You can continue to do that several times a year. Me, personally, I would use a backhoe (borrow from friend or rent one) and dig a ditch right next to the driveway down every hill to the low spot, where it would then be directed away from the driveway. Then grade the driveway toward the ditch so the water doesn't erode the driveway ever again. You can grade it easily with the box blade to have slope toward the side with the ditch side. No more ruts in the driveway to dig. Full length driveway ditch to the low area I think is the way to go. So much less maintenance and time several times a year. Just my 2 cents. It's your property and your labor, so you do you. Good video.
Here we call those crossbar ditches and we use them alot when reclaiming logging roads. I have one in my driveway as well due to an oilfield road coming off the mountain at the base of my driveway. I sure could use the old Ford 3,000 here for bush hogging, mowing driveway work and gardening. Only got 5 acres but more than a simple garden tractor can handle. I will be 61 in March and i just cant get out there and do things by hand anymore. I made a living on the strength of my back and its paid the price. When i was growing up a young pup we had a gasoline Ford 3000 and they in my opinion best tractors ever built. Great video as always.
I had a 5000. Great tractor. They have a hydraulic pump. Not very powerfull, but one symple function at a time it's fine. You might not be able to lift the arms and use another hydraulic function at the same time but especially if you feel a bit worn out a hydraulic 3 point connection will make lifting and spilling that material much easier. With all his adjusting and the small amount he can collect almost makes me think i would opt for a wheel barrel.
@@augustreil yeah I have heard them called water bars as well guess it just depends on how you learned or who done the teaching I guess. But they do work that is what counts.
This is the way my grandfather prevented water damage to his drives and it's the way I'm doing mine. In fact, at one time, my grandfather had virtually his entire farm terraced this way so that he didn't lose crop land to erosion.
Just a note to tell you how much I enjoy watching your videos. I’m a simple guy from up in Ohio, I‘ve been a country guy trapped in the city for 27 years. My wife and I are blessed to have a small 20 acre spread down in Southern Ohio (we’re tied to Cleveland for a couple more years to retire), and I get what you are about. It’s either something a person gets or they don’t. A love for the land and God’s creations. I’m planning on getting a mill soon and going to model a kiln after yours. Anyway...keep on keeping on Brother and my the Lord continue to bless you and your family!
Thank you, Mark! Wonderful comment. Although, I would encourage you to model a kiln after the Va Tech design instead of mine. It dries wood very well, but is very difficult to use because of the side doors. It was a learning experience. Thank you again for watching the channel!
@@dianabishop3633 You gotta get rid of the water. Find the low spot and connect it to your problem spot. If there is no low spot, dig a deep hole and put in perforated pipes making a french style drain.
I love the sound of those old Ford tractors. We had one in about 1970 or ‘71 that my brother bought new. It was a loader with a winch. That thing would pull. Loved that sound though.
Maybe consider placing a power pole/treated log in the same diagonal ditch you hand dug in this video, allow 1/3 to 1/2 of pole to be above the driveways elevation. As the water gathers and runs down the driveway, the pole above the driveway grade helps most of the water to be diverted along the uphill side/backside of pole. It's better having speed bumps than ditches in a driveway. Also, you may want to consider decreasing the angle of the diagonal ditch a little compared to what angle you have it in the video so the exiting water doesn't take rock with it.
I had the same issue with a similar fix. I cut a 6"pvc in half long ways put it in a trench like yours and put a grate over it. It pretty much stays clean and free flowing but can be cleaned out with a big bucket of water or a hose once in a while. Found the grate in scrap yard.
My solution to runoff going across my roadway was to buy 4 used railroad ties. I dug a trench like yours then I butted one tie against the other so it'd be wide enough to go the full width of the road, then I placed the other pair about 1 foot apart. To make sure they didn't move closer together I used those big 8" long nails from Home Depot that look like tent stakes and pounded several to the insides of the facing railroad ties. Any who the water runs fine and car and truck tires pass easily over the gap without ever going into the mud.
@WillieStubbs this is a brilliant idea and the best solution I have heard. I thank you for sharing. I will be using this in my own long and hilly driveway.
Just like a big pvc? I have a driveway that is on a hill and it’s washing into the neighbors yard. We don’t use the lot, it’s for sale just trying to keep the neighbor happy. Would this help?
You might rig up a large pointed shovel to attach to the 3 point hitch. In my younger years I had one on my garden tractor to plow out potato rows. Worked great. Better then that long handle shovel. lol
You have to eliminate the "walls" of dirt and leaves you have on the shoulders or edges of the driveway and lift up its center sort of the water run to each side of the driveway and once on its sides through the ditch, but even small walls will retain water and that will contribute to pot holes. That's why in any modern street the center is higher than the sides, and on the sides you'll see from time to time a register for the drain. Check any street or talk to all timers or see Andrew Camarata doing a driveway, then try what you can afford. And don't stop producing videos, we or I am learning while you do lots that I personally am trying to reach. Much respects to you and your family which somehow survived or fought for you to now continue in that land. Great job family!
