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About Mark
Expertise
Design of landscape structures and design of planting arrangements in the landscape. I usually do not answer questions of a horticultural nature or about growing plants or gardening unless they are related to design. I will answer these questions at my discretion. I will answer maintenance questions at my discretion,usually when they are related to design. I am a landscape designer. I am not a contractor or a gardener. Here are example categories of problems I can help you with: Design of residential walks,low walls,low retaining walls,fences,drainage systems,arbors,plant selection,xeriscapes (low water use landscapes),rain garden design,rain water harvesting,permeable paving,sustainable drainage. No advise on an architectural or engineering level. I do not perform actual design work through this site. I only provide suggestions and advice. I am a skilled draftsman and can advise you about the kind of drawings,permits and construction documents you may need for your landscape project. Any landscape project should be layed out on a drawing but larger projects in particular,that may be contracted out,should have drawings and specifications for cost and quantity estimates and for competitive bids. A drawing and specifications will also become part of any contract made with a contractor and enhances the clients protection.

Experience
Landscape concept plan for a 30,000 square feet housing site. Involved site recon by pace measurements and photographs and a site analysis and a site analysis report and recommendations and a preliminary cost estimate. Design elements included canopy trees,shrub cover,accent flowers,trash receptacles,benches and planters. Landscape concept plan for a 7,000 square feet site for a community center. Involved site recon by tape measurements and photographs,a site analysis and the creation of 3 conceptual designs for the site. Work was done through a local professional design center. Design elements included tree garden,playground,sitting area,lawn,cooking area,lighting and concrete and brick paving. Landscape concept plan for a 3,000 square feet housing site. Involved site recon by tape measurements and photographs and a site analysis. Concluded in 3 concept designs for the site,shown at a formal presentation,a site analysis and recommendations. Work was done through a community volunteer program. Design elements included decks,a playground and fencing. Briefly as draftsman for landscape designer/gardener. Conceptual landscape design for residence. Involved site recon by tape and pace measurements and site analysis. Design included covered patio area,ground cover and flower beds. Two years experience as draftsman for transportation department in engineering firm and for engineering consultants to phone company. Duties consisted of plotting topography. Survey crew member. General assistant to surveyor. Work was done for U.S. Army and County Highway Department. No instrument work. Duties included tape measurement,holding graduated survey rod and plumb bob for sighting and clearing brush. Marketed Landscape Design Services. Brochure writing,promotional material and marketing graphics.

Education/Credentials
Course in Computer Aided Drafting. 700 hours in AutoCad 2000. 700 hours to date on AutoCad Light 2000. Certificate in Manual Drafting. 1200 hours drafting time. Course in Civil Engineering Technology. (One Semester)

Awards and Honors
From Civil Engineer: I am very impressed with your work and with the obvious thought you have put into the marketing of your venture. It was especially good to see a print of that job we discussed on the phone. I wish you much luck with the venture as I do with your plans for school. Im darn proud of you buddy. And by the way,when I get my license,maybe you will consider me for a consulting job down the road. I hope to get together with Rick sometime soon and I would really like to show him your stuff if its ok with you. From all these questions you ask I get the feeling that you are genuinely interested and have put alot of thought into the idea and process of landscape architecture and if you could possibly afford the cost I would urge you to take some classes in the areas you are most interested in. The subject is not so simple as it appears,mixing science and engineering with art and a certain amount of religion to create a comfortable and pleasing balance between man and nature. A thoughtful soul like yours can do this but it can be a lifes work getting it right.

You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Exterior Decorating > Landscaping & Design > my crushed granite path turned into mud when compacting

Landscaping & Design - my crushed granite path turned into mud when compacting

Expert: Mark - 10/17/2009

Question
I and a friend built a 100mm path thick of crushed granite, we done 3 stages. first stage we mixed cement and put a little water then compacted w/packer 2nd stage the same 3rd we laid the last course with no cement but we applied a little water before compacting then the crushed granite turned into mud and little holes in the path, then we applied a sprinkle of the crushed granite to fill the holes and what not and compacted again it worked except in some spots it looks like clay

Question? was I meant to compact the last course without applying water to it until its all compacted then wet it and let it settle and not compacted when wet.

thanx Robbie

Answer

terra pave

Hello,

The cement content (which should not exceed ten percent) should be mixed throughout the granite and the granite should be slightly moist and not wet when compacted.

If the top layer does not contain cement,the granite in that layer will of course become loose and shear off from the layer below and will become muddy when wet.

The cement and granite should be first mixed in a dry state and then layed down in 1 inch layers which are moistened,not made wet. If the layer becomes wet,wait til it dries to a moist state before compacting.

A wet layer of granite may still achieve the desired hardness when it dries out but sometimes if overwetted binding may not occur.

Decomposed granite containing tree resins as stabilizers (there is a product called terra pave that uses tree resin as the binding agent) are superior than that used with cement. These products appear to retain their hardness much better than decomposed granite with cement as the binding agent. Lime may also be used. You might want to test a small sample of the granite with lime to see what results you get. Use 5 percent lime in the mixture.

In my opinion decomposed granite is not a suitable paving material because it is too tricky to get right and will soften when wet. Its good used as a mulch and as a soil additive but has not proven successful as paving material,at least with cement as a binding agent. DG with resin as the binding agent shows much more promise but even that may not be as permanent as concrete or asphalt. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Harshman
http://www.harshmandrafting.com

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