Sometimes people just need a level surface because the driveway erodes too substantially. This is what just happened to a cool guy in Van Alstyne. He's got a big truck while his relatives don't. So, instead of them bottoming out or leaving their cars at the end of the long drive, he decided to do something about it.
We got in there with several large loads o materials and brought a severely damaged driveway back to level. We skimmed it with hot asphalt to keep the cost down and give him a good surface, and got his property in a nice, drivable condition to fit his lower budget. This extremely damaged property went from falling off the sides of his property, to flat as could be. It extended the life of the driveway for years without a huge expense. Give us a call at 214-305-3262 if you need us to take a look at your damaged driveway in North Dallas areas including Celina, Gunter, Van Alstyne, Allen, Fairview, Frisco, Little Elm and many more. Celina Tx is beautiful country alright! These days it's a wonderful mix of vintage rural Texas meets high-speed Internet. It's got some amazing businesses, ranches and horse farms, wineries and other cool places, along with old and new residential properties with one thing in common - the people who live and work in Celina take pride in it.
We've been in Celina working nearly every day and it's obvious that there is a unity about the town, one based on progress and success. But underlying the optimism there's trouble brewing. The conveniences of city life are close at hand these days, so close that the challenge now is taking the good without the bad. It's making modern-day improvements without shedding any of that remarkable Texas tradition. Put another way, we're not all cowboys waiting on our friends to winch our pickup out of a patch of mud, only to brag about it later at the local bar. Today, vehicles from motorcycles all the way up to the heaviest semi trailers are pounding the living daylights out of the roads, parking lots, and rural driveways. This means divots, worn and washed away areas, water puddles, mud, dust, and bumps of all magnitudes are no longer acceptable. The non-cowboy folks in small cars are bottoming out and some bigger vehicles are getting stuck in the mud - and nowadays they're not bragging... they're angry, late, and worried instead. So, rough and tumble Texas just needs a way to fix itself up, without huge expense, and with a product that will be easy to maintain. Oh, and it has to take that Texas sized punishment, too. Fortunately, we're solving erosion problems, grading issues, and covering all the dusty stuff and ankle twisting rocks with a crushed asphalt that retains a country look with some loose stones on top, but a hard surface underneath. The product just needs to have a bit of that Texas heat and some moisture and it will firm right up, tackling all the diverse needs of the new-school wild west, one where we need a bit of civilization to go along with our rugged and free attitudes. That's not all though, there are many ways to get a level driving surface, from low-budget right on up. There's no budget we can't work with. Some jobs require just simple maintenance, others may have some drainage concerns, and many need a chip stone, tar and chip, recycled concrete, crushed asphalt, hot mix skim coat, or full hot mix asphalt driveway to solve their problems. We understand the area well, so call 214-305-3262 and you'll discover that there's no reason anything should keep you from fully enjoying the remarkable lifestyle Celina has to offer. Note- the photo above was a very dusty and bumpy business parking lot where many large trucks ripped it up over time. We leveled it off, added base rock to strengthen the base, and used our paving machine to lay down a flat level surface. We finished the job by rolling it all in and compacting it. Now mother nature will do the rest and all those heavy trucks can do their best to wreck it. If they succeed in any way, we just add a bit more material and re-roll it. If they don't, they'll just be enjoying the amazing dust-free parking lot for many years to come. This place is absolutely amazing. Not only is it a True Value hardware store and farm supply store, it's a gift shop, petting zoo, and a great restaurant - all in one!
It's actually quite a busy place and deservedly so. The only issue over time is that they get so much heavy traffic that their nice country road driveway became a bumpy ride, one in which we were happy to fix up for them. We were asked to help with the drive in and opted to pave the driveway with crushed asphalt for a nice solid base - one that would retain that country driveway look. Once the road in was graded we applied the crushed asphalt with a paving machine and used a roller to compact it before the daily line of big trucks arrived for lunch and supplies. It turned out really nice. Now we're looking forward to the next stage of the project (grading the large parking areas on the sides of the building to improve stormwater drainage). Now that the new material is on the main driveway, heat and moisture will go to work hardening the material into a solid enough road to handle all the heavy vehicles, and allow for easy maintenance over time. If you get a chance, go see the great folks there at Preston Trail Farms just off of Preston Rd. (State Hwy. 289) in Gunter, Tx. Just tell 'em the folks at Allstar Paving sent ya. There's a perfect, inexpensive solution for rural driveways that have become worn and bumpy. In many cases, that solution is chip rock.
