I bought a shed but I need to dig a base to set it on. 12x22 area 4" deep. Landscapers want $1200 to dig out 4" and fill with gravel. That seems expensive so I called HD and they want $250 to rent a tractor for the day plus maybe 6 ton of gravel. Delivered that's probably under $200.
How hard would this be to do? Is this something harder than it seems and should I just pay up?? Thanks!
I don't know... how competent are you with using a tractor to dig it out? While keeping it level? How quickly do you need the base completed? You'll also need/want to rent a mechanical tamper to compact the gravel base. Does the $250 include delivery and pick-up of the tractor, or do you have a trailer to transport it?
While part of me agrees with you, other parts of me (like my aging back) thinks $1200 sounds like money well spent.
I'd spend the weekend digging out the square with a shovel, and then have someone dump the load of gravel in the middle of it. Spread it out with the same shovel, call it good. However, I look at this sort of thing as my "gym time". An hour or so a day of back breaking labor is good for you.
From a logistics standpoint, if you were to dig out the area yourself, do you have someplace to put that dirt? I have low spots on my lawn that absorb dirt from my projects, but not everyone does.
As long as digging a hole and filling it with gravel will not create a swimming pool for your gravel and rot anything you store in the shed. So consider some drainage in your plans if needed.
I like my sheds up off the ground with a wood floor.
I did concrete for a 10x12 and was probably under 500 after mixer rental
I've done this.
I bought a 12x20 shed and had a spot that was 90% level. I evened the rest out with a shovel and wheelbarrow. Then I had a load of gravel dropped right where I needed it. I was astonished at how hard and miserable it was just to level out the gravel. I didn't even have to shovel it, just move it around with a rake.
Next time, I'm paying someone else.
In reply to Ian F:
I used a tractor almost 40 years ago but that was only to brush hog so there would be some learning time. HD rents the tractor and trailer as a unit which my truck will handle.
I didn't intend on attempting this job but I was expecting 8-900 for the job . I already feel like I wimped out not building the shed and now the foundation too.
In reply to bentwrench :
No drainage issues in this area. The shed floor sits on 4 -4x4 runners which then sit on the gravel base
Are you up to shoveling 12,000 pounds of gravel? It's a LOT of work. Sometimes it's worth paying someone else to do stuff like this.
Play with a tractor for a day for $400 and pocket $800.
Pay someone $1200.
I know which I would choose.
As a note, shoveling gravel manually is a miserable existence. That E36 M3 don't shovel. Spreading with a tractor on the other hand...
I did this last year.
We replaced our old hot tub and I put in a new pad at the same time since the old railroad tie pad had disintegrated.
Dug out the old ties, removed the loose soil, built a new 10x10 frame from 4x4 PT, put down landscape cloth and then filled with crusher gravel.
Took me a week of evenings, $300.00 for three yards of gravel, delivered.
I had to schlep the gravel from the driveway to the back of the house in a wheelbarrow because there was no way to get a dumptruck in my back yard.
All in all, it wasn't bad doing it myself and I didn't need a compactor because the soil underneath was already hard as stone form 20+ years of the old tub on top of it.
I dug up a garden with a [steam shovel?] thing I rented, easy enough and less expensive than paying a day laborer or contractor. Since you're in Ohio, male sure to put a rod down a few feet and a chain to the 4X4s, some codes require it for the weather.
This cute little guy can be rented locally for ~$150/day. Your back is worth it!!
I did a 13x24 patio last spring and the best thing I did was take the rototiller to the spot first. It made the digging and scooping out the dirt considerably easier.
In high school I worked for a builder and once had to help the concrete guys throw gravel around the basement before they poured the floor. All of it was dumped on one end. Grab a shovel and start throwing gravel across the basement.
At 16 years of age I struggled doing this. The concrete guys called me a Bob Costas and hassled me.
oldopelguy said:I did a 13x24 patio last spring and the best thing I did was take the rototiller to the spot first. It made the digging and scooping out the dirt considerably easier.
Second this approach. Digging can kill you if you're not used to it. Getting the dirt level will be harder than spreading the rock. Make your life easy and loosen the dirt up before you start.