Thanks for the video. In addition to trenching your driveway, you can lay down an old highway guardrail in the ditch, then grade your gravel to the top of the guardrail. Super cheap and acts as a gutter to shed the water. You won’t even notice it when driving over top if you grade properly. Old timer trick.
It's called a water bar. The Forest Service and loggers have been doing this for decades. My driveway has one at the top on the hill. My former home had two in the driveway. Everyone around here does it. And for all those who are saying put a pipe in, the problem with that is a pipe only moves water across the road, it doesn't deal very well with the water that runs down the road itself. It's the same principle as why highways are built with a crown in the center. Trench drains work in urban areas but tend to clog withing weeks in rural settings.
It's not necessary for "this old trick" to also be a suspension busting speed bump. Place a perforated pipe in your little ditch and cover it with coarse gravel.
Sooo you've done that yourself? Put the perforated pipe in the ditch? You will soon learn that with the first run-off, those itty bitty slots in that pipe fill with crap and guess where the water runs? Straight down the road again! Make those open ditches bigger, wider and higher! Slow the water and the drivers down to a crawl! :D
@@ClissaT the gravel stops them filling with crap, it's a French drain they've been used for hundreds of years with perfect results. What you're describing is user error on your end.
I have made water bar like this in past , but now I prefer to make water bars with flexible rubber. I use old conveyor belts attached to pressure treated 4x4's that are buried at angle to road with 5 inches of belt above grade diverting flow off the roadway.
Have you ever tried using galvanized guard rail as a ledge to put in that cross trench it will be there locked in and it will channel the water away and keep from rutting out.
Thanks for the video. Country road water break. Best to scrape the existing road first before placing new gravel on it. Then put on new gravel and then scrape new material on top. It’s hard to find but, an old straight piece of galvanized guardrail turned upside in the water break sure works well. Pin it down with something or some spots of concrete on edges make it even better.
DUDE !!! I love your laid back - real time style. It is nice to see vids without endless fast cuts. My stone/dirt driveway was minimally affected during the 2013 Colorado flood rains. This whole place is on a low grade slope which took the water right on by the house. Your camera person and the drone operator got some great shots. This mini movie was a joy to look at and almost made me forget that I had come here for a how-to. Good show, mate ! :🦬
I am desperate for a solution to my downhill, steep driveway, which is washing away and starting to form ruts, just these past couple of years. Have a water problem now due to the dirt public road going past the entrance, and it began sending alot of water down the driveway over the last two years. Been thinking of what I can do. I'm a 60 yr old woman, in a rural area, with no machnery or implements, so digging a ditch like you just demonstrated will likely work well. Glad I saw this, thank you!
First, put down gravel throughout your driveway. You have a dirt road. Then, spend seven more nickels and install proper culverts and drainage ditches as needed. You're just substituting 3 times a year of labor for a small amount of basically one time expense and insuring that you do the labor forever, but never having a good road. There's being cheap and there's being stupid.
You don't seem to understand the problem.A culvert directs water horizontally from one side of a driveway to the other. His problem is water running straight down the driveway longitudinally. So he uses and berms and swales to divert the water to diversion ditches on the low side of the drive. This technique and a couple others are used in both trail building and driveways.
Bigger rock. Use #2 railroad ballast and then gravel crush & run (granite) on top so it goes into the ballast and locks it in. It won't need to be fixed every year.
I gravelled my drive with a shovel and wheelbarrow, it took some time and effort but I spread 20 ton within a couple of weeks, I made the same type of ditches to run the water off, its a very effective way to stop it all washing away from the rain.
I'm doing something with a shovel and pick and gravel. I dunno. We'll see. I put a culvert at the top to run a swale across the driveway and now I'm putting diversions above it to get the water from the drive way to the swales on the side. I plan on making a couple more of these types of things he made above and filling with coarse gravel. Maybe a perforated pipe covered with course gravel would be good. Just wasting time worst case. I'll watch how things work and probably learn something and maybe even fix the driveway with any thoughtfullness.
I’ve seen 1” thick rubber mats buried on edge that stick up about 3” that angle across the road and divert the water to ditches. That way you don’t have speed bumps also, they fold over when you drive over them.
Great job and hard work. I'm installing channel drains beside problem areas in our driveway where higher ground deposits mud onto the driveway after wet days. Might be inexpensive to cover that ditch with a steel grate across the driveway to keep it intact longer and make it easier to drive over. Nice tractor and great work!
Water bars are a good option but a much better option is a rolling dip, if done right once you get it done your done. Start about 15-20' on up hill side cut the road down about 3-4" deep on about a 45 to the out sloped or low of the road and feather the high side of the cut back to meet the rest of the road bed in about 10' or so. Much more driver friendly than having to stop to cross every Water bar in the road. We have used them on logging roads for years.
I enjoyed the video. Good job. Luckily my future driveway is flat Nevada desert land so will have different problems concerning mud and snow followed by 120 degrees heat. I have no idea how to do this stuff but will figure it out by watching nice videos like yours.
If you’d try putting a few very small ditches across the driveway and run them into the woods. Not real big ditches, just small enough that you can still drive across with little bumps. I did that to my drive and my sisters, and it helped slow the water flow.
