I’m in NE Ohio – I have a roughly 15,000 sq ft area in my yard that has developed some pretty substantial frost heaving.
It looks okay (especially when the grass fills in in the summer, but I use it for dog training and the little bumps/potholes make for a pretty unreliable running surface. I’m looking to smooth it out… I think there are too many trees for me to actually make it flat, so I’m just looking to reduce the frost-heave bumps and divots as best I can while retaining the general swale cut into the yard.
I do not own lawn equipment, so gradually top-dressing the area over many months or years is a less optimal solution than something more drastic I can accomplish more quickly with rented equipment.
I’m able to take a bit of time off work to accomplish this task, I have the money to rent equipment, and I have a local place I can rent from. What I do not have is expertise to decide what the best way to tackle this is.
What I’m seeing as the options right now:
- Rent a small lawn tractor and a towable grader box, and just scrape the area smooth then seed. (will this even work if I’m just going for “smooth” rather than “level”? and would I need to kill/remove all my existing grass before doing this?)
- Rent a small lawn tractor, along with a roller and aerator. Roll/aerate, then seed.
- Rent a small lawn tractor, along with a tiller and roller (?). Till, roll, seed. (Would I need to kill/remove my current grass for this option?)
Here’s the rental place – maybe there’s a better equipment option I’m not thinking of?
The soil is so-so quality and has acceptable but not perfect drainage. I’m wondering if it might make sense to amend something into the soil if I go with the tilling option – maybe a sand/topsoil mix? Is this something my local extension office could help with recommendations on?
Any help or insight would be tremendously appreciated!
It's Monday and my Google-fu doesn't seem to be working.
I get the general idea that new rocks appear in a farmer's field every year. I've gathered that it has to do with freezing and expanding. Is it just the water/ice or does the soil and rock freeze and expand as well? Does this happen with huge boulders? Or just smaller rocks? Does this happen with anything that's buried in the earth? Will we one day find skeletons just sitting on the ground in front of the headstones?
I found this this1 and this2 links. But they don't really ELI5.
I live in Omaha. My back patio is heaving to the point where the concrete now slopes towards the house. We actually had it mudjacked to have it slope away this past Summer. My question is whether I can expect the heaving slabs to go to back to normal next year.
I have a cabin, more specifically a Norwegian “stabbur” (see here for an example) that is starting to lean. I suspect this is due to “frost heave” and am trying to figure out how to fix it. The house does not have a poured foundation - it’s just sitting on top of some big rocks that are right on the ground. This guy fixed his by propping it up with some pressure treated wood, but is this really the best way? Seems like a bandaid, or just overall unstable. I’d love to hear suggestions for both the best way to fix this where cost is not a factor, and for the most practical solution that is most cost efficient. Thanks in advance!
I'm re-positioning my deck stairs which will require the two 4x4 stair posts on the last bottom step installed on something that's not grass or dirt. Code in my town requires 4 feet deep footings for deck posts but not for the stair posts. Code only requires a 36 inch landing depth and for the bottom step to not be sitting on grass or dirt. I was planning to dig shallow footings and use a post stand-off but most all my neighbors deck stairs land on a concrete pad and they seem to think that a 4 inch deep 40 inch square concrete pad will move less than two 8 inch sonotube footings that are 2 feet deep and I was then planning to use pavers as the landing. 4 feet deep sonotubes is A LOT more work and seems way overboard for this. Looks wise, I would very much prefer the pavers as a landing, but don't want to have any heaving and have to re-do this project anytime soon. Anyone have thoughts, recommendations, or experience with this scenario?
I live in southern Wisconsin, our frost line depth is 48".
I am planning on building a 10x10 shed and have read conflicting (confusing) reports about slab on grade construction. Many site indicate that smaller buildings can be built without footings and left to float on the grade?
If I pour a 10x10 slab on 4 inches of gravel is this sufficient to avoid major issues?
Adding on a two story addition to my house on sloped grade. The addition will be sitting on 6x6 wood beams 2ft into the ground. I was wondering if Frost Heave is something I need to worry about living in northern part of Arkansas? Will building on the slope create for better water drainage so that this is something I will not have to worry about? Thanks and God Bless..
Live in central Illinois, asked by lady I'm renting from if I could build her a small deck. She would also like to use the recycled plastic lumber for the decking as well. I've never done a project like this, and was curious what you guys would consider best. I don't know if with it being so small and low to the ground if heaving would even be an issue? Her Sunroom door just opens up into the backyard and is a single step down. She would like the deck built out from there.
