actually have 6 of them at work to choose from. That's our main tool for our soil sampling business but the one I was using here was the second newest so it hasn't been used much yet! The grey one sitting next to it hasn't been used at all yet!

[@LeArtisan]

Looked well.

[@MarkDifazzio]

I love your little box grader. I've used your circle technique with my 3pt box blade, but the long tongue and wheels do the trick

[@digdrivediy]

Yeah, the circle is best with the tongue and wheels I suppose. Thanks for watching Mark!

[@happyrocklawncareandsnowre2141]

I just purchased a 1992 John deere 332 diesel with dual pto (front and rear)and hydraulics. Cam with a 48" tiller and 52" deck. It needs a bit of work, but hope to fix it up and do plenty of projects with it.

[@digdrivediy]

Those are sweet tractors!

[@edsecorr7812]

Great job keep up the great work love your videos

[@bigsway4414]

This is my second favorite video of urs. I watch it every few months. I wish I could fit a coat and a hoodie under my overalls. Sadly I cannot….

[@dankeeton9599]

Those loose tracks.... driving me nutz.

[@digdrivediy]

Rest assured they are tight now 😁

[@courtneyanderson2293]

Making it look pretty easy. Levelling with a backhoe, dozer blade can be pretty difficult as they love to make lows lower and highs higher. I'm looking forward to the land plane I ordered. Scrapes the high spots, fills in the lows and is 7' wide, 4-5' in length to lessen the undulations loaders and blades generally struggle with.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Courtney. Yes the land plane looks handy. I've never had much luck with them but haven't spent much time at it. Would be a fun one to get to know. Thanks for way!

[@snoozieq4584]

Oh no... Neil has found a potential new addition to his JD collection... I have to admit, the versatility of that dozer is really cool. I will most likely be editing this comment as I continue to watch the video. I'm just having fun watching the dozer right now... Man, that Challenger was pretty. 17 loads of stone. Well, what can be said about that. Nothing. You needed a good firm base considering the construction equipment that will be arriving for the barn construction. That new drive is going to look like it was always there. It really looks great. I'll bet that it'll look even better after the #9 washed stone is laid and graded. I love that the JD 316 with the grader is still so versatile. It was funny watching you make your left handed circles in the time lapses, like a NASCAR driver on a teeny tiny track. Yes, I'm a Jeff Dunham fan. "He's making a left turn! He's making a left turn! I wonder what's going to happen next? Come back 20 minutes later, you ain't missed a f*ck1ng thing!" ~ Walter Great job well done, Neil. Thank you for all your hard work on your videos.

[@digdrivediy]

Ha! That Walter from Jeff Dunham is always good for a laugh. I'm always amazed at watching a time lapse of that grading box running cause it doesn't seem like you're doing that many circles with it but you certainly do! I think the driveway is going to work great and there will also be lots of farm equipment in and out of there from now on too so it will always be good that it was extra wide and deep. So, should I set my sights on a bulldozer, or a Dodge Challenger? :) Thanks Susan!

[@snoozieq4584]

@@digdrivediy I'll go with the third option - a wood processor so you don't have to rent one this fall. The bulldozer is cool, but do you really have a use for it? The backhoe does a great job in your capable hands. As much as I love the muscle cars of the 60's and 70's and the revival of the Challenger and Charger by Dodge, the prices are completely ridiculous.

[@SkiddingF350]

Beautiful work!!

[@koryleague8833]

Great video Neil. Welcome back.

[@digdrivediy]

Hey, thanks Kory!

[@Mikidy303]

This looks really good. Despite you having the equipment, it's still a lot of work. I have no equipment and I'm just trying to level out a parking spot and I'm ready to buy a dozer.

[@edgundlach2811]

Good morning Neil. That was impressive, especially when the addition Part filled up with the rain. You had the dirt spread out really, really good. Very nice job. You made sure all the topsoil was gone. The additional stone will just continue to pack together. That is something to take pride in. I say that to you because you seem to have a humble spirit about you. I hope you and your family are doing good and enjoying life together. Sincerely Ed from Chicago 😁

[@digdrivediy]

Thank you Ed. Those are very kind things to say and I certainly appreciate it. Our family is gearing up for softball season. Hope the weather can make a turn for the better soon. Thanks so much for watching!

[@joebacarella2829]

Pretty good, it looks awesome.

