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Gravel Drive-way

cutawooda | Posted in Construction Techniques on January 18, 2003 01:38am

Anyone care to give me the basic steps for a 200 foot gravel drive. Land has no tree roots or stones to deal with. NICE slightly pitched barren (except grass) land.

Necessary info: I’m cheap!….I guess thats about it. Oh yea,..I want MORE for LESS. That has always been a rule of thumb for me.

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  1. Nails | Jan 18, 2003 02:34am | #1

    C ......Don't know a lot about it but have been watching a man with a 1/4 mile drive put down a base of what he calls '' balast rock" salavged from an old railroad bed says it absolutly the best rock to begin with. Also saw him dumping two lanes of rock the width of vechile wheels by putting a 6x6 3 ft long in the bed and up against the tail gate of a tandum truck and when dumping it came out in two lanes,the rock went a lot farther to begin with.

  2. joeh | Jan 18, 2003 02:49am | #2

    Cutathegrass and drive it at night. What looks flat in the daylight looks a lot lumpier at night. My drive that I though looked perfect, ain't. Now I have to scrape the rock off and level, then move rock back again. Free fun that I could have avoided. Joe H

    1. calvin | Jan 18, 2003 04:01am | #5

      Joe gives some fine advice, as lumpy now will be potholes later.  What kind of soil do you have, is this a construction drive that you will spruce up later?

      I live in clay-ville.  400 ft-+ from the street.  15 yrs ago we scraped the topsoil off, maybe 10 inches, put down some good sized stone (size of a small fist) then topped it off with 57's (5's and 7's).  I have scraped the hump in the middle maybe two times since then  and added the first time - 57's  and the last time, small berm.  Decent smooth drive in.  The small berm doesn't shear the pin on the snow blower, makes some damn good sparks on a winters night.  Get rid of the grass, or you'll be mowing the drive next summer.

       I had heard from the doctor of dirt around here that the big stuff is fine as a base when the stone can move around abit.  However, in this clay the best bet was to go straight 57's that would "float on top".  I had studied up a bit on how to do a drive and decided we should still put down those big ones first.  I think the doctor might have had a plausible idea.   The large stone seems to just sink in, or rather the clay seeps up through 'em.  We had  it graded down to a firm, flat base so the 2 tire lanes that appear over the years must be from sinking into the muck.   However, I would imagine you would have to scape and add about every 5 years with any stone drive.  Any undulations that cross the drive b/4 stone become potholes later.   If you start out flat, keep up on any small depressions that turn up, you should be in good shape.

      I think if I had it to do again in this clay I'd have layed down a paving mat (industrial style) then go with the 57's or maybe a hair bigger and take the chance that might stay flat. 

      But again, is this going to be a construction drive ?__________________________________________

      Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

      http://www.quittintime.com/

  3. fredsmart48 | Jan 18, 2003 03:03am | #3

    I only helped on one parking lot driveway. 

    First.  scrap off the top soil 6" to 12"

    Second. use 6 +"  rock

    Third. 3/4 rock

    Forth.  bank run = clay and gravel

    Fifth.  pea gravel on top

    pack each layer. 

    You may not need the 6" + for just a car or pick up.

    1. andybuildz | Jan 18, 2003 03:18am | #4

      fred

           I like using crushed concrete as my first layer. The nice sharp edges compact really nicely....

      Be well

             Namaste

                         andy"Attachment is the strongest block to realization"http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

    2. cutawooda | Jan 18, 2003 07:41am | #9

      Wow..I world of info. This drive is first construction, then we will dress it up. I had a concrete guy down here tell me that 5 -6 inches of topsoil removed and fill it with my first layer. I assume you start large and finish with the smaller. He told me to leave thefirst on until all the constuction was done. This would compact it nicely. When all the traffic is gone fill it with "screenings".  The screenings I have seen are pretty small.

      What stops the gravel from oozing out the sides of the drive.

      I am confused. When I have laid pavers before, I used crushed limestone. It was small but it packed GREAT! Do the larger stones pack that good...OK the bulb just went off in my head. The larger rocks bury themselves into the soil creating a more stationary base. But if i remove 5-6 inches of soil I cant go back with 5-6 inches if base. Shouldnt I save some rome for the top layer of gravel? Am I analyzing this too much? I have a habit of doing that you know.

      1. donpapenburg | Jan 18, 2003 08:24am | #10

        I use CA6 [1 1/2" to fines] for all of my drives It pack very well the fine hold the stones in place and it can be graded easily. I did one 10 + years ago just dumped the CA6 on top of the grass in the spring and packed it with the truck after leveling.It is holding up quite well . If you use larger rock make sure that it is covered well by the smaller stone.

  4. jet | Jan 18, 2003 04:50am | #6

    For your final layer try seeing if you can get recycled road ashphalt. The stuff they grind up to refinish the road. If you're going to pave it later than this stuff is the best at packing down.  And it can be very cheap if it is being done locally.

    Not a good idea if you want a gravel only drive that will be close to gardens.  All ashphalt material will leach a bit.

    I'm all here....... 'cause I'm not all there!
  5. xMikeSmith | Jan 18, 2003 05:13am | #7

    depends... a 6" base is ok in some places.. here, with up to 30 "  of frost  ( 40" inland )  and a lot of clay... we cut the topsoil and put down a 12" base...

    next year we'd top it with 2" of  peastone if the owner wants a more formal look..

     the base used to be bankrun gravel.. nowadays we'd use either old road crush... or bankrun... whatever was cheper

    Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

    1. User avater
      coonass | Jan 18, 2003 06:34am | #8

      I have a mile of gravel road I've been practicing on for 25 years. I have learned to build just like they build roads down here. First cut off the grass and some top soil. Then I disc in soil cement I get from a concrete plant just for hauling cost. This needs to be a smooth as you can get it since it sets up real hard. Cover this with your choice of rocks or limestone.

      KK

  6. TomT226 | Jan 18, 2003 04:03pm | #11

    Don't know where your are, but down here in Texas we use road base.

    Road base, (caliche) has varying sizes of stones, and a large amount of "fines" which when wetted, pack tightly. Add emulsion, and you have asphalt.

    We just scraped the grass and weeds off, leveled it, and dropped the base to about 10' wide and about 1'deep. Wet and rolled it with about a 2-3" crown for drainage. Lasted 20 years so far, with only one reapplcation of base to dress out potholes.

  7. User avater
    BossHog | Jan 18, 2003 04:27pm | #12

    Spend the bucks for a matt to put down first. That will save you a lot of money in the long run, as the gravel doesn't sink down into the ground and disappear.

    Ask around in your area abut rock. There may be railroad rock, and there may not be. No way we can know that. If you ask around enough, you should be able to figure out where to get rock from.

    I don't believe in removing topsoil and re-filling the area with rock. You want the water to drain away, and this just makes a "pan" for the water to sit in. Plan for drainage up front. Drainage is what make most any road surface last.

    Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

  8. harley | Jan 18, 2003 05:07pm | #13

    I am in the process of building a 500-foot gravel drive in the Southeast US. I have been told by reasonable reliable people that the best approach is to build on solid earth. In my case, I needed to scrape/grade off the top 4 inches (topsoil). Make sure you vent your low areas at strategic points to allow heavy rains to drain off.

     

    I am expecting heavy construction vehicles so I laid down a 2-3 inch layer of what they refer to as “base” or #3 gravel (the size of a small fist). At ten feet wide, this took 4 truckloads (at 15 yards per load).

     

    After the construction vehicles have tamped this, I plan to put down a two-inch layer of smaller scale gravel to level the ruts and fill any voids.

    Hope this helps.

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