It is the least expensive way to have a level driveway, one free of mud, washboards, and potholes, and one that is easy to maintain. After grading the existing surface, laying chip rock down with a chip spreader allows for an even coat of rock along the driveway. Much later you can put additional chip rock on top if needed to refresh it. Easy peasy. Sometimes it's best not to overthink it, or overspend on it. The Story... In Celina, Tx. a rural homeowner decided it was time to fill in a pool that had been retired and empty for an extended period of time, and gave us a call. A few weeks earlier the homeowner sat down to consider his choices. He could upgrade all the pool equipment, resurface the pool, fill it with new water, and meet whatever pool fencing requirements were needed, or come up with another plan entirely. Simply putting a pool cover over it wasn't an option because the equipment wasn't in working order. This meant that the cover would be put over an empty pool. That's not good. If he filled it, the water under the cover wouldn't be circulating, so that was out as well. The homeowner could have gone the pool removal route, but that would mean having to redo the cement patios and walking path that went along the house to the back door. That route was also prohibitively expensive, even before the concrete work was taken into account. The Solution... He finally decided that it was far easier and cheaper to get the pool filled in. The plan was to remove debris from the bottom of the pool so drainage holes could be set in the concrete pool bottom. From there, fill in the pool with dirt and pack it in. With a smooth surface back there, he would have no trip hazards or safety issues. We put a number of holes in the bottom of the pool (after relocating three turtles that had called the pool home), backfilled it with course fill, topped it off with sandy loam, and packed it along the way to keep it nice and even with time. The homeowner is turning the hot tub into a fire pit so we added some gravel to get that started for him, and the main pool area will get some grass seed. Eventually he will be fencing in the exterior so the dogs can enjoy a nice enclosed yard during the day. Can I Fill in an In-Ground Pool Myself? All-in-all, filling in a pool in Texas is not something we would recommend a homeowner take on themselves. There are a lot of DIY projects a rural homeowner may encounter, but this one is tougher than most for the reasons mentioned next. Even if a homeowner were to have (or rent) the right equipment, working with heavy machinery near a deep hole can be very dangerous or expensive if something went wrong. On top of the issue of moving tons of dirt, properly packing that dirt is another matter entirely. If the soil is not rolled in, it will sink, leaving uneven soil at the surface. Lastly, the job needs to pass city inspections along the way, which could be an additional problem for a homeowner. The Specifics (cost & timeframe)... The cost of filling in a pool depends on the condition of the pool, the size and depth of the pool, its location, and the access to that pool. With so many variables, it's hard to estimate without looking at it. As far as price range goes, If the pool hasn't been used in a long time, chances are it's more expensive to replace all the equipment and resurface, than it is to fill in with dirt. You can also assume that it will be more to remove it entirely than it is to fill it. This means that filling in a pool with dirt is very likely the cheapest way to go. Of course, these estimates are generalizations. If you have a pool that you can update inexpensively, keeping it in working order would probably be the best solution. This is really case-by-case based on what you're trying to accomplish, your situation, and your budget. We are here to help you decide which route to go if it you want to talk it through. Having said that though, we only work in North Dallas in areas such as Frisco, Little Elm, McKinney, Sherman, Denton, Denison, Fairview, Anna, Melissa, Celina, Gunter, etc. As far as timeframe, depending on the size of the pool and its location, a pool fill in would generally take anywhere from one to three days. From there, let the soil settle before planting grass on it for a few weeks. Happily Relocated Turtle.
Texas has it's share of extreme weather. The heating and cooling of the ground through the seasons along with rain and vehicle traffic exaggerate any soil issues under country roads and driveways. Simply put... over time, country roads get bumpy. A Celina, Tx rural neighborhood asked us for help after the roads into their properties became too damaged. Leaving and getting home everyday was a jittery, jaw clambering experience, one where bumps were jarring and uncomfortable. As if that wasn't enough, the driveways were long, and the roads even longer. Grading the roads and adding material to it was a cost effective way to put homeowners at ease, without the expense of installing new private roads. Many residents took the opportunity with us out there to upgrade their driveways as well. The result? Homeowners in this private rural neighborhood of Celina, Texas went from buying replacement shocks for their cars, to enjoying a leisurely country drive home. You don't have to wait until the road is impassible to have it fixed—even if you have a private road with an HOA that doesn't want to spend a lot. Just reach out, get us to take a look at your problem for you. We can fix the issues without completely redoing the road using any combination of excavation & grading, crushed concrete, recycled asphalt, or chip rock. PHOTO SLIDESHOW: When a trip hazard in the restaurant parking lot reared it's head, Texas Roadhouse gave us a call. They weren't going to let things get worse. Once we checked it out it was clear that a safety issue was clearly developing at the Texas Roadhouse in Sherman, Tx.
The first thing we did was clean and prep the area. From there, a high-quality hot mix asphalt mix was applied to the low spots. This was rolled in and compacted, leaving a smooth, level and safe surface—one without any trip hazards. If you're experiencing something like this at your commercial parking lot, restaurant, strip mall or other office building, give us a call. We can generally take care of these trouble areas without disturbing your day-to-day operations, and will be in and out quickly so you can get on with business without worry or liability. When a property owner in Texas split his lot in two, the new house had no driveway. Pulling in was difficult, or completely impossible when the ground was wet. They were getting stuck in the morning if it rained overnight, and parking on the thin rural street wasn't convenient or safe. The situation they were in was no longer going to be an option for these McKinney, Tx homeowners. Clearly, a new driveway was needed—but they didn't want to spend a lot. Because there was a ditch between the road and the more flat areas of the property, a culvert was the first step. From a drainage perspective, this is not something you can avoid. Fortunately, a culvert is not a huge expense. Regardless, interrupting the natural flow of water along the street is simply not allowed. From there, it was just a matter of using a crushed recycled concrete product to give the new improvement a long-lasting, quality drive in—one without a chance of getting stuck in the mud. These awesome homeowners in McKinney, Texas can expect that with time, rainfall will allow the finer particles to sift to the bottom and harden into a nice, solid base with small stones on top. PHOTO SLIDESHOW: In Celina, Tx, we installed a crushed concrete driveway for a man on a budget. Coming in at a very reasonable price despite a number of interesting challenges thrilled this homeowner.
We removed grass in preparation for a new outbuilding. Next, we removed several small trees and shrubs. After that, we needed to remove a large grassy area where a new parking area would be. Finally, we finished the job by installing a long crushed recycled concrete driveway with a paving machine to ensure a flat surface and rolled it in with a roller. To top it off, we gave a bit of grading to the road, ensuring a smooth ride when turning into the property. It went from grass to finished in one day. Now rain, heat, and time will settle out the dust, turning it into a long-lasting durable surface. |
ALLSTARTake a look at our recently completed projects! These are all jobs we were asked to do for your neighbors here in North Texas! Enjoy! Archives
November 2019
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