Measuring, New Venue

So although I have given up on the sod guy doing the work in the chicken area, I did call the reference he gave me for fill that will be needed to raise the ground level.  I told him I was interested in three loads of fill.  Later in the day I was wondering if there would be any issue getting through the gate that leads to the backyard.  I texted the guy and asked how big of an opening he needed to get the dump truck through.  His answer of 12 feet didn’t give me a good feeling as I was pretty sure the front gate is only 10 feet wide.

When I got home last night I confirmed with a tape measure that the gate is indeed 10 feet wide.  The gate on the side of the property facing the neighbors is actually a 12 footer but it would be impossible to swing the truck in that way without tearing the hell out of my neighbors yard.    I texted the guy back with the info.

I asked him how wide his dump truck was.  He said it was 8 feet wide plus the mirrors.  I told him that we had successfully moved an 8 foot wide RV in and out of the 10 foot gate several times.  I also told him the fence was only four feet high so his wide mirrors should clear the fence posts without a problem.  He said we could try which is all I can ask.  The delivery is scheduled to happen Tuesday morning.

I need to do some prep ahead of the delivery.  I want to mark the sprinkler head locations in the yard so we can avoid driving over them.  I also need to unfasten more of the chicken fence and possible remove one of the fence posts.  When I was originally talking to the landscape guy that never calls me back he indicated we would dump the fill outside the area and then he could use his Bobcat to move the fill into the chicken area and spread it.

My revised plan is to have a big enough opening in the fence where the dump truck can just back into the area and dump two loads back there, which should be a big time saver.  The third load will likely go in the low area outside the fence line so we can further reduce the size of the lake that forms during wet season.  I then have to decide if I want to rent a Bobcat to push the fill around or do it in a more manual fashion.  A Bobcat would be a timesaver and more “fun” although it will likely add another  $400-$500 to the project cost.  After that I will get some sod delivered, hopefully all the way into the backyard where I can cover the freshly elevated ground to eliminate future high water events.

Tonight I plan to do something different with my run.  Instead of circling the local track for 12 laps which is undeniably boring, I am going to change at work and go to nearby Sugden park to run there.  I have run there a handful of times before as well as ridden my PEVs around the scenic pathway.  If I find myself enjoying the more scenic and diverse running experience there I can see it becoming a more regular venue for me.