I used old guardrails from the highway (bought them from the county after they were replaced with new ones) .. Lay it down on the surface put gravel up to it on either side. you barely notice it when you drive across it and it does the exact same thing. every once in a while you gotta clean them back out as gravel can wash and get dragged into it. Also i watched the ads so you'd get paid. Save the money for a front loader. lol
you should look for a used loader.. It could haul those beautiful leaves to the garden,, & all that sawdust // bark from the mill,, the garden will love you for it...We call those water bars going across the road,, sharper the angle less chance the water jumps over the bar.. By putting a 8//10 log in the ditch so it sticks up higher then the road 3 inches or so keep the water going more like a dam when you fill in around it.. missed seeing that little pup,, i had a beagle taller looked just like him ,, markings & face.Aloha
I know these are frugal times but the EGO Power + 765 CFM leaf blower works great at clearing leaves, debris, but its battery so it only lasts about 45 minutes at high power. They cost $329 at Lowe's.
Nice gate! What powers it? You have a really nice piece of property. On areas that are prone to washing out, I use asphalt millings. Try to get them at least 3" thick, place them early in the season so they compact well in the heat of the summer. They hold up very well and cost less than gravel here in Minnesota. If you find a road milling project close by you can sometimes get them delivered cheap or for free.
I do the opposite. I make a burm at an angle or as my wife calls them, speed bumps. I’d rather drive over a bump than across a ditch. Try it, It works really well.
2Ryled drag up some dirt across your driveway at a slight angle so water will flow into it and run down the angle into the ditch. Kind of like a speed bump but not straight across driveway at slight angle instead.
Thank you for taking the time to pass on your experience with your drive way and your method of keep up the battle with the weather. For those haters that all they can do is gripe out your video, well , may thier out house flood out to thier wifes she shed.😆😆. Thanks again, you show off😜.
Here's an idea: I saw another video on YT where the owner installed a 3" metal C Channel in his driveway at an angle, like you did, but you can drive over the 3" wide channel without a big bump. It channeled most of the water into the ditch, it got the job done and made for a smoother ride. He said if too much water went over the C channel he'd put in another one further down the driveway. Stay Safe.
Although our driveway is built on top of a marsh, the many loads of light shale have compacted themselves over the years. I don't think I could ditch by hand like you just did.
Old highway guardrail is an easy nearly permanent solution. Just bury a w beam in the gravel and the two dips act like trenches. It won't erode further and won't rust and it's easy to keep clean and open. An even cheaper alternative is a rubber razor. Basically a strip of old conveyor belt or something with most of it buried in the road. Leave about 4" sticking out. Tie the two edges to rebar or something driven into the ground like stakes so the rubber is pulled tight enough to stand up out of the driveway. When the water hits it it's diverted off the road. You can still scrape over either solution. You just lift up your blade a little to not hit them when you get to them. Both are easy low maintenance solutions. They won't create a new erosion issue for you like a ditch in your driveway.
Crown your road. Crown it as much as you can. Then watch how you plow snow on it. Put your trick ( water bar) in deeper but also longer (up and down the roadway) . The longer will make your wife happier and easier on your cars. Before retiring I managed miles of dirt roadway and have my own long lane. I like using my 8 N ford with 7 Ft straight blade over a box blade. The only time I like a box blade is if you need to move stone to another area some distances away. The straight blade works good for pulling the stone out of the ditch and putting the stone on top of the crown. The way I would teach grader operators how much crown you need is put a basket ball on the top of the crown and let it roll. The ball should get off the road surface as fast as it can (Flat land scape, straight to the edge. Hilly land scape, Few feet down the roadway before the edge.) The longer water is on the roadway the more damage it can do!
There's a lot to be said for getting out in nature and doing hand work. I'm 71 and still like to get out and use hand tools. Don't get me wrong still use the tractor, chainsaws, blowers, and the like.
My neighbour used to have problems during heavy rain storms with water running off the road and causing wash-outs as it ran down their drive. When I bought the property I had a load of rock delivered, most of which I had spread down the drive, but a small amount I left in a pile close to the road, which I raked out into a slight berm. .... It's hardly noticeable but is just enough that in the past 13 years there has never been storm water run off the road and cause a wash-out.
@@jessebunker6062 A French drain, AFAIK, is a pipe of some sort buried in the ground, (I have seen a least a couple of variations described as being a "French drain") and what I described has no pipe, nor even any sort of ditch or channel, it is just some rock in a pile, a very flat pile.
Good job! Twenty years ago I worked in big timber operations in California and when they decommissioned roads they used to put what they called "rolling dips" on them with a skidder on the last trip out. Push a little dirt down the hill on an angle so the water hits the trough and runs off sideways instead of down the road. They're on an angle so you can drive straight over them with a pickup without bottoming out.
Hey pard make some checks on the hill to slow the water down and it will help slow it down. I've been in road construction for 38 years and I've built many this way and it helps. Not trying to be a know it all thanks.
