99_XC600 Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Up in the Northeast were famous for the "The Big Dig" a huge construction project that went over budget (190%) and over schedule (9 years) and a commuter death directly related to poor construction. My project is going to be called "The Big Fill" and hopefully I come in under budget, on time and nobody will perish during the process. A little about the project. The main portion of my lot is relatively narrow at 60' wide however it's very deep (250'). The lot has a very dramatic drop on the right hand side of the garage which is also the main backyard. The slope is approximately 24" over 36 feet. It also drops 12" from right to left. This area of the yard has always been a challenge due to the conditions. This is going to change, were filling it in. The project is going to be as follows. Phase 1 1. Removal of existing landscaping2. Removal of existing 6' stockade PT fence3. Removal of daughters playscape 3. Digging of trench4. Construction of retaining wall and deadmen.5. Backfilling of yard - calculations comes to 37 cubic yards.6. 3" of top soil7. Seeding Winter Break Let everything compact and settle Phase 2 - Spring 1. Installation of 6' Vinyl Privacy Fence - 130'. (This is going to be expensive)2. Creation of fire pit and seating area in the middle of the yard.3. New above ground pool - Jury is still out on this one. Today we started the demo, which was the most rewarding. Essentially get all of the site prep down so I can start on digging the trench for the base of the retaining wall. I'll be on vacation next week, so I'll be out there early in the morning doing some digging before it get's too hot. Pics from today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hathatyl Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Dang looks like you got your work cut our for you 99, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordraw Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Looks like you will be busy for a while. Busy is good. Have fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted August 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Started the day with picking up the landscape timbers and crushed stone for the base. I then drove some stakes in the ground and marked everything off. Spent the morning digging the trench and getting everything level. Once that was done, I drilled the base for some 1/2" x 4' rebar to pin it to the ground. Filled the trench with crushed stone and the set the base level and flat (This was the biggest challenge). Managed to get all of the base in and most of the 1st course before my body gave out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Continued with the build today. Manged to do 3 courses before I ran out of material. I'll be heading out to the yard in the morning to pick up everything to finish it on Tuesday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted August 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Finished off the wall today. I still need to put the cross beams on the deadmen though. The back filling will occur more than likely on Labor day weekend, Just need to line up a couple of resources and a couple of other things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikez Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Looking good man and congrats on the keter table!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted August 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Looking good man and congrats on the keter table!! Thanks - I could have used it for this project to use it as a cutting station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR99 Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Looks great 99_XC600!! The worst part if yet to come moving and grading all the fill dirt and top soil your going to add!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Looks great 99_XC600!! The worst part if yet to come moving and grading all the fill dirt and top soil your going to add!! Thanks! I'm going to try to make this as easy as possible, A good friend has access to a dump truck and my father has a Ford Diesel tractor with a 5' bucket on it. I'll be running the tractor as my buddy is going to the supply yard to get the fill. Doing it like this we should be able to fill it in 2"-3" layers at a time instead of a huge massive pile of material. Should be starting this in a couple of weeks, Just need to coordinate everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 Took delivery of 25 yards of fill today. Going to level everything and compact everything on Saturday morning and grab some more material. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 It's starting to take shape man. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Got up bright and early to start spreading the fill. My Dad delivered the tractor in a roll-off. The day went pretty well, I only buried the tractor once. Used the Jeep and some chains to pull it out. We ended up using 46 cubic yard of fill and I still have to cap it off with top soil During the course of the day, we found a couple of toads and a salamander in the fill. My daughter rescued them and set them free. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Looks good man. Are you going to compact it or let it sit and settle out on its own?Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Good question. I was back blading with the tractor quite a bit. Once we spread out the initial 25 yards, the remaining 21 yards I was able to add in layers of 2-3 inches, It actually compacted pretty well to the point I was able drive the tractor on it and not make a huge depression. We had some rain last night and I went ahead and inspected it and I saw some settling bu no huge craters. I'm going to try to top it off with the top soil next weekend. I need to check the weather first though. My biggest decision right now is go with sod or seed. If I go with seed, I don't know if I'm going to have enough time to get the lawn established before the cold weather comes in. I essentially have about 7 weeks at this point. where as if I was go with sod, I think 7 weeks to get it grow it would be ok.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Had 17 yards of top soil delivered this morning and I'm still about 2-3 yards short. I'm still low by the side of the garage and towards the front. Making steady progress though. . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikez Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Looking good man!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 Thanks Mike. I've got some high spots I need to deal with. The only problem is these areas are now compacted from the tractor so flattening them out is going to require some manual labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Looking good man. Now all that's left is to turn it green!Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poisonfangs85 Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 That is turning out awesome! Tons of work for sure but well worth it I can see. I need to raise the back corner of my yard about 10' to gain some level ground. Not any time soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted September 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Finally finished the final grading of the backyard. Ordered another 3 yards of top soil and spent the morning filling in all of the low spots and dragging everything flat and level. My wife and I made the decision to strip all of the remaining grass in the backyard and reseed everything. I'm going to take this Friday off and rent a sod cutter to remove what's left off the grass and then hydroseed on Saturday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Took the day off to finish the prep of the backyard. We're trying to get it hydroseeded this Saturday and it's scheduled to rain on Friday so I needed to get this done today. Started early this morning by renting a sod cutter from Home Depot. This machine is must have for doing this type of work. I had everything cut in about 15 minutes. I then spend the next 3 hours picking everything up and raking the soil out. I'm so glad that this is the last of the heavy work with this phase of the project, my body is really starting to let me know that it's had just about enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Some may wonder why I'm going through all this effort for my backyard. The last picture pretty much explains it. The backyard is right against my neighbors rental property and my family has no privacy when were sitting outside on the patio or doing something in the yard. Over the past 5 years, we've had some great neighbors and as well as inconsiderate deadbeats. Due to the instability of the neighboring population. We've decided to level off the backyard and put up a privacy fence that comes off the house and runs all the way back to the retaining wall where it will make a turn and terminate back on the garage. The fence will be phase 2 and will be put up in the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poisonfangs85 Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 A lot of work but it looks all worth it. Great job! It is going to look so good with a privacy fence. It will be an extension of your home and feel like a getaway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 You have a nice looking place man. It's gonna look really sharp when that grass gets established.Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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