Way to apply yard stick to ground while standing. Tools, physics, balance?!

[Arugela]

Oh, no. The bricks aren't hardscaped(Although I would love to do that.) I'm going for the cheapo solution. They are a layer of bricks loosely layed out to put a raised metal garden bed on or to hold in some mulch on top of a ground level bed.. The walkways will be tarp/garden fabric(10year) with pine mulch on top as a protective layer. I just need the bricks, a square/rectangle of them, to lay out the garden bed and to hold down the tarp. Then I will take a tiller to the middle to dig it out. So, I'm trying to align loose bricks so shape the bed and hold down some tarp for a walkway with cheap pine material as a surface. I tried it without the pine material as I was being lazy, and some animals ripped it apart. Did not happen on the area I had gotten pine material on...

I'm using the bricks as a simple way to line the whole bed/walkway system out so it doesn't meander as I go down the garden layout.

It's a sqaure of approximately 31-34 ft with 3ft walkways and 4ft garden beds layed out in rows. So, 4 rows of garden beds and 5 walkways. Some of the beds will have metal 3x4x1ft raised beds on top of the bricks and others will have just bricks to hold in mulch for ground level beds.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Arugela

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Stakes and string are still your best bet then to mark the perimeter.  

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

@Arugela - might I also suggest just some garden cloth instead of a tarp?  That stuff will let water pass but not plants grow up through it.  Cheaper and likely better than tarps, and they'll let the pine straw drain.

[Arugela]

Yea, I'm using 10 year garden fabric. I'm getting for like 20 dollars per hundreds of feet to save money. I'm forgoing the pins though. They are a pain and get all over the place and rust. So, I'm using weighted materials and the bricks to save future hassle.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Arugela

[kerbiloid]

https://allremont59-ru.translate.goog/razmetka-uchastka-pod-fundament/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp

See the pictures and the video.

***

Even the Kerbals use Survey Stakes.

Spoiler

 

 

Be wise! Be Kerbal!

Edited February 11, 2023 by kerbiloid

[farmerben]

12 hours ago, Arugela said:

 

So having a T shape as long as the yard stick might help on both ends might help(maybe some sort of weight also.). Not sure if anything makes one of those or if there is an easy way to mod one. Or if something else, or a combination of things, would work better. This will be done with 1 or 2 people. But being able to do it solo is ideal.

I guess I could buy one of these for the garden bed as it's 48 inches. And only 12 dollars. Just need a few in 36 ft sturdy enough to work. And in an I shape.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-T-Square-FG/5001886007?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-bdm-_-ggl-_-LIA_BDM_248_Drywall-And-Ceilings-_-5001886007-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQLTy8iK8Psk2CFZYsF48aLezp890M1AqXcIpRh10aLPRsPPRlXwr9BoCZxkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Problem is I'm seeing lots of stuff in 2/4 ft but not 3 ft... And they are not adjustable.

Make one out of wood.  Maybe find a forked stick and use that.

 

 

1' high garden beds still require a lot of bending over.  Maybe you need one of these

https://www.agrisupply.com/rolling-garden-tractor-seat/p/73717/?msclkid=e617280a80191cce6f9e4bedf5952586

 

Also, I would not rototill inside the beds.  Maybe penetrate down with a digging fork  to loosen it.  If you're adding a foot of material on top of the sod, then just add it without tilling the sod.   Doesn't make a huge difference but that is how I would do it.  

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by farmerben

[darthgently]

On 2/10/2023 at 6:29 PM, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Deep breath.  Not quite a sigh - but I'm trying to accommodate you.

You SHOULD NOT try to build a walkway if you cannot bend over to lay the stakes or measure.  Hardscaping is hard work.  There's a reason you see young men doing it.

A proper build requires ditching out the area to be paved, prepping the ground with a good substrate and packing that down - which can take a while as you need to ensure both good drainage and that it will be free from frost heave and other movement - you don't want pavers to sink or rise or roll, otherwise you and or your guests can get seriously hurt.  Falls - especially for older or frail people are common on badly laid walkways.  I know people who (50s and up) have broken hips and ankles from falling... and a badly laid walkway is potentially more dangerous than just walking across the yard.  Once you have a proper substrate, packed and flat, you need to do a sand or crushed stone layer to make sure its really ready for the pavers - then get those set and sanded or mortared into place.

If you are just dropping several stepping stones or even the concrete pavers you buy at Home Depot... even those should be inset and sanded (at a minimum).

I strongly recommend either hiring someone able to do the work properly or bringing over enough friends to (again) do the work properly.

Maybe he is just getting an idea of the amount of materials required and planning on watching hired people do the work.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention this technique which doesn't require buying a wheel from Lowe's.

Get your kid's bike.  Measure the outside circumference of the front wheel, N.  Roll it around.  Every time the valve stem is at the bottom increment a count.  Multiply N by count.

Don't use a trike as you will then have to bend over to roll it around which will not meet your use case

[Arugela]

I bought one of those tractor seats from walmart. They are a bit pricey, but I could use it for a lot of things later on as well. Then I can hopefully lean over and just use the yard stick. maybe even put down some bricks later for a small paved area for some stuff like water collectors. They ahve 100 and 133 galon ones I could do a drip irrigation system with from downspouts. Something else I may need to figure out how to build properly. Very little info into on how to deal with psi and pressures in a system correctly. Particularly gravity fed let along even when using a hose with given pressures.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Arugela