Pile of large stones and bricks and big dirt pile

[Muse]

There are two non-dwarf plum trees in my back yard and over the years they have been getting really big. I have cut back one (tart red plums, that sweeten as they ripen) quite a bit, at least it's not overhanging the house and garage. The other (sweet yellow plums), is the bigger tree and I have my compost pile underneath it. The tree obviously likes that compost pile because it's been growing steadily and now has taken over a lot of the growing area (I like to grow vegetables). That tree is quite a ways from the house, but it overhangs much of the growing area, and of course, it keeps on growing, and as it gets taller, it gets harder and harder to trim back parts of it that shade the vegetable growing areas beneath.

I have looked at those trees and thought I'd like to just remove them, either myself or have it done (I've made about all the plum jam from them I could want and have it in jars). I have an electric pole saw I got at Costco around 10 years ago. I've used it to trim some of the branches and cut up the wood at times.

If those two large plum trees are removed I could plant a few smaller dwarf fruit trees. The yard would be easier to manage with trees that have limited growth potential.

The bigger, yellow plum tree now has a couple of piles below it. I piled lots of old not-so-hot bricks and many large stones all around the tree's trunk, just to get them out of the way. It's a pretty big pile now. In building up my growing beds in the heavily clay soil, over the years I've dug in lots of compost, and in doing so I've had to toss aside some of the denser, clay-ridden soil deep below. I've tossed that into a growing pile next to the pile of rocks that's at the base of the yellow plum tree. The pile has gotten pretty large, I'd estimate maybe 4 cubic yards at this point.

What are my options in dealing with those two piles (large rocks+bricks, dirt)?

Are there places that would want that stuff? I can conceive that the rocks and bricks could be added to a deep concrete fill. They are solid as hell. The dirt is not bad dirt, some clay in it. Do some people want piles of dirt? Or is my only reasonable option to hire someone who advertises that they do hauling and removal? I'm in Berkeley, CA.

 

[NoTine42]

I'm not sure about CA, but in the Midwest, it's not unusual to see signs or ads for "clean fill wanted".... In other words, people wanting dirt for full, as long as it does not have chunks of concrete or rocks.

 

[Greenman]

There are two non-dwarf plum trees in my back yard and over the years they have been getting really big. I have cut back one (tart red plums, that sweeten as they ripen) quite a bit, at least it's not overhanging the house and garage. The other (sweet yellow plums), is the bigger tree and I have my compost pile underneath it. The tree obviously likes that compost pile because it's been growing steadily and now has taken over a lot of the growing area (I like to grow vegetables). That tree is quite a ways from the house, but it overhangs much of the growing area, and of course, it keeps on growing, and as it gets taller, it gets harder and harder to trim back parts of it that shade the vegetable growing areas beneath.

I have looked at those trees and thought I'd like to just remove them, either myself or have it done (I've made about all the plum jam from them I could want and have it in jars). I have an electric pole saw I got at Costco around 10 years ago. I've used it to trim some of the branches and cut up the wood at times.

If those two large plum trees are removed I could plant a few smaller dwarf fruit trees. The yard would be easier to manage with trees that have limited growth potential.

The bigger, yellow plum tree now has a couple of piles below it. I piled lots of old not-so-hot bricks and many large stones all around the tree's trunk, just to get them out of the way. It's a pretty big pile now. In building up my growing beds in the heavily clay soil, over the years I've dug in lots of compost, and in doing so I've had to toss aside some of the denser, clay-ridden soil deep below. I've tossed that into a growing pile next to the pile of rocks that's at the base of the yellow plum tree. The pile has gotten pretty large, I'd estimate maybe 4 cubic yards at this point.

What are my options in dealing with those two piles (large rocks+bricks, dirt)?

Are there places that would want that stuff? I can conceive that the rocks and bricks could be added to a deep concrete fill. They are solid as hell. The dirt is not bad dirt, some clay in it. Do some people want piles of dirt? Or is my only reasonable option to hire someone who advertises that they do hauling and removal? I'm in Berkeley, CA.

Getting rid of dirt is an expensive pain in the ass. Old brick is just as tough. If the rock is broken up concrete, you can recycle it, otherwise it goes to the land fill. If you take it to the Berkeley dump, they charge around $130 a ton. It adds up fast. The only cheap dump site for dirt is in Hayward.

If you decided to have it hauled off, drop me a PM and I'll give you the name and number for the hauler I use. He's fair, and does what he's says.

 

[Muse]

I'm not sure about CA, but in the Midwest, it's not unusual to see signs or ads for "clean fill wanted".... In other words, people wanting dirt for full, as long as it does not have chunks of concrete or rocks.

My two piles (LARGE rocks combined with very so-so bricks) and dirt, are in very close proximity but are well differentiated... there are no rocks in that dirt, it's quite nice... if you want dirt, got dirt! That ~4 cubic foot dirt pile I have would qualify as clean fill. I've been careful to keep it clean. I'll have to look around, poke in the local free advertiser (available at my local produce market).

 

[Muse]

Getting rid of dirt is an expensive pain in the ass. Old brick is just as tough. If the rock is broken up concrete, you can recycle it, otherwise it goes to the land fill. If you take it to the Berkeley dump, they charge around $130 a ton. It adds up fast. The only cheap dump site for dirt is in Hayward.

If you decided to have it hauled off, drop me a PM and I'll give you the name and number for the hauler I use. He's fair, and does what he's says.

Cool, I may do that.

Yeah, $130/ton would cost me. The stones/bricks pile must weigh, hmm, let me guess... close to a ton right there. They were just lying around the property, some of it encountered in digging in the soil. It seems to me that if someone (a company) were laying a large foundation for, say, an office building, they could toss that stuff in there with the concrete. Maybe that would violate building codes, though. A monster machine could generate some super tough aggregate from it! I don't know if those machines exist!

 

[NoTine42]

Crushed brick is a main ingredient in high-quality baseball infield "dirt" (it packs nicely, yet drains very well). But im guessing they use new bricks (for color and to avoid the mortar)

 

[Carson Dyle]

I'm not sure about CA, but in the Midwest, it's not unusual to see signs or ads for "clean fill wanted".... In other words, people wanting dirt for full, as long as it does not have chunks of concrete or rocks.

Wherever I've seen people looking for clean fill, they'll accept anything non-toxic and non-degradable. Usually it's to fill in a large area, such as ravine, so it's all going to be buried. Doesn't have to be dirt, they'll gladly take rocks, clay, concrete, bricks etc.

 

[Greenman]

Cool, I may do that.

Yeah, $130/ton would cost me. The stones/bricks pile must weigh, hmm, let me guess... close to a ton right there. They were just lying around the property, some of it encountered in digging in the soil. It seems to me that if someone (a company) were laying a large foundation for, say, an office building, they could toss that stuff in there with the concrete. Maybe that would violate building codes, though. A monster machine could generate some super tough aggregate from it! I don't know if those machines exist!

You never, NEVER, add aggregate, or anything else to delivered concrete. On major projects, every load has samples taken off the truck at the job site. They check to see how long it's been in the truck, what the temperature of the mix is, then they take the samples back to the lab for testing. If it fails, everything that was poured comes out. Saving $50 bucks by tossing some rocks in isn't worth the tens of thousands it can cost to replace.