Tag Archives: driveway repair

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So this is what $20,000 looks like…. otherwise known as before and after.

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Before.

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One long, dirty, noisy, and inconvenient process later….

After.

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Pardon the little puddle. It’s been raining every day for a freakin’ month.

Before.

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After.

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Before.

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After.

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Before.

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After.

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It’s an amazing difference and I can’t wait to drive on it.

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Since we had the crew replace the culvert as well, sod or grass seed will be in our future.

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But the husband is currently battling with the state DOT to fill in the entire 300 feet of ditch which has been a nightmare since we moved in 20 years ago and doesn’t want to start fixing the lawn until he has a definitive answer.

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The old driveway was a straight shot to the road but now we have a nice open curved entry and no immediate ditch to worry about driving into on dark nights.

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We are pleased.

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Driveway replacement inconveniences.

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As we wait for the smoothed dirt to dry on the newly torn up and backfilled driveway, a word about the inconveniences of this repair/replace project.

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Ours cars now have to sit outside in the elements for the week it’s taking the crew to do the job and probably for 2-3 weeks after that. Forget the fact that Ethel, my Subaru, is a garage virgin and has never spent a night outside…. not being able to use the driveway means the only place we can pull into our property is way out here.

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Which makes walking to your car in the rain and hauling groceries back to the house a right royal pain in the *ss.

And since we contracted to have the culvert replaced?

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Our mailbox had to go as well.

Trying to predict what time the postman will drive by so I can run out there to meet him is getting old fast.

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Driveway repair part nine…. finishing touches to dirt and the husband’s blockade.

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The rough work on the driveway repair was coming to a close.

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Small loads of the top layer of dirt were finessed.

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With numerous wheelbarrow trips.

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Though not everyone was hard at work.

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Lots of dumping. Lots of spreading by hand.

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And then the crew whipped out a big power saw and started cutting away part of the road.

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I didn’t realize they were allowed to do that, but clearly they are.

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And when I say cut, I mean rip up big chunks as well.

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Nest step? Smooth and pack the dirt.

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And at the end of the day we were left with this.

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Which we were told was a little too wet to pave so it would have to sit for a few days to dry.

We were also told not to drive on it. And since a lot of people use our driveway to turn around?

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The husband built a blockade.

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Driveway repair part seven… the smoothing battle.

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Work continues on the driveway.

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Dirt and gravel are brought in, dumped, spread …

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And smoothed.

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At times it looks like some weird sort of race.

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Bigger boys, bigger toys.

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Was my husband out there chatting during the process?

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I think you know the answer to that.

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It’s a good thing I don’t like to nap during the day.

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Because when they do the section in front of the garage, they’re literally right on the kitchen porch doorstep.

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Driveway repair part six… the culvert.

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When the paving crew reached the end of the driveway tear down, it was time to remove the rusty old culvert.

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How rusty was it you ask?

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Rusty enough that it literally fell apart in their hands. Mind you, this was the same culvert the state deemed perfectly serviceable last year when a road improvement project skipped by our property with nary a glance.

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In the middle of the removal process?

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Someone had to go out and chat.

Please take note it wasn’t me.

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Old rusted culvert out, new plastic culvert that should last for 50+ years in.

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And since my husband was supervising?

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He had them lay and cover the full 40 feet instead of the 25 originally planned as not to waste the extra length he’d paid for.

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Naturally, this required more chatting.

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Driveway repair part five…. the oh sh*t moment.

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Every morning when the work crew shows up?

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My husband has to chat.

I truly believe the worst torture imaginable for this man would be to lock him in a room by himself with no one to talk to.

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When conversation halted…. fabric was laid, bad dirt was removed and better dirt was delivered.

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It’s a good thing our neighbors are morning people and far away, because things be noisy up in here.

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Dirt was delivered.

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Dirt was spread.

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And about mid day?

Things started to go wrong.

I noticed it got quiet and figured there had to be a reason.

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While I’m no expert on heavy machinery, something looked a little off here … even to me.

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Definitely an oh sh*t moment.

One broken hydraulic hose brought work to a standstill.

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Driveway repair part four, the flood and another tree climbed. Sort of…

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We woke up to the remains of an overnight downpour.

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When having your driveway repaired, excess water is not welcome.

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There were two extremely large puddles wreaking havoc with all that new oh so damned expensive dirt.

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And while the birds and the visiting ducks liked their new muddy bath…

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I was less than thrilled.

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Naturally His Royal Highness wanted to investigate.

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He’s such a timid little guy I thought the big equipment would frighten him, but he’s more afraid of the workers than the machines.

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Growing bored with the earth movers he ran up the choke cherry tree before I had a chance to stop him.

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The desire is there, but the skills are still lacking.

😉

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Driveway repair part three… removing old dirt and replacing it with other dirt.

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There’s a whole lot of dirt moving going on at Casa River.

Dirt is dug up.

Dirt is hauled off.

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New and apparently better dirt is brought in.

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And for the price they’re charging, it better be truly spectacular dirt.

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Fabric is laid under the new dirt. Apparently it doesn’t like the old dirt and must have a barrier to prevent cootie contamination.

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The new dirt is spread and tamped down.

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And the new culverts await their new home.

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Rocks are mixed with the dirt.

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And at 5:00pm we had a not so lovely line of tortured lawn and a driveway filled with heavy machinery to keep us company overnight.

🥴

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Driveway repair part two… a whole lotta digging and one unhappy cat.

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After all the old pavement was hauled away….

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We were down to dirt and apparently a good bit of sand…

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Which, as it turns out…. is not good at all.

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At the same time our driveway was being destroyed and rebuilt the neighbor was having theirs worked on as well.

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Which means Lord Dudley Mountcatten has a hard time finding a quiet place to sleep.

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An inconvenienced cat is a horrible thing.

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Sand is bad for drainage and after scraping off the tar and a layer of topsoil, sand and clay is what they found.

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Which meant digging down a solid foot and hauling it away.

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Of course work could progress much more quickly if my husband wouldn’t go out and chat up the crew every hour on the hour.

🤣

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