Excavator Project: Completing Land Clearing and Staging Area in 10 Working Days

Project Overview and Progress

• 🎯 The primary goal was to complete land clearing and establish a staging area within a 10-working-day deadline.
• 🌧️ Initial efforts focused on spreading stone to improve water runoff, with cold weather requiring equipment warm-up time.
• 🔥 A significant part of the process involved burning a large brush pile, including stumps and logs, to clear the area.

Staging Area Development

• 🚧 Stone was spread to create a parking and staging area, with ongoing efforts to fill low spots and improve drainage.
• 🪵 Stumps and roots were repeatedly added to the fire to ensure they burned thoroughly, with challenges posed by green material and stubborn clay.
• 🛠️ The path that didn't hold up well was reinforced with rock, and a ditch was cut to improve drainage.

Equipment and Operations

• 🚜 Equipment used included an excavator, skid steer, dozer, and motor grader.
• 🚚 Approximately 200 dump truck loads of dirt and 560 tons of stone were moved to complete the project.
• 💨 A fire break was created using the dozer blade to manage the burn pile and prevent spread.

Meeting the Deadline

• ✅ The project was completed by Thursday, meeting the original Monday deadline.
• ⏰ The team worked long hours, including 12-hour days and two Sundays, to achieve completion.
• 🚜 The final steps involved fine grading with the motor grader, cleanup with the skid steer, and rolling the stone.

Post-Completion and Next Steps

• 💧 After a light rain, the motor grader was taken home, and the excavator was used to restack the fire one last time.
• 🚧 A small trench was dug to ensure drainage for the now-flat, stone-covered area.
• 🪵 The remaining stumps were restacked and continued to burn, with a pile of topsoil left on-site.