Fall leaves & downed tree limbs are a never ending problem. The rain will wash dirt & rocks blocking your drain. A plastic drain will work wonders under the driveway. Your method is cheap & effective. But it will not last. I also suggest heavy large or medium sized rocks along your water drain evacuation from your driveway will help to prevent (reduce) water erosion. Several bags of concrete or martar spread over gravel & rocks will help to prevent erosion over your driveway drain. Just set it by setting it with water before it rains. It will also give your vehicle a bit of traction. Plus you will not have a pot hole in your driveway. Large rocks often pop upfront the ground. You can put them to use by lining the downhill water evacuation route.
I just saw where someone was using this method, only they were burying highway guardrails level with the ground in the ditch. Keeps you from having to redig the ditch multiple times.
nice land i dont mean to be rude or mean to you brother i have a drive way thats curvy and over 500 foot long in the forest same as you it gets messed up,a few things i can tell you that will help you ok,number one that trench you dug ,its just going to make a mud hole when you drive thru it,if you have a low spot like that dig a trench then put a 4 inch or 5 inch piece of pvc pipe in it then cover it up,then dig your side run away trenches,another thing, make a speed bump where you have the steep hills,ok the speed bump can be made of rocks cement what ever so the water comes down hill,hits it then goes off to the side then dig a trench off to the woods and its better to drive across then a mud hole like you dug you know,another option is make a small scale cattle guard with metal pipes,the water goes under,you drive across,you can even get 4 inch pvc cut finger size slots in it so water runs in it then out and you sink it flush so you can drive across,i havent tried it but hey,think outside the box,the best thing is stabbelized concrete then rock on top then roll it with your truck tires to pack it down,it will last for ever,hope i helped you,wish i had a tractor and a electric gate lol i have a wheel barrel and shovel.take care cave man.bye now.
A 6 or 8 foot long catch basin installed at the high point across the drive with a 4 to 6 inch corrugated drain pipe attached and buried below grade to the lowest point to drain one time , and you will never have to do this again if installed properly .
At 1:28-1:30 I had to go back and listen. I think I heard a chickadee! Mr. Chickadee isn't the only one with a chickadee in his videos! Also, your videoing/editing is really improving. I can't do it myself, but I notice it. :-)
"This old trick" is at 15:15. You're welcome.
People who like this comment clearly don't understand. It's all part of the process.
@@CoreyJenkins334 Watching someone ride up and down their driveway for 15 minutes to try to learn this "old trick" is a waste of time.
I disagree.
@@CoreyJenkins334 , lol , the devil just HAS to make an appearance haha
@@udavidism I agree with you brother!!! Just get to the damn point!!!
Keep Rocking!!!
You can continue to do that several times a year. Me, personally, I would use a backhoe (borrow from friend or rent one) and dig a ditch right next to the driveway down every hill to the low spot, where it would then be directed away from the driveway. Then grade the driveway toward the ditch so the water doesn't erode the driveway ever again. You can grade it easily with the box blade to have slope toward the side with the ditch side. No more ruts in the driveway to dig. Full length driveway ditch to the low area I think is the way to go. So much less maintenance and time several times a year. Just my 2 cents. It's your property and your labor, so you do you. Good video.
Exactly what we did years ago
This comment will save your 18min 17sec: Dig a ditch
Ha, I love you thx
You know if I had a old tractor I would constantly be coming up with reasons to make half hour videos as well.
Thanks I was starting to get pissed off
Thx💯
Thank you man )
Nice to see someone still working a shovel. Most people think it’s necessary to buy a $20,000 tractor these days to accomplish the same thing.
Eh, u just jealous. You know if you had one you would use it for everything. 😅
Here we call those crossbar ditches and we use them alot when reclaiming logging roads. I have one in my driveway as well due to an oilfield road coming off the mountain at the base of my driveway. I sure could use the old Ford 3,000 here for bush hogging, mowing driveway work and gardening. Only got 5 acres but more than a simple garden tractor can handle. I will be 61 in March and i just cant get out there and do things by hand anymore. I made a living on the strength of my back and its paid the price. When i was growing up a young pup we had a gasoline Ford 3000 and they in my opinion best tractors ever built. Great video as always.
I had a 5000. Great tractor. They have a hydraulic pump. Not very powerfull, but one symple function at a time it's fine. You might not be able to lift the arms and use another hydraulic function at the same time but especially if you feel a bit worn out a hydraulic 3 point connection will make lifting and spilling that material much easier. With all his adjusting and the small amount he can collect almost makes me think i would opt for a wheel barrel.
Ken, We call them ''water bars'' here in the Northeast, I do at least. Lol.
@@augustreil yeah I have heard them called water bars as well guess it just depends on how you learned or who done the teaching I guess. But they do work that is what counts.
This is the way my grandfather prevented water damage to his drives and it's the way I'm doing mine. In fact, at one time, my grandfather had virtually his entire farm terraced this way so that he didn't lose crop land to erosion.
Just a note to tell you how much I enjoy watching your videos. I’m a simple guy from up in Ohio, I‘ve been a country guy trapped in the city for 27 years. My wife and I are blessed to have a small 20 acre spread down in Southern Ohio (we’re tied to Cleveland for a couple more years to retire), and I get what you are about. It’s either something a person gets or they don’t. A love for the land and God’s creations. I’m planning on getting a mill soon and going to model a kiln after yours. Anyway...keep on keeping on Brother and my the Lord continue to bless you and your family!