[@midwestmanlife]

Ok, I am officially a child again, when you said "look at these #2's" I may or may not have laugh a little or a lot 🤣

[@digdrivediy]

I am too then! I chuckled when I heard it during the edit 😋

[@patrickmcconkey]

Looks fantastic!

[@Iowaflyboy1]

Good looking gravel work . Wish you lived closer to N Idaho, we could use your help with our driveway project. 😎

[@digdrivediy]

That would be fun. I have an idea for a KZbin Channel called "Destination Excavation" where my wife and I drive around the country with a big RV style semi truck hauling little excavating equipment and doing odd jobs for folks. Retirement goals...

[@mikelewisoutdoors6434]

Great video. I love that 850. Great machine

[@digdrivediy]

It was a lotta fun to run for a couple days.

[@johnsmith-xr6qy]

The drag box bounces a lot. Once dips start they compound. Adding a weight to the drag box and driving slow will work if you have enough patience. Every machine has a place, you just have to use the right one or best one. Sometimes this means using the one between the ears.

[@digdrivediy]

Yep. It was difficult to maintain a slower speed with the ATV than it was with the tractor. Sometimes I put some suitcase weights on there to load it up and help the bounce. Usually when the box gets loaded up full of material it is less likely to bounce. Oh, and the finer the material the less it will bounce. Thanks for watching John!

[@bobbrown6682]

Nice job Neil!! It crazy where all of those loads of gravel go. My estimated two loads turned into five last year when I made a larger turn around / parking area last year. Will probably get two more to top it off this year.

[@digdrivediy]

I know it! I don't know how it can go away so quickly but it certainly does!

[@phoenixrecords9854]

Washed stone like stone washed jeans? This is a very informative channel!

[@digdrivediy]

Just like that!

[@marilynwitherell186]

Great job

[@maytham236]

Nicely done keep the good work and awesome videos

[@frankr.3513]

Thanks for a great video!

[@josephdriscoll8527]

Came out nice, I like the process of building the road and letting the contractors pack it .

[@berryfisher4764]

Challenger 👋😂 I thought that was funny. Good job on the driveway 👍

[@Deutschehordenelite]

Cool project, who doesn't love dozers :D First thing I noticed right away tho was that the track on the one side was very loose :p

[@digdrivediy]

Yes it was! Good eye.

[@mikeznel6048]

A little loose is better than too tight. Tight tracks wear quicker and the ride is much rougher. Too loose isn’t good either obviously.

[@bascodelagamma]

"If the water is level..." That was a goodern! Lol 👍

[@watkinstreefarm6880]

You make it look so easy. Need you to come over to my place and get my 1/4 mile dive in order. Great video and I think you need that Challenger.

[@digdrivediy]

I've spent most of my adult life practicing on this stuff! I bet you're driveway could be shaped up in no time Jeff! That Challenger driver just bought that car recently and I've been seeing, er hearing it almost every day now. It does make me want a muscle car again!

[@watkinstreefarm6880]

@@digdrivediy Muscle car would be sweet!! The thing that amazes me on that drive is your edge line where the rock meets the dirt. Perfection!!

[@biggdaddy420]

Nice job. It looks great 👍

[@DirtBrute]

Came out great 👍. The green tractor did a real nice finish job . One of The Quarries here figures some stone at 1.3 per ton Depending on density. so I have to make sure when bidding on jobs then doing the jobs i make a note in the job file of where I planned to get the stone . Some jobs start months after bidding and I forget where I plan to get products. Could kill my profits !!

[@digdrivediy]

Oh man, I bet so! I would have lost my butt on this one if I had bid it! It would be a hard thing to do to make sure you were accurate all the time. I'm fortunate in that most of the jobs I get to do it's just "do whatever it takes" kind of thing. Thanks for checking it out Steve!

[@taterhater2086]

Looks great man

[@robsmith7681]

It seems like you and I have a similar style of job, where they let us do extra curricular activities all the time to break up monotony, and to let us know that we’re on the good side of things. I almost screwed that up last week when I accepted a new job. Well, it only took 4 days before I realized what I had done, called my boss, and he told me to come back to work on Monday, before I even asked about getting my old job back. Jobs like these are VERY hard to replace, and we are very fortunate to be able to collect pay checks, experience in other fields, and get paid side cash, and go to work with people who we consider family. Happiness is a hard thing to come by these days, but if we can be mostly happy for 40 hours a week, and then get to do other cool stuff like what you just did here, no amount of money can replace it. 💪🏽 I get to till in our garden at work and go pick up sheep manure this Friday, as long as the weather holds out for us. It won’t be long before I’m brush hogging my bosses neighbors field for her again, and then not much longer I’ll be brush hogging our retention pond at work to keep the water evaporating in it. Extra things are the best things to do when they’re stuff you truly enjoy.

