road base fix

[MtnViewRanch]

Peoples thoughts of what is fine are very different. I have had people ask me why am I grading at all, your road is about perfect. Well, there is a reason for that. I share my drive with 4 neighbors and it gets used by vehicles up to 70,000lbs. I typically go over it every 3-4 months. Have not had to add anything in 14 years. Cut and raised the crown a couple of inches a few years ago. Everyone's conditions and circumstances are different as are what they expect-want. We need to try and keep that in mind, I know that I don't always :ashamed:and I apologize for that.

 

[EddieWalker]

You sure about this?

One would think that the guys that design and build roads for a living would know what they are doing. Why is it that EVERY gravel road I've ever seen gets graded at least once or twice a year? Are you using "road" which would mean public use and maintained by county etc for what is actually a "lane/laneway/driveway" going from the public "road" onto your private property?

If we accept differences in terminology, how do you suggest maintenance without grading? Regardless of how well a private lane is built, simply due to the additional compaction of the repeated vehicle traffic on the same track it is inevitable that ruts will form from the 2 tire tracks without compacting the center or sides any further than the original construction. This same problem shows up even on paved county/provincial/state roads. Does that mean they aren't built right?

Not adding more rock is one thing, not grading it is another.

Sorry, I should clarify that I was talking about driveways as being roads. I did not think that somebody would misunderstand that and confuse a public road with what I was talking about. In your case it's true that public roads get graded on a regular bases for a variety of reasons. Probably the most common reason is that they do not want to spend the money to add enough rock to the road to not have to do this. I'm sure that they started out with the proper amount of rock, but over time with all the things that happen on a road, that rock was damaged and wore away. Once the start grading it, they have no choice but to continue doing this because it is now failing and of the two options, adding more rock or grading it constantly, one is a lot cheaper then the other.

Allow me to restate my earlier post and say that once a properly built gravel driveway is compacted using at least 4 to six inches of road base gravel, it should last a decade without any need of regarding it. Depending on the amount of traffic, the weight load it receives and the weather it receives, it could even longer without needing any more material.

As you noticed, I was very careful in my wording. I'm sure you can make a point and show examples where this isn't true, and I understand that there are exemptions to everything. Location, quality of materials, skill in application and what is considered a proper road. In your example of paved roads that fail, I would point out that they are the examples of a road that was not built correctly. I have a dirt road on my land built by the Army in 1942 that is still flat and compact. It is the only dirt road that I can drive on year round. What they did to the dirt, I have no idea. All I know is that it is unlike any of the other dirt on my land.

Eddie

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Thanks for the clarification Eddie. We are thinking the same thing with different names. Up here, there would still be a lane on my property between the house and the road leading to my place, thus my confusion.

I agree, most private lanes are way under built, even for light traffic. When I bought my place 4.5 yrs ago, there were 2 'potholes' in my lane that were big enough that a heron was landing in one of them. Total of 22 ton of GA to fill them. There's no base material under the top dressing

 

[jrclark]

Is this enough base for a driveway?






FYI, it's not just deep for the culvert. There's places along the driveway that are much deeper because of the soil.

 

[DB Pilot]

Bigdaddy,

I recommend the EA land leveler. I have 1000' of driveway that was previously repaired by just ordering various gravels/stone ???. and having that smoothed out. Needless to say I bought a real mess. I raked and scraped for a year with only temporary results. :mur: Decided to get the land leveler instead of having it professionally built as it is not a driveway I use daily but, it is a downhill grade that can wash out easily. :thumbdown: It seems to me that the Land Leveler brings up lost gravel and allows the hockey puck size rocks to stay down under the gravel. :thumbsup: I used the Leveler 3 times the first year, last year I didn't need it at all and this year after the snow melts I hope I can use it again. I like it because of the time saved in repairing the drive and the length of time it holds up. :2cents: