Day 5: Finishing the Driveway

Friday

Mid-morning I received a text from the excavators stating that they were ready for the next round of geotextile fabric. If I could hurry and get it down, they'd be able to unload the gravel from the dump trucks directly onto the fabric instead of dumping it in piles and spreading it with the loaders. So I hustled up to the site and texted a friend who happened to be off work that day (thanks, Preston!). We were able to put in the last 1,000 or so feet of fabric in about an hour and staple it down. After the fabric was laid, the gravel was placed by the dump trucks, with a little help from the uniloader.

The work continued throughout the day with several more loads of gravel. By the end of the day the gravel was placed all the way to the end of the driveway. We didn't go quite up to the house site since we'll be moving some of the dirt at the top of the hill when we dig out the basement.

This afternoon at 1:00 I also met with the engineer from Platte Clay Electric, our local cooperative electric company, do discuss bringing power to the home. We reviewed two options: overhead vs. underground. The advantage of an overhead power line is that it will be installed at no cost. Free is always good. The disadvantage is that the poles would be running along the fence and would be an eyesore. The overhead lines would also be in the way years down the road when the trees that will eventually line the drive get bigger.

The advantage of underground is that it is out of sight, out of mind. The disadvantage is that it is not free. The co-op will put it in at their cost, which is a bargain, but it is still move expensive than free.

We'll likely go with underground. Even though it is a bit more expensive now, it will be a better value in the long run.

Daily Stats:

Work done: final grading, placed geotextile fabric, placed gravel
Hours worked (me): 1
Hours worked (friends/family): 1 (Preston)
Hours worked (contractor estimate): 15
Contractor: Grishm Farm and Construction
Materials used: 1,000' geotextile 4oz fabric, gravel