As for the rock, it's totally doable DIY, but it's not fun. We've been converting from mulch to rock in our landscaping this summer. So far I've moved 24 tons of it, and will probably need another 8 tons to finish. I've been taking my time, and not over exerting myself, but it's still a lot of weight. Once this is done, I plan on taking a break from rock work for awhile.
rustybugkiller said:I didn't intend on attempting this job but I was expecting 8-900 for the job .
how long will it take your body to recover from saving the $300 between what you're willing to pay and what the landscaper quoted?
AngryCorvair said:rustybugkiller said:I didn't intend on attempting this job but I was expecting 8-900 for the job .
how long will it take your body to recover from saving the $300 between what you're willing to pay and what the landscaper quoted?
He’s right. Or, think of it this way. Your going to have at least 500 into doing it yourself. So that means you are saving 700. I want 30 bucks an hour to dig gravel. It sucks. So, can you do it in under 23 hours of labor? If it takes anywhere near that, like a Saturday and Sunday, I say you are loosing money to get to do it yourself.
joey48442 said:AngryCorvair said:rustybugkiller said:I didn't intend on attempting this job but I was expecting 8-900 for the job .
how long will it take your body to recover from saving the $300 between what you're willing to pay and what the landscaper quoted?
He’s right. Or, think of it this way. Your going to have at least 500 into doing it yourself. So that means you are saving 700. I want 30 bucks an hour to dig gravel. It sucks. So, can you do it in under 23 hours of labor? If it takes anywhere near that, like a Saturday and Sunday, I say you are loosing money to get to do it yourself.
You guys are probably right. Just needed to confirm that I wasn't nuts paying that much. The good news is my neighbor gave me the number of his guy and he paid $750 for the same size area. Only difference is I'd rather have the dirt removed instead of me finding a place to spread it.
I would pay the landscaper, but I would also ask him if he can give you a discount.
I'd shop it to make sure you're getting a fair price, then pay somebody to do it. I'm not as young as I used to be, and digging, shovelling, and lifting wears me out a lot faster than it used to.
I did my own base for a patio a few years ago. Never even considered hiring a pro. I borrowed a tractor from my father in law, dumped my own gravel from a dump trailer and rented a compactor. As Toyman says, you get to play with a tractor AND you save money, what's not to like? 
I rented a JCB 3-cylinder diesel mini-excavator w/ two buckets and 12' reach from HD to dig out for a carport pad, 12 x 20. Shovel, rototiller and pick just bounced off the dirt so this was option II. Had room to dump dirt out back and never used a wheelbarrow to move any dirt but damn that was a lotta dirt to move. Bonus points for grading 150' of gravel driveway and parking spots w/ the front blade. No berkeleying way I coulda moved that amount of dirt or graded the driveway and did it all in daylight hours for only $250 plus fuel. Rented a power tamper after leveling the hole w/ shovel and rake work. Only real work was hauling gravel in after forming but I was younger then. I did the rebar and re-wire but couldn't find any extra help for the concrete even after offering $25/ hr, 3 hour minimum. HS and college kids didn't want the work. Farmed that out. I would prolly do it again except for the manual labor. I hate gravel work to this day.
Per the OP. Equipment rental seems reasonable. Finding manual labor for gravel work can be a bitch no matter the pay plus he has to have the dirt hauled out. Contractor may be best. We did find a builder supply that would deliver gravel in a concrete mixer, driver crept along while I guided the chute along the 150' of driveway to spread the gravel. They used to deliver on a tilt bed and creep along to spread, which was better than just dumping in one spot or a few. Might wanna see if any local suppliers can do that, easy way to fill that hole.
I just paid the man to put down our base for a 14x30' garage/shed we ordered from The Barnyard. What looked like a fairly level area was pretty far out of level (31" off from the highest to lowest corner). We needed 2 tri-axles worth of 3/4" process, and then the 4" of stone for the top. I watched the guy spread out the first load of stone, he spread 18 yards in about 20 min, and that included leveling and compacting it. In my view, it was money well spent and if I have issues, it's not the result of my work.
I would also see what the cash discount on $1,200 is.
We just had our 10x16 dropped on a level enough part of ground and called it good. About 6x8 was prepped from the previous structure, an 8' truck cap on top of a stack of cinder blocks. The was 8 years ago. Still doing fine.
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