[@digdrivediy]

You hit the nail on the head Rob! Very well said. I'm grateful for the job I have and the perks it allows me. I get to do lots of random things on many different days, so I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm glad you were able to get back into your job right away. Thanks for sharing in that story and thanks so much for watching!

[@sassafrasvalley1939]

Neil… he was right… it took exactly the amount of stone that it took! Perhaps you should have him quote the next job? I agree… when finishing a driveway my sub-compact tractor suits me best. It puts what you call the ‘polish’ on it like waxing an apple for the teacher! I watch a lot of excavation channels. And, see a lot of highly skilled operators doing finish grading of gravel. Road graders, skid steers, dozers, excavators, land planes, box blades, all kind of grading attachments are used. And, for the most part they achieve excellent results. But, I don’t have their equipment or their skills at running it… I have to ‘run what I brung’. With my small equipment, I can’t pack as deep a lift. Nor, can I move a pile as quickly. And, leveling is done in narrower passes. But, I get the job done and always seem to get satisfactory results. About 30 years ago, Mike (an employee of mine) was needing to fix a 200’ common driveway between his parents place and his. It needed the ditches carved and the road bed raised before topping it with stone. His father had a 2WD Wheel Horse yard tractor with a front blade. He had been working on it all spring long. And had barely gotten one ditch dug. The rocks and dirt that he had piled in the driveway was like a continuous windrow of speed bumps. A pickup had to crawl down the road at a bone jarring, coffee spilling pace. His wife had to park her low slung Corolla at his parents, so she could get back and forth to work. Then, our summer drought hit. He asked me if I could take a look at it and see what it needed. When I got there, his dad was slaving away in the heat trying to dig the ditch. Any stone over 6” in diameter was a major challenge for the Wheel Horse to move. The front blade was not suited to the task and, the tractor was too light for it any way. While we were watching, his dad got off the tractor walked over to the shade tree… and grabbed a rock pick. He took it over and started digging out a rock the size of a cantaloupe. Mike introduced me to his dad. He knew what I was there for… and Mike had told me how the driveway project had wounded his dad’s pride. So, we started talking about how I could help. I listened with fascination as his dad explained to me how his Wheel Horse had conquered the first ditch. His thoughts about options… like how to wet the second one so that he could defeat it as well. And how inconvenient it would be if they didn’t get it finished before the drought broke and the speed bump windrow turned into a muddy mess. Being cognizant of his pride; I complimented his progress and told him that it looked to me like the ditch was the obstacle. If it was done, there was no doubt that the Wheel Horse could finish the road bed. I would be interested in digging the ditch with my baby backhoe and he could start work on smoothing and packing the road bed. Together we could surely beat the fall rains! Well, his face lit up. It was like the whole weight of the project had levitated from his shoulders. He asked me what I would charge. I told him, it wouldn’t be much and that we’d work something out. The next Saturday morning I showed up and got to work digging the ditch. As I worked my way down the ditch, he spread the piles of spoils over the roadbed. (There was no top soil. It was all road bed grade material… typical SW MO soil.) Mike had told me that his dad used to own a sawmill. When he sold it, he kept several piles of high grade hardwood lumber. When we went to his patio for lunch, I noticed a half dozen tarp covered stacks. And… right then, I knew what I was gonna barter for. In the end, I dug that ditch, put in a cross culvert and Mike helped me pick up all of the bigger rocks. We threw them in my bucket loader and rip-rapped a draw that was eroding away on the back of their property… while his dad chipped away at leveling and packing the roadbed. By Sunday evening, it was ready for stone. I came over on Monday with an empty trailer. His dad was dragging an old bed spring behind the Wheel Horse to ‘polish’ the stone surface of the drive. And, I had to admit that it shined just like that waxed apple of my youth! I still have a few black walnut slabs and red oak boards left from my payment. And, Mike has a beautiful Walnut Mantle in his new home, that I made from it. And, although his dad has been gone for a dozen years his determination, pride and love of his Wheel Horse still warms my heart! As you said, you are impressed with how much you can do with your tiny tractors. I may be prejudiced, but I think they can also impart pride and build memories too!

