# Berm Construction



## specificgravity (Mar 12, 2008)

The long of the short is I'm looking into having an earthen berm built to the tune of 700' long and 8-10' tall. I was hoping someone out there in M-S land has taken on a similar project and could offer some guidance. More specifically, how did you construct the berm (slope and shape) and how much approximately did the construction cost?


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Sounds like a BIG project to me!

I've never done one but using the numbers you threw out I did some quick calculations. If you wanted it 8' high if you used a slope of 45 degrees on each side it would be 16' wide at the base. That's probably a little steep but if you make the slope less you'll need a lot more dirt. 

Let's take the 8' 45 degree option and go from there.

8x8 (1/2b X h for area of a triangle) = 64 square feet. You wanted it about 700' long.

64 x 700 = 44,800

44,800 cubic feet / 27 c.f. per yard = *1659.25 cubic yards* !

Sounds like a LOT of work. I hope you have some heavy equipment and a few bucks set aside because it ain't gonna be cheap.

John


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## Duckman1 (Oct 14, 2004)

Have the dirt dumped out in the line of where you want it. A dozer can be used to level and shape the dirt. A layout with grade stakes will get you started. Keep working it till you get the shape you desire. Remember to allow for settling of the dirt. To get a real nice shape a lot of hand work with landscaper rakes will need to be done.

If the earth to be used to build it is near the work area you may need a excavation machine with a big bucket to dig and move the soil.(i.e. dig pond)

A good excavator with this type of equipment will run about $125/hr., possibly more. A builder I worked for years ago did one next to train tracks to screen the condo property he was developing. If I remember right it was about 400 feet long and 5 feet high. It took one man with a dump truck and dozer about a week to build it. That will give you a rough idea of hours to do a project like that.


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## specificgravity (Mar 12, 2008)

jpollman said:


> Sounds like a LOT of work. I hope you have some heavy equipment and a few bucks set aside because it ain't gonna be cheap.


Barring any huge expense the return will be worth it, especially with SWMBO.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

specificgravity said:


> Barring any huge expense the return will be worth it, especially with SWMBO.


Ahhh I see.

Those are called "Brownie points". :lol:

John


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## Rumajz (Dec 29, 2005)

All depends on how far you have to haul the stuff and what you'll use to build it with.
I actually recently gave away around 700 yards of clay (they used it for fill) but I even hauled part of it for free just to get rid of it and they came to get the rest on their own. 
So there are ways to save money if you do your research. Try an add in the paper, you never know.

Good luck


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

dig a pond.


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

jpollman said:


> Sounds like a BIG project to me!
> 
> I've never done one but using the numbers you threw out I did some quick calculations. If you wanted it 8' high if you used a slope of 45 degrees on each side it would be 16' wide at the base. That's probably a little steep but if you make the slope less you'll need a lot more dirt.
> 
> ...


Plus another 25 to 30 % more for shrink and swell of the material. Everyone tends to forget that factor, which is significant. 

Depending if you have to haul material in, you will have a pretty expensive project.


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## specificgravity (Mar 12, 2008)

Just wanted to say thanks to all you guys for the ideas and suggestions. There's been a few things mentioned in here that I hadn't even thought of.


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## sharon333 (Feb 18, 2009)

Make sure to keep us updated on the project.


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