Thank you, Mark! Wonderful comment. Although, I would encourage you to model a kiln after the Va Tech design instead of mine. It dries wood very well, but is very difficult to use because of the side doors. It was a learning experience. Thank you again for watching the channel!
I am selling my old circular sawmill if anyone is interested.
Why not throw a perforated pipe in there with a sock and bury it flat with stone, no sand.
That's what I had to do when I worked at a campground. Annoying as hell but its efficient.
@@gabrielpw. My drive way connects with neighbors above and I end up with an ice burg at my end. Stuck 4 2 weeks. Had to be towed out twice. HELP?
@@dianabishop3633 a drain running the water off somewhere to the side.
@@dianabishop3633 You gotta get rid of the water. Find the low spot and connect it to your problem spot. If there is no low spot, dig a deep hole and put in perforated pipes making a french style drain.
I love the sound of those old Ford tractors. We had one in about 1970 or ‘71 that my brother bought new. It was a loader with a winch. That thing would pull. Loved that sound though.
Maybe consider placing a power pole/treated log in the same diagonal ditch you hand dug in this video, allow 1/3 to 1/2 of pole to be above the driveways elevation. As the water gathers and runs down the driveway, the pole above the driveway grade helps most of the water to be diverted along the uphill side/backside of pole. It's better having speed bumps than ditches in a driveway. Also, you may want to consider decreasing the angle of the diagonal ditch a little compared to what angle you have it in the video so the exiting water doesn't take rock with it.
I had the same issue with a similar fix. I cut a 6"pvc in half long ways put it in a trench like yours and put a grate over it. It pretty much stays clean and free flowing but can be cleaned out with a big bucket of water or a hose once in a while. Found the grate in scrap yard.
My solution to runoff going across my roadway was to buy 4 used railroad ties. I dug a trench like yours then I butted one tie against the other so it'd be wide enough to go the full width of the road, then I placed the other pair about 1 foot apart. To make sure they didn't move closer together I used those big 8" long nails from Home Depot that look like tent stakes and pounded several to the insides of the facing railroad ties. Any who the water runs fine and car and truck tires pass easily over the gap without ever going into the mud.
Do you have a video of this? I just bought a property and need to repair the secondary driveway that the prior owner didn't take care of.
@WillieStubbs this is a brilliant idea and the best solution I have heard. I thank you for sharing. I will be using this in my own long and hilly driveway.
Glad to see the Ford up and working. Great video as usual.
Dig rut a little deeper and put a pipe in, and cover over top.
Thanks, I was almost 2 minutes in and haven’t learned a thing. Thanks for saving me time.
Just like a big pvc? I have a driveway that is on a hill and it’s washing into the neighbors yard. We don’t use the lot, it’s for sale just trying to keep the neighbor happy. Would this help?
It does not surprise me your land is 3rd generation. It shows in the caring way you take care of it. I enjoyed the video.👍🏻
You might rig up a large pointed shovel to attach to the 3 point hitch. In my younger years I had one on my garden tractor to plow out potato rows. Worked great. Better then that long handle shovel. lol
Ha! This will help me on a problem area on our small horse farm. Nice. Thank you.
I built a culvert from treated wood. Have to clean it every so often but it drives over smoothly. I do this stuff all the time. Hard damn work.
Nice video thanks for sharing good job done and I like your ford tractor it’s nice to see it working.
The best trick is a front loader
& a dump trailer!
No duh! The whole point is that not everyone has access to all types of equipment. Here, if you've got a strong back and a shovel this will help.
@@boyddelk6320 yup
for fortunate old guys, having a front loader saves the back
You have to eliminate the "walls" of dirt and leaves you have on the shoulders or edges of the driveway and lift up its center sort of the water run to each side of the driveway and once on its sides through the ditch, but even small walls will retain water and that will contribute to pot holes. That's why in any modern street the center is higher than the sides, and on the sides you'll see from time to time a register for the drain. Check any street or talk to all timers or see Andrew Camarata doing a driveway, then try what you can afford. And don't stop producing videos, we or I am learning while you do lots that I personally am trying to reach. Much respects to you and your family which somehow survived or fought for you to now continue in that land. Great job family!
At 6:02 i thought a My Self Reliance video had started up randomly in another tab. You got me bud!
Awesome video. Love the music you use while grading the drive way. Good job. Love the old tractor
What is the music group playing in the background ?
Thanks for the video. In addition to trenching your driveway, you can lay down an old highway guardrail in the ditch, then grade your gravel to the top of the guardrail. Super cheap and acts as a gutter to shed the water. You won’t even notice it when driving over top if you grade properly. Old timer trick.
Pretty cool cinematography! Nice shot of the creek and the forest in the background.
Tom Trantham Thank you, Tom!
From beekeeping to fixing a fouled up driveway. I love your videos.
It's called a water bar. The Forest Service and loggers have been doing this for decades. My driveway has one at the top on the hill. My former home had two in the driveway. Everyone around here does it. And for all those who are saying put a pipe in, the problem with that is a pipe only moves water across the road, it doesn't deal very well with the water that runs down the road itself. It's the same principle as why highways are built with a crown in the center. Trench drains work in urban areas but tend to clog withing weeks in rural settings.
