I’m going to move Tiny down from storage onto the lot; I’ve been spending lots of $$$ keeping it up north and it’s time to push things forward! Before I can do this, I need to prepare the land.
My plan was to put down a gravel driveway for a couple of reasons:
- It’s more eco-friendly – using recycled materials instead of concrete, which is a major contributor to CO2 greenhouse gases.
- It is better for the watershed – gravel is permeable, allowing rain to soak directly into the ground instead of running off into drainage ditches.
- It is cheaper – building a 11’x50′ driveway should cost about $3k instead of ~$14k.
- I can do most (all) of the work myself.
In addition, I need to ensure some level of security for Tiny, as it will be sitting out all alone with no one to watch over her! I’ll need to prepare the land by adding a fence to keep looky-loos out and make it harder to get onto the property.
Land Preparation Steps
Driveway
- Mark out location with stakes and twine ✅
- Dig out area to 6″ deep 🌀
- Lay down weed barrier
- Purchase gravel
- Purchase grid
- Spread out bottom layer and compact
- Assemble grid
- Spread out top layer and compact
Fence
- Mark out location with stakes and twine ✅
- Determine approach: wood, SS40 pipe or steel post (see Resources below)
- Source materials
- Install posts
- Attach cross beams
- Install pickets
- Build/install gate 😱
Resources
- Lifetime Steel Post – video
- SS40/xx40 pipe (10-12 gauge; 2 3/8 diameter, must go at least 3′ into the ground) – video
- Wood – video
