I need driveway construction info. I have a 900 ft long gravel drive in Bastrop County TX. Common practice here is to lay down gravel, and replace it every time we have a hard rain. I have seen 5″ of rain in 45 minutes here. Thats the way the county maintains the roads as well.
I have been in other parts of the country where the roads do not wash out after every heavy rain.
Veneered wall paneling is popular for its clean style, but it's a surprisingly complex trim carpentry job to do well.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
Assuming your driveway isn't built at the bottom of a valley you can do as they do on Forest Service Roads, I think they call them Water Bars. A ditch on one side is a prerequisite. Where you have water running the length of the drive, cut a shallow ditch across the drive on an angle which will route the water to the ditch as opposed to flowing down your drive. Leave a hump on the down hill side of the bar to prevent the water from ruching across and not routed to the ditch. It's not pretty and it doesn't make for highspeed travel but it'll keep some of your rock in place, or at least recoverable with a loader.
Your advice is pretty much what I am thinking. The drive does go down hill, but it is not a steep slope. We have a sandy clay soil that has a pretty bad shrink/swell factor. Tears foundations up. The clay is covered with 4 to 10 inches of top soil.I am thinking I need a bed of large size rock covered with road base.I am wondering what the specs would be for different rock sizes, and road base.People here are continually arguing about what the best road base is.
Call the local TxDOT office and ask for a copy of the gravel road specs."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Clay and topsoil for your diveway? 'bout the only thing worse is quiksand for driving on. Definitely get the topsoil off aand lay a 12" base planning for drainage, then top off with finer mix like inch minus gravel
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
People here are continually arguing about what the best road base is.Roadbase is the cheapest material you can buy in your area that will hold up traffic.here, its a pure sand subgrade with either a red clay sand base or limestone base.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=91852.1
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=74535.1
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Here is a first-rate generalized discusion of dirt roads that has become the standard reference.
http://www.berkshireplanning.org/4/download/dirt_roads.pdf
I'd go over that and come back with questions. In the meanwhile;
(this should actually be an article for FHB)
the first three rules of dirt roads are drainage, drainage, and drainage. Generally, that means a 3% outslope to a reliable ditch led away from the roadbed.
But not always.
After that, your concern is suitable materials on a properly prepared subgrade.
And that, I suspect, is the real problem here. The soils you describe are highly plastic and subject to shear failure. Until you address that, the fight is never going to end.
I'd talk with a local contractor, but here is my advice from a distance.
First properly prepare the subgrade, which usually involves ripping it up at least 8" deep, adding sand, gravel, crushed stone, or some other non-plastic material that is cheap, blend it down so your PI is down around 15 to 20, bring it to optimal moisture content, and compact it to at least 90% of a Standard Proctor.
Now roll out a layer of geotextile, in your case I'd say go with a heavier woven product. This will address your shear failures quite nicely.
Now take two passes at it (two 8" lifts) with a state-spec base course, optimal moisture content, compacted.
Now blade it off to your 3% outslope, watch your drainage.
Should last a good long time, even in a toad-floater.
Simply laying down gravel may not be adequate.
I suggest you look into "macadam," as opposed to simple gravel. Named for it's inventor, this is a process of laying down, and compacting, different sizes of stone. The finished result is a lot more durable than simple gravel.
As a side note, when they started adding asphalt to the process, thats when they began speaking of "TarMac." Often considered as the "English" word for asphalt paving, the process was just a bit different.