It's not necessary for "this old trick" to also be a suspension busting speed bump. Place a perforated pipe in your little ditch and cover it with coarse gravel.
Sooo you've done that yourself? Put the perforated pipe in the ditch? You will soon learn that with the first run-off, those itty bitty slots in that pipe fill with crap and guess where the water runs? Straight down the road again!
Make those open ditches bigger, wider and higher! Slow the water and the drivers down to a crawl! :D
@@ClissaT the gravel stops them filling with crap, it's a French drain they've been used for hundreds of years with perfect results. What you're describing is user error on your end.
I have made water bar like this in past , but now I prefer to make water bars with flexible rubber. I use old conveyor belts attached to pressure treated 4x4's that are buried at angle to road with 5 inches of belt above grade diverting flow off the roadway.
Have you ever tried using galvanized guard rail as a ledge to put in that cross trench it will be there locked in and it will channel the water away and keep from rutting out.
Thanks for the video. Country road water break. Best to scrape the existing road first before placing new gravel on it. Then put on new gravel and then scrape new material on top. It’s hard to find but, an old straight piece of galvanized guardrail turned upside in the water break sure works well. Pin it down with something or some spots of concrete on edges make it even better.
DUDE !!! I love your laid back - real time style. It is nice to see vids without endless fast cuts. My stone/dirt driveway was minimally affected during the 2013 Colorado flood rains. This whole place is on a low grade slope which took the water right on by the house. Your camera person and the drone operator got some great shots. This mini movie was a joy to look at and almost made me forget that I had come here for a how-to. Good show, mate ! :🦬
I am desperate for a solution to my downhill, steep driveway, which is washing away and starting to form ruts, just these past couple of years. Have a water problem now due to the dirt public road going past the entrance, and it began sending alot of water down the driveway over the last two years. Been thinking of what I can do. I'm a 60 yr old woman, in a rural area, with no machnery or implements, so digging a ditch like you just demonstrated will likely work well. Glad I saw this, thank you!
First, put down gravel throughout your driveway. You have a dirt road. Then, spend seven more nickels and install proper culverts and drainage ditches as needed. You're just substituting 3 times a year of labor for a small amount of basically one time expense and insuring that you do the labor forever, but never having a good road. There's being cheap and there's being stupid.
Nice tips Wes! Lovely to see that Ford 3000 is still going strong!
The hill folk called these " thank you maam's ". Been grading gravel drives over 50 years, have a few neat tricks.
Guardrails work best for cross ditches lay it in your ditch you dug and fill in around it
How about a concrete culvert? Dig once, fill once, walk away .
You don't seem to understand the problem.A culvert directs water horizontally from one side of a driveway to the other. His problem is water running straight down the driveway longitudinally. So he uses and berms and swales to divert the water to diversion ditches on the low side of the drive. This technique and a couple others are used in both trail building and driveways.
Just put in a concrete road, cheapskate.
Bigger rock. Use #2 railroad ballast and then gravel crush & run (granite) on top so it goes into the ballast and locks it in. It won't need to be fixed every year.
I gravelled my drive with a shovel and wheelbarrow, it took some time and effort but I spread 20 ton within a couple of weeks, I made the same type of ditches to run the water off, its a very effective way to stop it all washing away from the rain.
I'm doing something with a shovel and pick and gravel. I dunno. We'll see. I put a culvert at the top to run a swale across the driveway and now I'm putting diversions above it to get the water from the drive way to the swales on the side. I plan on making a couple more of these types of things he made above and filling with coarse gravel. Maybe a perforated pipe covered with course gravel would be good. Just wasting time worst case. I'll watch how things work and probably learn something and maybe even fix the driveway with any thoughtfullness.
This makes me feel better. I’m halfway thru cutting a driveway and was just wondering if I know what I’m doing.
I’ve seen 1” thick rubber mats buried on edge that stick up about 3” that angle across the road and divert the water to ditches. That way you don’t have speed bumps also, they fold over when you drive over them.
Dale Adkins Interesting! Thanks for sharing that!
Why don't you put perforated drain in that ditch and back fill with gravel.🤔
South Carolina 5 of them going up mountain drive works well
Going to try your method.
Great job and hard work. I'm installing channel drains beside problem areas in our driveway where higher ground deposits mud onto the driveway after wet days. Might be inexpensive to cover that ditch with a steel grate across the driveway to keep it intact longer and make it easier to drive over. Nice tractor and great work!
Water bars are a good option but a much better option is a rolling dip, if done right once you get it done your done. Start about 15-20' on up hill side cut the road down about 3-4" deep on about a 45 to the out sloped or low of the road and feather the high side of the cut back to meet the rest of the road bed in about 10' or so. Much more driver friendly than having to stop to cross every Water bar in the road. We have used them on logging roads for years.
We call them Water Bars here in the Northeast. Thumbs up !!
Similar to ditches dug for hiking trails. Basically, water is shunted off to the side.
