We bought some property in southeast Idaho and are building a house. During excavation for the basement the rocks and gravel under the topsoil was brought to the surface and now this is what I am left with. I am trying to figure out what equipment to rent/borrow/buy in order to level the area and get rid of the rock so we can put in a lawn and a sprinkler system. I hope to save money and do it myself.
by majorgoals
33 Comments
remove the top 4 inches of soil/rock, at least, and bring in clean top soil
Have any kids? Pay/ bribe them for every bucket they fill.
Best equipment for this is a RockHound Landscape Rake.
Rent a mini or full side skidsteer. Have a roll off dumpster dropped off. Fill said dumpster. Have topsoil company drop off topsoil. Spread topsoil with skid.
They make rock hound type of equipment that essentially sorts the bigger rocks out of the soil but this looks like pretty bad soil even with the bigger rocks removed. I think I would haul in fresh topsoil. At least 4-6 inches of good topsoil. How much of the existing rock/soil that needs to be removed first depends on the lay of the land and the drainage situation. Maybe not much. I like to look around at what sets your grade. Things like your window area walls ( can typically be raised) and that new concrete being installed in front of the garage doors. Those things will tell you what you have to work with and still be able to create positive drainage away from your foundation. A decent outdoor laser level on a tripod is your friend. Whatever you do just make sure to get the grade right.
Man I love to make rock gardens out of this stuff. Believe it or not its all sellable product. I would spend few six packs of beer for yourself and some McDonald’s for the kids and collect for a few wekends.
Sundays are for picking stones and getting hammered.
Soil conditioner, then rake, rake, rake.
Post on Facebook marketplace “Free rocks, you load.”
Scrape a few inches off with a skid steer and replace it with screened topsoil
Get the chain gang buddy
A small tractor (sub compact) with a front rock screen bucket and a rear landscape rake. Some places will rent you this all set up and ready go to. You will have a large pile of rocks when done. I would focus on removing the largest rocks, then bring in some top soil.
Rock rake, shovel, wheelbarrow. Whether this is your soil type or if it’s fill, I suspect you’ll have rock through and through so I wouldn’t be disturbing it in depth. Get the top cleaned up and seed it down, roll it, and mulch. Lawn seed only needs positive soil contact, and a straw mulch cover until it establishes.
You guys are crazy telling this guy to rake up the rocks. This is all gravel, looks like pit run brought in during the construction of the new home because it was a mud hole.
Only answer is to bring in heavy equipment to remove all the gravel down to virgin soil. Then fill with grading soil for his new lawn.
York rake
I’m working on a cheap diy rock screener since I have this same issue. I only spent 6 months working on different versions so far, and I’m still less than $1000 invested into it….. Project creep is my weakness, if it’s something you struggle with also, just go rent the proper tractor and attachment for a weekend!
Rent a skid steer with a rock-hound attachment. There’s all kinds but this video gives you an idea of how it works.
https://youtu.be/U5qe0lRrfXk?si=s7lLZqZ1Hrl-PBB7
If it’s rocky / sandy down for several feet , just adding 6” of good topsoil isn’t going to help much. Maybe a robust irrigation system as well? Good luck
Buy a really sturdy rake and a truckload of topsoil.
Break out the trommel!
So. You can get rid of them but if there are more they will continue to surface. Forever…
This is pretty typical at a construction site.
You could find someone with clean fill dirt and have the semi back haul the dirt with the rocks.
They’ll just screen it and resell it.
But a skid with the correct attachment is also a great fit
Plow it flat and then use vibro compactor to get stones into sand. then you have perfect surface for soil.
Houseplans, on youtube, just posted a video about how they prepared their lawn for sod and had to remove the rocks. I’d give it a watch, it should have some useful information.
Hire a Boy Scout troop or some other group
Rock hound or Harley rake
I actually like this idea because it solves the rock picking problem.
Rent a bobcat with a landscape rake attachment for that many rocks
Try to keep it as a rock garden and the grass will take it over.
You’re going to need a bobcat at a minimum to scrape this up, unless you want to slowly work on it for months.
What would you approximate is the cubic yardage you’d want to screen? Sounds like it might be too much for hand raking.
I work for a Bobcat dealership. Rent a Bobcat with a landscape rake. It’s scoops up all material and screens out large diameter material allowing soil to fall back onto ground. Works real well.
my builder used a rockhound to remove all the rocks