Had a near-miss with a load of pressure-treated lumber last Thursday

The delivery guy dropped a whole bunk off the forks and it slid right toward my truck. I mean, it missed by maybe 3 inches because I was parked on a slight slope. Anyone else have a close call with a material delivery that made you change your site setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace891mo ago

Man, that 3 inches is way too close for comfort. I had a very similar thing happen with a gravel delivery last spring. The driver dumped a full load right where I told him to, but the pile started to spread into the path I needed for my trailer the next day. I think a lot of people just assume the delivery guys know what theyre doing with the terrain, but they really dont. Ever since that morning I have always parked anything I care about at least 10 feet away from the drop zone. I also started marking a clear driveway path with some bright spray paint so nobody gets confused about where to back up. Its a small extra step but it saves you a huge headache.

elliot_patel1mo ago

Yep, the spray paint trick is a lifesaver. I started using orange marking paint after a concrete truck nearly wiped out my neighbor's retaining wall. The driver just backed straight over the edge of the driveway and the front wheel sank into the grass. Took me an hour with a shovel to get him unstuck. Now I spray a clear 10-foot-wide path from the street to the drop zone and mark any low-hanging branches too. These guys are on autopilot after the fifth stop of the day and they won't notice your flower bed or irrigation line until they've already crushed it. The 15 foot rule you mentioned is probably better honestly. I had a load of topsoil spread almost 8 feet from where it landed last fall.

anthony_campbell881mo ago

Is it just me or does every delivery driver act like the ground is made of concrete? I had mulch dumped last summer and the guy backed up so far he left tire ruts in my lawn that took months to fix. @grace89 you're totally right about the spray paint trick, I started doing that after a lumber delivery nearly took out my mailbox. It's like people forget that these guys see a dozen drop offs a day and don't really care about your specific setup. The 10 foot rule is smart, I do 15 now after a neighbor's gravel pile slid into his driveway drain and clogged the whole thing.