Page 321 - Moving the Earth_ The Workbook of Excavation

LANDSCAPING AND AGRICULTURAL GRADING

LANDSCAPING AND AGRICULTURAL GRADING 7.15

Snow Melting. Heating pipes can be installed under driveways, walks, and outside stairways to
prevent snow and ice from resting on them.
The preferred method is to lay wrought iron pipe or copper tubing in the pavement slab or
immediately below it, and circulate an antifreeze solution heated by a heat exchanger in the build-
ing’s steam or hot water boiler. It can be turned on and off by hand, or by automatic controls oper-
ated by the weight of the snow, or by its interference with a light beam reflected off a polished
surface to an electric eye.
The system must have ample capacity, or will occasionally do more harm than good. If it does
not quite keep up with the snowfall, at the end of the storm it may leave the area covered by a
layer of slush, which might then be frozen by an extreme drop in temperature and kept frozen until
the weather has warmed slightly.
Electrically heated wires, available in hardware stores, may be placed on ice for emergency
melting. Covering with cloth or paper increases effectiveness.

Turnarounds. A driveway which does not include a turning place requires that a car be backed
out of it or into it. This is entirely impractical on long or curving drives, and is a nuisance and a
danger in any case. Wherever property size permits, a turnaround should be provided.
The best way to lay one out is to have the people who are to use it make some trial turns, add
a few feet to the space they require to allow for carelessness or a bigger car, and build the drive
accordingly. If there is no opportunity to practice, any of the layouts shown in Fig. 7.9 should
prove satisfactory.
Allowance should always be made for car overhang. This may be 2 feet front, up to 4 feet rear,
and 8 inches at the sides. It is desirable to have a curbing that will keep the wheels about a foot
away from vertical walls to protect the car from scraping at the side.

FIGURE 7.9 Turnarounds.