Surfacing can be one of the least enjoyable jobs for volunteers if the wrong quantity or grade of material has been ordered, or if inadequate arrangements have been made for moving the material. Most projects can be saved by the application of some ingenuity, but the wrong material in the wrong place with no transport is enough to defeat the most resourceful volunteer leader!
Materials and transport
- Estimation of quantities is difficult, but with care a reasonably accurate estimate can be made. Decide on the width of the path, the required depth of material, and multiply by the length of path. For example, a 1.5m wide path, surfaced to a depth of 100mm, and 80m in length requires:1.5m x 0.1m x 80m = 12 m3 of surfacing material
Some material is provided by the cubic metre (m3), and some by the tonne. The supplier will be able to tell you how many tonnes of a certain material make up a cubic metre. - If possible, go to the quarry or supplier to check the grade and quality of the material. Once the lorry has dumped it, it is too late to complain!
- Transport on site is often a major problem.Try a few estimations first. Remember that material will weigh more when wet.
2 shovels-full = 1 bucket
bucket (2 gal) = 0. 009 cubic metre
wheelbarrow = 0.07 cubic metre of aggregate piled up, and only movable by a strong person
= 0.04 cubic metres of wet concrete
dumper truck = various sizes (0.5,1, 2 , 3 m3)Taking the example above, 12 cubic metres of surfacing material could be moved by 2666 shovels, 1333 buckets, 171 wheelbarrows or 24 small dumpers! - Consider the use of machines, such as dumper trucks, Argocats and helicopters. However, do not rule out the traditional source of supply from borrow pits, so avoiding the need for transport.
- It may be possible for material to be dumped by machine alongside the path before the volunteers arrive, which reduces the chance of accident. Surfacing material is usually needed on soft ground, which adds to the transport problem. It may be possible to take advantage of a dry spell to shift the material by machine in preparation for a future task.
- If material has to be moved by hand, make it as easy as you can by providing builders’ wheelbarrows, in good condition, with pneumatic tyres. Keep the bearings well greased. On soft ground, provide solid wooden barrow- boards to support the barrows. Barrow runs can be built across difficult ground.
If material has to be carried, provide plenty of strong rubber or canvas buckets, or fertiliser bags. To take the strain off the arms, pack-frames or ‘yokes’ can be used. For further information on moving materials, see Transport of stone and Transporting materials.
The following table gives average weights for some surfacing and other materials.
Weights of surfacing and other materials
| Material | Tonnes per cubic metre |
|---|---|
| Ashes | 0.68 |
| Bricks | 1.76 |
| Cement | 1.90 |
| Concrete | 2.30 |
| Gravel/aggregate | 1.76 |
| Limestone, crushed | 1.75 |
| Sand | 1.90 |
| Stone, pitching | 2.00 |
| Topsoil | 1.60 |
| Water | 1.00 |
Organising volunteers
For a leader faced with shifting a large amount of material by hand:
- Set an easy target for the first morning as an encouragement.
- If there are several chains or teams of people, try and make sure that the members of each team are of about the same ability so that frustrations do not occur.
- If there has to be a long chain of volunteers, either carrying or pushing material, keep a close eye on it so that it work smoothly. Give the weaker volunteers a shorter or easier section, and put the strongest ones on the steep, soft or rough ground.
- Where the job looks like being very tedious, break it up with, say, five minutes rest and chat every fifteen minutes. It is frustrating and inefficient if the chain starts to break through boredom or exhaustion.
- Songs and the odd race can help turn a monotonous task into a memorable event!