[@digdrivediy]

Ah, such a befitting story. It is so true the pride that comes from being able to tackle a job with just what you have on hand. I have caught myself being guilty of suggesting a better tool for the job at hand rather than helping to work out a solution with a machine that is already on site. Lots of folks tend to gravitate towards using what they have and enjoying the challenge of making it work rather than calling for backup, myself included. That's why I'm so bull headed about using that backhoe for everything. I suggested digging out the driveway with the backhoe much like I did my in-laws. The dozer was offered up as an alternative and well, I couldn't hardly pass up that opportunity though either! But I sure do appreciate your insight. I need to be more cognizant of that when the old farts want to use their 60-year-old tractors and my first retort is to suggest something newer and faster. I feel a video about some old Ford tractors coming on! Now I feel like eating an apple! Thanks Dave!

[@sassafrasvalley1939]

@@digdrivediy old tractors… YUMM! I have a neighbor whose JD is way too big for his driveway leveling. And, he has lost a bit of skill since he contracted Alzheimer’s. He still tries to grade it but, ends up getting dips and gouges in it. After he messes with it, his wife calls me to come over and level it out. I always thank him for “loosening” the surface and fix it for them. I noticed the other day that it is rutted out from the last deluge we got. I expect I’ll get a call in the next few weeks! It is always a pleasure to go visit with Gary and talk about the ‘old days’!

[@edsecorr7812]

Great job love your videos thank you

[@tonynieuwlandt5407]

Nice job, could tell you were more comfortable when you got the backhoe going

[@digdrivediy]

I suppose so. There are no questions when I'm running the backhoe now I guess. Such a versatile tool! Thanks Tony!

[@ronaldayers6661]

Great job brother. You never know how much till you know right. Lol👍🏻

[@digdrivediy]

You got that right!

[@jifi-0178]

Curious what you will be putting down for new mancave barn. Too easy to notice that the dozer tracks had a bad case of droops (out of adjustment on the tensioner) on the RH side. The dozer looked to be the right size for the job of moving the gravel into place. It looks like you were more comfortable operating it this round, too.

[@digdrivediy]

That track was a bit loose. Good eye! The new barn is a 60x120. Mainly an equipment shed. Certainly more comfortable this time around.

[@Brandon.Fischer]

Not a bad job, when factoring volume don’t forget to factor in a percentage of waste and compaction.

[@jdhogyellowhelmetproductio358]

Cool bean's boss

[@CairnCreek]

Good looking job. You’re getting pretty good on dozer. You’ll probably be buying dozer next!

[@digdrivediy]

If I had more of a use for one I sure would be. For now I'm enjoying the training sessons at least.

[@nategrose7673]

Great job! I appreciate how particular you are on your projects. The results that you and Brandon (elite earth works) strive for are always a notch above. I enjoyed the video.

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Nate. I'm humbled to be mentioned in the same category as Brandon as he does terrific work. Thanks for the comment!

[@blackdogexcavator21]

Even though you had a faux pa on the gravel guesstimate, I think the finished product is high quality and will last a long time. The part that I was intrigued by is the designations for the different kinds of stone. Here, we call the base material crusher run or ABC. It's 1.5" stone down to rock dust and packs extremely well. A #57 stone is 1" and a #67 stone is 3/4". The smallest stone is pea gravel and is called #78's. The big stone you used first is called ballast like they use on railroad rights of way. I like to see what different places call different materials as it seems to be based on more of a regional dialect than anything else. Good job Neil and I sure missed your video last week.

[@digdrivediy]

I find that all fascinating as well. The numbers I was referencing I know are Indiana numbers. I've heard Dirt Perfect and Kleeman reference the same stone numbers. Since we live right near the state line of Indiana and Ohio, the quarry has both numbers listed for all materials. I've been seeing the two numbers my entire adult life and I can't tell you what the Ohio equivalents are to our Indiana numbers. I've always wanted to do a video about that subject of stone types and names. Another thing to point out is that we refer to gravel as the "river rock" that comes out of the ground within sand deposits. All of the crushed limestone we refer to as "stone". So, pea gravel for example just comes right out of the ground naturally and is small, rounded pepples that go through a screen and separated from the larger round stones. We have a crushed limestone equivalent to pea gravel but it's called #11's and all the stones are sharp edged fragments of limestone. We have something even finer which is stone chips and they are like fruity pepples and we use them under concrete because they're easy to grade. Do you make the distinction between gravel and stone or are they interchangable? I think that some folks don't have gravel pits like we do and others may not have limestone quarries. Fortunately we have both around here. Good stuff. That would make a good video maybe...