Watching you work makes my back hurt
I enjoyed the video. Good job. Luckily my future driveway is flat Nevada desert land so will have different problems concerning mud and snow followed by 120 degrees heat. I have no idea how to do this stuff but will figure it out by watching nice videos like yours.
Yeah that won't last long when all the delivery trucks and various other heavy vehicles run through it. You'll be doing this every couple of weeks.
My driveway is short and flat, thanks for the video.
If you’d try putting a few very small ditches across the driveway and run them into the woods. Not real big ditches, just small enough that you can still drive across with little bumps. I did that to my drive and my sisters, and it helped slow the water flow.
Just found and subscribed -thank you. What a truly charmed life you must lead.
I used old guardrails from the highway (bought them from the county after they were replaced with new ones) .. Lay it down on the surface put gravel up to it on either side. you barely notice it when you drive across it and it does the exact same thing. every once in a while you gotta clean them back out as gravel can wash and get dragged into it.
Also i watched the ads so you'd get paid. Save the money for a front loader. lol
Lol. You should ask Santa for a cordless leaf blower. One of my better investments, for sure. Nice job. Thanks for posting.
you should look for a used loader.. It could haul those beautiful leaves to the garden,, & all that sawdust // bark from the mill,, the garden will love you for it...We call those water bars going across the road,, sharper the angle less chance the water jumps over the bar.. By putting a 8//10 log in the ditch so it sticks up higher then the road 3 inches or so keep the water going more like a dam when you fill in around it.. missed seeing that little pup,, i had a beagle taller looked just like him ,, markings & face.Aloha
water bar. work this in the rain to direct the water most effectively.
One of my favorite channels lately
My next life!
Kyle Banner Thank you, Kyle!
I know these are frugal times but the EGO Power + 765 CFM leaf blower works great at clearing leaves, debris, but its battery so it only lasts about 45 minutes at high power. They cost $329 at Lowe's.
You need a good back pack blower to rid the leaves out of the gravel.
Love your music. Love your place. Thanks for sharing!
We called them water bars we put them in our skid trails when we Logging
We call them water bars in Vermont. On the ski trails they can be 5’ deep. Hang on to your wheeler!
Nice gate! What powers it? You have a really nice piece of property. On areas that are prone to washing out, I use asphalt millings. Try to get them at least 3" thick, place them early in the season so they compact well in the heat of the summer. They hold up very well and cost less than gravel here in Minnesota. If you find a road milling project close by you can sometimes get them delivered cheap or for free.
I do the opposite. I make a burm at an angle or as my wife calls them, speed bumps. I’d rather drive over a bump than across a ditch. Try it, It works really well.
How please?
2Ryled drag up some dirt across your driveway at a slight angle so water will flow into it and run down the angle into the ditch. Kind of like a speed bump but not straight across driveway at slight angle instead.
That is the same thing we always do for the camp road, we called my Uncle the road commissioner, 2-3 times a years ditch the road. Awesome.
Thank you for taking the time to pass on your experience with your drive way and your method of keep up the battle with the weather. For those haters that all they can do is gripe out your video, well , may thier out house flood out to thier wifes she shed.😆😆. Thanks again, you show off😜.
Here's an idea: I saw another video on YT where the owner installed a 3" metal C Channel in his driveway at an angle, like you did, but you can drive over the 3" wide channel without a big bump. It channeled most of the water into the ditch, it got the job done and made for a smoother ride. He said if too much water went over the C channel he'd put in another one further down the driveway. Stay Safe.
A video called "GENIUS Solution for Driveway Erosion" used an old guardrail.
Thanks for the hint. We will try this here @RidgeLife.
Great use of the drone!
Looks like you could use a good Westendorf loader. They make front loaders for all types of tractors.
Although our driveway is built on top of a marsh, the many loads of light shale have compacted themselves over the years. I don't think I could ditch by hand like you just did.
Old highway guardrail is an easy nearly permanent solution. Just bury a w beam in the gravel and the two dips act like trenches. It won't erode further and won't rust and it's easy to keep clean and open.
An even cheaper alternative is a rubber razor. Basically a strip of old conveyor belt or something with most of it buried in the road. Leave about 4" sticking out. Tie the two edges to rebar or something driven into the ground like stakes so the rubber is pulled tight enough to stand up out of the driveway. When the water hits it it's diverted off the road.
You can still scrape over either solution. You just lift up your blade a little to not hit them when you get to them. Both are easy low maintenance solutions. They won't create a new erosion issue for you like a ditch in your driveway.
Crown your road. Crown it as much as you can. Then watch how you plow snow on it. Put your trick ( water bar) in deeper but also longer (up and down the roadway) . The longer will make your wife happier and easier on your cars. Before retiring I managed miles of dirt roadway and have my own long lane. I like using my 8 N ford with 7 Ft straight blade over a box blade. The only time I like a box blade is if you need to move stone to another area some distances away. The straight blade works good for pulling the stone out of the ditch and putting the stone on top of the crown. The way I would teach grader operators how much crown you need is put a basket ball on the top of the crown and let it roll. The ball should get off the road surface as fast as it can (Flat land scape, straight to the edge. Hilly land scape, Few feet down the roadway before the edge.) The longer water is on the roadway the more damage it can do!
