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My wife has decided that she’d like to have a waterfall and pond in the island that’s created by our keyhole-shaped driveway. If only she’d decided this before it was paved. There’s no power into the island. Anyway, the driveway is 10 feet wide, and is on a fairly steep angle. The base consists of two layers of rolled, crushed stone (the original gravel driveway leveled then another layer added and rolled) covered with 2.5 inches of blacktop. Under this is some of the most rock-filled ground that you’ve ever seen.
As an example, very early in the building process, I asked our contractor how long he thought it would take to get the house started. He said, “Three weeks and we’ll be pouring the foundation.” Five weeks later, he was still struggling with some of the boulders that were uncovered in the driveway and foundation areas. We still have a rock that was estimated to be 12′ x 16′ x 5′ in the crawl space. So going beneath the layers of stone is probably out.
I originally thought that I could take piece of stiff rebar and with a sledge, pound it under, and parallel to, the blacktop, but through the rolled stone. I’m afraid of possibly puncturing the blacktop from the bottom. Any other ideas that don’t involve cutting through the surface, or renting expensive equipment?
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How 'bout solar? Put the collectors on the island and don't run any wires through the driveway. If you run the waterfall only during the day, you won't even need storage batteries.
*I did what you describe, but under a sidewalk (another contractor cut through the TV cable, and rather than have a splice under a driveway we rerouted the line). And I only had about half of your distance, which is a lot easier. Still, FWIW, I used metal conduit so that I could run the cable through that when done. The bonus is that the sharp leading edge cut through the gravel bed real good. It clogged the end, of course, and we cut 3' off to find clean conduit, but it worked. Maybe start with a larger diameter conduit for the first five feet, then put a smaller one through that to keep it straight as you pound it the last five feet.
*Joe - Talk to a local electrician - they run under driveways all the time, usually without cutting. Several attempts might be needed to avoid rock. Trying to get through compacted crushed stone is almost impossible. Code is an issue too - conduit depth is 18" - if you have solid stone then you might have to negotiate with the subcode official a bit.Jeff
*JoeAnother way is to use water. Dig hole on one side of driveway, attach a straight nozzle spray head to a section of pvc pipe, attach water hose, adjust spray to steady stream, direct under drive and start "drilling". Using pvc, you can aim direction and have conduit for power. Done this numerous times with success. Don't know about your situation with all the rock.Vince
*Look in the yellow pages for a contractor that puts in gas lines or talk to your local gas company real nice. Most of the larger contractors and gas companies "punch" lines under streets, drives, etc.A hole is dug on each side of the driveway at the proper depth. The punch is lined up, compressor started, and you have a cup of coffee while the punch works its' way under the drive. When it reaches the other side, hook the conduite to it, reverse the ccycle and it pulls the pipe back to the first hole.I have seen them punch through a foundation wall when the crew decided they had enough time to go get lunch before it reached the second hole.Small punch cost maybe $150 to $200 to have a job like you describe done. Save your back for making DW happy in other ways.
*I'd 1) pay the pros to use their pneumatic ram, 2) saw cut the asphalt, lay UF cable, pour a few sacks of concrete with carbon black added to match the asphalt, or 3) if it would be fun for you, play with the solar option. The little invertors available now are smart enough to shut off before discharging the battery too much. Put in the lowest wattage little Giant pump into the invertor and you're set. Buy as much panel as you want to run the pump / pay for. -David
*How about using low voltage DC and cutting 2 slits into the blacktop about 1" deep and 1/4" wide and 2" apart. Use heavy wire with heavy insulation. Then repack with asphalt. Fuse protect the supply in the event of a short. You could run the lines inside of very small copper tube and seal the ends where the wire come out. Low voltage should cause no problems with inspectors, if there are any. You should be able to rent a saw to make the cuts.
*Check the yellow pages or ask around for a local company that does horizontal drilling. They can go under the drive and around the rocks.
*Thanks for the advice guys. I've considered various methods of cutting across the driveway, and had to reject those for one reason. I forgot to mention in my post that I live in Northern WV (Morgantown), and I also live outside of town only 7 miles but another 1100 feet in elevation. We get some pretty decent winter weather here, so I'm afraid that if I cut through the driveway, which is pretty steep (I also forgot to add that), I'll be letting the elements in even faster that usual.I had to rent an electric jackhammer to smooth out the base before the paving guys would come in, so I'm sure that the compacted gravel is pretty hard. We have three kinds of stone here. One is limestone (gravel is cheap), the second and third are two kinds of sandstone. One fractures into perfect, flat, flagstone layers, and the other is what the old guys call "that god-damned grey sandstone", that I pounded on with that jackhammer and a "hoe cat" (a Bobcat with a hammer attachment) for days, just to get the foundation in this place. When I worked on smoothing out the driveway, I smacked one rock for around an hour just to get a small bucket of sand off it. I like the idea of contacting the electrical contractors in the area. I'll try that first - and all the methods of pounding conduit, etc., next.Thanks a bunch
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My wife has decided that she'd like to have a waterfall and pond in the island that's created by our keyhole-shaped driveway. If only she'd decided this before it was paved. There's no power into the island. Anyway, the driveway is 10 feet wide, and is on a fairly steep angle. The base consists of two layers of rolled, crushed stone (the original gravel driveway leveled then another layer added and rolled) covered with 2.5 inches of blacktop. Under this is some of the most rock-filled ground that you've ever seen.
As an example, very early in the building process, I asked our contractor how long he thought it would take to get the house started. He said, "Three weeks and we'll be pouring the foundation." Five weeks later, he was still struggling with some of the boulders that were uncovered in the driveway and foundation areas. We still have a rock that was estimated to be 12' x 16' x 5' in the crawl space. So going beneath the layers of stone is probably out.
I originally thought that I could take piece of stiff rebar and with a sledge, pound it under, and parallel to, the blacktop, but through the rolled stone. I'm afraid of possibly puncturing the blacktop from the bottom. Any other ideas that don't involve cutting through the surface, or renting expensive equipment?