The new Kubota and a dry stacked stone wall build thread...

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - The new Kubota and a dry stacked stone wall build thread...

Posted: 10/22/2020 6:15:25 PM EDT

Took delivery of my Kubota BX23S a few days ago and got started immediately on a retaining wall before winter sets in. We just bought the house and closed last week so we are also in the middle of unpacking...but winter is coming quickly. Here’s the before pic. Pretty boring and while functional, needed some work.

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Got to digging. First thing I did was cut back into the hill a few feet past the planned wall location...

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Finished and painted arc of approximate wall location.

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Posted: 10/22/2020 6:27:21 PM EDT

[#1]

Today was mostly finishing up the initial digging and then trenching for the French drain.

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Got a good 2% slope or so and laid the drain, surrounded with gravel, covered and leveled, and then laid some gravel for the base layer foundation.

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I will continue the drain down across the driveway but will have to be careful when I get near where I think the conduit is for the light pole.

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This is the size most of the base layer will likely be. Kubota wouldn’t lift it and it wouldn’t fit in the bucket so I pulled it with the backhoe to the edge of the hill and pushed it over.

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That’s it for tonight. Getting dark out and I have work early tomorrow.

Posted: 10/22/2020 6:31:46 PM EDT

[#2]

Congrads on the tractor ! I love my kubota ! ! Good luck on the wall, I built a 140' cross tie retaining wall with my kubota last fall. All together I dug 25' into the hill to gain more parking room.

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Posted: 10/22/2020 7:43:40 PM EDT

[#3]

What’s that poor guy doing with that shovel????

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Posted: 10/22/2020 8:22:53 PM EDT

[#4]

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What’s that poor guy doing with that shovel????

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He played in the dirt all day. Bath water looked like chocolate milk.

Posted: 10/22/2020 8:23:40 PM EDT

[#5]

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Congrads on the tractor ! I love my kubota ! ! Good luck on the wall, I built a 140' cross tie retaining wall with my kubota last fall. All together I dug 25' into the hill to gain more parking room.

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Looks great!

Here’s similar to what I’m going for. A mix of these wall styles.

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This will be the follow on project out back. Some sort of semicircle of stones standing on end to reflect heat from the fire pit...

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Posted: 10/24/2020 7:21:37 PM EDT

[#6]

Most of the first layer finished.

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Posted: 11/6/2020 9:30:30 PM EDT

[#7]

At 18 hours on the Kubota. Re-greased the FEL and backhoe, and checked the front axle fluid level. All good. It’s getting a workout for sure. Built up and backfilled to this point. Letting it settle a bit and then I’ll ramp the backfilled dirt before continuing. Will do two or three more rows higher against the garage and the wall will taper down lower in height towards the opposite end.

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Posted: 11/22/2020 5:46:04 PM EDT

[#8]

Finished up today...

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Posted: 11/24/2020 1:04:57 AM EDT

[#9]

A few more...

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Posted: 11/24/2020 1:10:02 AM EDT

[#10]

Looks great OP. Well done

Posted: 11/24/2020 10:08:53 AM EDT

[#11]

Impressive!

Posted: 11/24/2020 2:39:41 PM EDT

[#12]

Looks good! Little machine putting in some work.

How long do the stumps you have dug out take?

We are looking for 5-10 acres with a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch and have been looking at this model and the deere 1023/25 for when we find something. We may end up building if nothing comes up within the next year we can agree on

Posted: 11/24/2020 3:29:40 PM EDT

[#13]

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Quoted:
Looks good! Little machine putting in some work.

How long do the stumps you have dug out take?

We are looking for 5-10 acres with a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch and have been looking at this model and the deere 1023/25 for when we find something. We may end up building if nothing comes up within the next year we can agree on

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Depends on the size and length of time its been in the ground. Some came out in 5 minutes. This one took about 4 hours of digging and the cutting of two roots to remove. It's been burning in the back yard for a week now and still has some more to go before it's gone... I don't think you can go wrong with either. See my thread before I purchased. Between the 1025R and BX23S most folks were suggesting buy the dealer not the tractor. They're pretty close in size and power. The JD can lift more but the Kubota has some other pro's that balance it all out. My local JD dealer wasn't great to deal with. Went with Kubota instead for that reason.

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Posted: 11/24/2020 4:18:07 PM EDT

[#14]

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Quoted:
Looks good! Little machine putting in some work.

How long do the stumps you have dug out take?

We are looking for 5-10 acres with a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch and have been looking at this model and the deere 1023/25 for when we find something. We may end up building if nothing comes up within the next year we can agree on

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The biggest problem with the BX and stumps is you can’t reach very much so you’ve got to reposition over and over again for most stumps. Might not sound like much but it adds up when you’re doing more than a few stumps. If you’ve only got one stump it doesn’t matter, enjoy the journey, if you’ve got tens or hundreds...you won’t enjoy it.

Posted: 11/24/2020 4:20:57 PM EDT

[#15]

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The biggest problem with the BX and stumps is you can’t reach very much so you’ve got to reposition over and over again for most stumps. Might not sound like much but it adds up when you’re doing more than a few stumps. If you’ve only got one stump it doesn’t matter, enjoy the journey, if you’ve got tens or hundreds...you won’t enjoy it.

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True point. If you have dozens then your time may be better spent renting a real excavator. I have 8 to do...but I'm also in no rush. My biggest problem isn't digging them out...it's what to do with them after. Burning hasn't been very effective. I'll probably just load them onto the trailer next time and bring them to the dump.

Posted: 11/24/2020 4:29:39 PM EDT

[#16]

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True point. If you have dozens then your time may be better spent renting a real excavator. I have 8 to do...but I'm also in no rush. My biggest problem isn't digging them out...it's what to do with them after. Burning hasn't been very effective. I'll probably just load them onto the trailer next time and bring them to the dump.

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Did you pressure wash them and let them dry a week or two? Makes a huge difference. When it’s half dirt I could never get them burning.

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Posted: 11/24/2020 10:45:04 PM EDT

[#17]

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Did you pressure wash them and let them dry a week or two? Makes a huge difference. When it’s half dirt I could never get them burning.
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I'll have to give it a try. My problem is rocks. The one in the picture above had a 200 lbs boulder embedded in it.

Posted: 11/26/2020 10:03:18 AM EDT

[#18]

If you have any low spots dig a hole deeper than the stump is tall.
Put the stump in with roots up and bury it.
If roots are down you'll need a much bigger hole and frost can cause it to heave up.
Learned this from a guy who's done it for years..