Could you add gravel to the ditch you made so the water filter down through that?
Have you tried to use the box blade on an angle to cut a swale on the low side of the drive? Enjoyed the vid - nice work!!
Nice under the tractor shot at 6:04 showing the box blade doing it's job.
There's a lot to be said for getting out in nature and doing hand work. I'm 71 and still like to get out and use hand tools. Don't get me wrong still use the tractor, chainsaws, blowers, and the like.
You did what dad and I did on our farm but, we had to put a culvert in also.
My neighbour used to have problems during heavy rain storms with water running off the road and causing wash-outs as it ran down their drive. When I bought the property I had a load of rock delivered, most of which I had spread down the drive, but a small amount I left in a pile close to the road, which I raked out into a slight berm. .... It's hardly noticeable but is just enough that in the past 13 years there has never been storm water run off the road and cause a wash-out.
You have basically built a type of French drain,, and it is a staple in road construction. Well done.
@@jessebunker6062 A French drain, AFAIK, is a pipe of some sort buried in the ground, (I have seen a least a couple of variations described as being a "French drain") and what I described has no pipe, nor even any sort of ditch or channel, it is just some rock in a pile, a very flat pile.
Good job! Twenty years ago I worked in big timber operations in California and when they decommissioned roads they used to put what they called "rolling dips" on them with a skidder on the last trip out. Push a little dirt down the hill on an angle so the water hits the trough and runs off sideways instead of down the road. They're on an angle so you can drive straight over them with a pickup without bottoming out.
Rainbars.
Great idea..Thank you sir!
Where I live you better use baseball-sized Rock's first. Then chip rock after. Or after the first rain it'll be gone.
That’s a beautiful driveway. How long is it? Hopefully you don’t get a lot of snow.
That sure is one heckuva nice property. Love to have something like that.....next lifetime:)
There's only 1 life, this one.
Hey pard make some checks on the hill to slow the water down and it will help slow it down. I've been in road construction for 38 years and I've built many this way and it helps. Not trying to be a know it all thanks.
Find you a few pieces of guardrail and bury them where you want a water break. It will save you from having to re dig them every year.
Excellent videography!!
that's the same song that Shawn at My Self Reliance uses.......love the banjo
Robert N Cool! He’s a talented dude.
Fall leaves & downed tree limbs are a never ending problem. The rain will wash dirt & rocks blocking your drain. A plastic drain will work wonders under the driveway. Your method is cheap & effective. But it will not last. I also suggest heavy large or medium sized rocks along your water drain evacuation from your driveway will help to prevent (reduce) water erosion. Several bags of concrete or martar spread over gravel & rocks will help to prevent erosion over your driveway drain. Just set it by setting it with water before it rains. It will also give your vehicle a bit of traction. Plus you will not have a pot hole in your driveway. Large rocks often pop upfront the ground. You can put them to use by lining the downhill water evacuation route.
I just saw where someone was using this method, only they were burying highway guardrails level with the ground in the ditch. Keeps you from having to redig the ditch multiple times.
Love this! Thanks
nice land i dont mean to be rude or mean to you brother i have a drive way thats curvy and over 500 foot long in the forest same as you it gets messed up,a few things i can tell you that will help you ok,number one that trench you dug ,its just going to make a mud hole when you drive thru it,if you have a low spot like that dig a trench then put a 4 inch or 5 inch piece of pvc pipe in it then cover it up,then dig your side run away trenches,another thing, make a speed bump where you have the steep hills,ok the speed bump can be made of rocks cement what ever so the water comes down hill,hits it then goes off to the side then dig a trench off to the woods and its better to drive across then a mud hole like you dug you know,another option is make a small scale cattle guard with metal pipes,the water goes under,you drive across,you can even get 4 inch pvc cut finger size slots in it so water runs in it then out and you sink it flush so you can drive across,i havent tried it but hey,think outside the box,the best thing is stabbelized concrete then rock on top then roll it with your truck tires to pack it down,it will last for ever,hope i helped you,wish i had a tractor and a electric gate lol i have a wheel barrel and shovel.take care cave man.bye now.
A 6 or 8 foot long catch basin installed at the high point across the drive with a 4 to 6 inch corrugated drain pipe attached and buried below grade to the lowest point to drain one time , and you will never have to do this again if installed properly .
YES it will!!! Great vid
As someone that has been to the property. I can confirm the hill is pretty steep going up to the house
I did a lot around my farm with a 53 Ford Jubilee and a pond scoop.
John Murphy Takes some time, but it’ll do it.
I have a water bar in my driveway too. It works.
Love running my tractor. Good times
Great Plains Craftsman Nothing like it. Thanks for dropping by, Tim.
Great job enjoyed that thank you !!!
Mike Hornsby Thank, Mike!
At 1:28-1:30 I had to go back and listen. I think I heard a chickadee! Mr. Chickadee isn't the only one with a chickadee in his videos! Also, your videoing/editing is really improving. I can't do it myself, but I notice it. :-)
David Gagnon Thank you! I think you’re hearing the gate opener though. Thanks for stopping by as usual!
We called it a 'deadman', it definitely saved the driveway.