Six to seven+ tons of sand - warning

[joebryant]

Take heed if you're planning to build a run and fill it with sand. I ordered three yards of sand yesterday. Depending on the amount of moisture, sand and dirt weigh approximatily 2 - 2 1/2 tons per cubic yard. @#$%^^% WHAT A JOB moving it into the new run!
Have your sand dumped inside the run BEFORE you build the run.
Ah'm tard already, and I just got started.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Oh my! Don't you love when you figure out things like this AFTER the fact?!?!

 

[1WildHairL8tr]

Can you entice a neighbor to bring over their tractor?
Sounds like back breaking work! Yikes!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
That's the story of my life. The problem is that once I learn it, I never have a chance to use it again, e.g., there's no chance of my EVER building a coop of run again. This one has come close to killing me, and I'm still not finished.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
I wish; however, a tractor couldn't fit through the four-foot gate. Wish that I were as strong as I am good-looking.

 

[SunAngel]

We have gone and gotten 3 tons of sand so far to put inside our run....3 pickup truck fulls.

It pays to have teenage kids that can shovel sand into the wheelbarrow for you lol. Its definitely a tiring and painful job, but gets you in good shape.

I still want a couple more loads before winter to make sure its nice and deep before the rains and snowfall.

Whats sort of frustrating is, we put the run where our above ground pool was, which had a deep bed of sand under it. We worked on taking up a bunch of the sand and using it in different parts of the yard because I didnt know it would make a good floor for the run. So now after all that work, here we are replacing all the sand we took out lol. It pays to research beforehand, not afterwards!

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
That's the story of my life. The problem is that once I learn it, I never have a chance to use it again, e.g., there's no chance of my EVER building a coop of run again. This one has come close to killing me, and I'm still not finished.

I do understand! You sound like me there! That's why I had to laugh!

 

[patandchickens]

I usually get about 20 tons of roadbase or gravel each fall for various places in the horse paddock, almost all of which has to be moved by wheelbarrow (we have no tractor), so hey, I hear ya

I suggest doing it a little bit each day. Easier. Less exhausting. Grows better muscles that way too

Have "fun" <snort>,

Pat

 

[Dustoff79]

How about using a small "bobcat" to move the sand? I borrow a friends as it fits in much smaller areas. I also have a small front-loader attachment for my riding lawnmower that works great to move small loads.

 

[AllChookUp]

Joe - Based on a picture of yourself you showed us in a previous post, I would have thought that much weight would be no big deal at all.

Check out Joe's post at the bottom of page 3 of this post:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=70400&p=3


Just kidding around, tho - I know sand, rock, gravel - all of it - doesn't sound like that big of a deal in theory, but man, the weight really gets to you after a while.


It becomes back-breaking work after a certain age. I'll admit it.

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