Construction Sitework

Student # AC1500175

B06.S.9.1 Cost Estimating

Assignment 3_05

June 26, 2016

Construction Sitework

        Sitework and excavation are one of the first cornerstones to a construction project. Many of these initial items must be completed prior to any actual construction of structures being completed. Some examples of this initial work are cutting and backfilling, trenching and grading. This work must be done for the creation of roads and driveways, running of utility lines, and development of slab or foundation areas. Since I work in the construction field on a small scale level I chose a recent project to discuss that we have completed. This project was to develop a hunting camp on an area of previously  raw land.

        The first phase of our project was to do some initial clearing of trees. Since the land had previously been untouched we needed to install a drive way and perform some clearing for the camp. To accomplish this we had dump trucks, a skidder, a bulldozer, and an industrial size chipper. The driveway was marked out on an initial walkthrough and all trees requiring removal were marked. As we fell the trees the logs were skidded to a central location to be stock piled as we would later bring in a portable sawmill to mill all of the lumber for the camp from the trees off the property. Once the trees were removed and the stumps left a dozer was used to "cut" the driveway and site of the camp and provide removal of stumps. The stumps and larger debris were loaded into dump trucks to be hauled away.

        During the next phase we were to form and compact the driveway. To accomplish this we used dump trucks, a front end loader, a york rake, and a compacting dirt roller. The driveway needs to be a firm packed surface for continual use. Some of the heaviest use it will see will be during the construction phase with large trucks having continual use of the surface. After the initial driveway had been cut it was time to start building it back up with material. I prefer to do this in layers. The trucks first haul in, from a local company, stone that is approximately 8 inches to 12 inches to provide a base layer. This larger stone is spread the length of the driveway and we are then ready for our second layer. For this I use #2 and #3 stone from another local quarry to be spread over the top of the larger stone. At this point the driveway is again level with the surrounding land. Next, because no one wants to drive on this size stone, and to build the driveway up slightly above the land itself to assist in water runoff and prevent washing we spread the top layer which consist of a shale gravel mix. The shale gives the drive a sturdy top layer and the gravel allows for the driveway to be compacted. Once the gravel is spread out the roller is used to compact the entire surface. Finally a york rake is used to provide a slight grade to the driveway so water runs off to the sides preventing washouts.