[@blackdogexcavator21]

@@digdrivediy I think that would be cool also. We don't differentiate between stone or gravel generally speaking. Engineers might but, end-users like me do not. Also, everything we have is a quarried material in my specific area. We import river rock as we don't have a large river near by to excavate it from. River rock is for decorative purposes only. In my county, all stone/gravel, rock (whatever one calls it) is granite. In the county just to our south, they have more of a slate type rock but, it breaks off really sharp when they crush it. I don't like to put it on a driveway because of the likelihood of puncturing car tires. Let me know if you do decide to do a video on the different products and I will email you a copy of our product/price list from our local quarries. Good stuff Neil, be safe my friend.

[@calebackerman2363]

In my experience you don't want to put material on top of water you want to put it to the side and push it into the puddle using the pushed material like a squeegee. That way the water is pushed out instead of trapped underneath. Its not as critical when using stone because of its natural drainage ability but pushing the water out will help it dry faster.

[@digdrivediy]

You're exactly right. I completely agree and try not to do that when I can help it. That is why I tried to drain most of the water of. If I didn't already have so much stone below it I would have done it differently too. Great observation and thanks for watching!

[@calebackerman2363]

@@digdrivediy always enjoy watching what you’re up to!

[@curtis026]

I would love to have one of your grader boxes. I know you have posted a video on how to build one, but unfortunately I have no welding experience. Think I’m going to have to buy a welder and start practicing!

[@digdrivediy]

That's the best way to learn!

[@bsgmiller6406]

That’s Real Nice 👍

[@percyfreeman6948]

Hi Neil . It was really amazing to see how well that pull type box grader worked. It looked like you hand raked it. I would be interested in knowing how long you spent on just the garden tractor and the pull type box grader dressing up that job

[@digdrivediy]

Thanks Percy! I think I spent about 2 hours on the garden tractor and grader box for this one. Fortunately it had been spread really well so there wasn't as much stone to move around.

[@brandonkarpel6521]

Great job! Should have no problem getting semis in and out. Is they any benefits of putting black fabric on top of dirt before rock?

[@digdrivediy]

For us with the hard clay subsoil, there is no point in the black fabric in my opinion. We have used that when the subgrade is soft or unstable but for this, this clay would hold water in a pond so it's good stuff as sub base.

[@lawman5511]

I could sure use that to clear the cactus out of the back half acre.

[@RCPSU4]

Neat project. The electric grader box seemed to do alright, but the slow speed on lowering/raising would bother me.

[@digdrivediy]

Agreed. It is really slow when you're used to the hydraulics, so it made it less enjoyable for me. If that was all you knew it wouldn't be a big deal I bet.

[@heathmiller8462]

Great job! So was this a side job that your boss hired you for or just a project as part of your regular 9-5?

[@digdrivediy]

Just a project during my regular 9-5. After the first two days with the dozer I worked on it intermittently as weather and time allowed . That dozer belongs to the boss's cousin.

[@BG-vq9fd]

I'm sure it's stressful but is it still work when you're enjoying it so much?

[@digdrivediy]

It didn't feel like work. Especially when I left my "normal" work to go outside and do this "work". Sure is fun to do when it isn't your real job that's for sure.

[@mikeznel6048]

Get your measurement based estimation and double it lol. It’s better to have money left in a budget than over spend.

[@seansysig]

You really should use a transit when excavating anything requiring a finish grade. It would’ve got you to your 8” bed depth and even account for pitching your runoff.

[@digdrivediy]

The 8" of depth was only an estimation of how much topsoil there would be. I found there was 12" or more of topsoil so it all had to come out. So, in that case it really didn't matter. I use a laser quite often when I have someone available to help shoot grade. Very helpful when the situation warrants the usage for sure.

[@jamesfountain1254]

Need to tighten those tracks up

[@marccalvert6040]

Nice job !! You can grade my drive anytime 😉

[@chooch1995]

Done right!!!!