Driveway ??'s

[NHWOODSMAN]

Driveway ??\'s

Hey everyone, we are currently putting up a new house in back of a med. sized field. We took all the topsoil off put in sand filler then 6 inches of road base. It is a very course gravely substance lots of 2 to 3 inch rocks with filler... kinda like hard pack. I want to put a decorative top on that will pack down hard for winter snowblowing and normal driveway use year round. Have been looking at stone dust or decomposed granite, not sure if they are the same thing or not but it has that nice grey sand look and it supposidly packs down hard. Any thoughts/benifits/concerns with using this as the top layer?? Thanks guys
Pat

 

[psuedofarmer]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

i use 'hard pack' around the farm for all driveway applications.. not exactly sure what constitutes 'hard pack' - but it works very well. it has the dark grey look you mention, and after a few rains and some compaction, it turns into concrete. i use the blower and plow on it, and it seems to stay where i put it..

it wasn't terribly expensive had 12 yards delivered a few weeks ago for a driveway around the barn.. i seem to recall paying $165 in S/W NH.

pf

 

[scott_vt]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

Pat,
I want to put a decorative top on that will pack down hard for winter snowblowing and normal driveway use year round.

I put my driveway in much the same as you, but I tried some stuff out of Wallingford,Vt two years ago on the top third of my driveway. Its called surepack and looks off white and packs down great, like concrete. I will try and attach a photo, but I think Im too far down the driveway for you to see it.

scotty

 

[Maine_Polack]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

Another possibility is ground up asphalt. Around here it is called "Rap". It packs real well, and if you can roll it with a heavy roller so much the better. It comes in basic black only.

$130 - $170 for 12 Yds, plus the trucking, in this neighborhood. I understand that they give it away in Pa. Go figure.

 

[stalion]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

I have created a couple of pull off areas from the main blacktop driveway. I lined them with used railroad ties, then dug down 4-6 inches and put in item number 4. Item 4 is a mix of small angular stones and stone dust very commonly used in my area. It is very neat and has packed beautifully. If you use a plate compactor over the entire surface after it is dampened I understand it will be just like concrete.

 

[NHWOODSMAN]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

I know that my drive way is not as long as some of the posters here but I think that 600 ft is a little more than I want to use a walk behind tamper on /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Thanks for all the imput I am really leaning towards the "sand like" stone dust that way if the snow blower does dig in it won't be like gravel and start throwing rocks and such around, maybee even save me from changing out shear pins regularly. Anyone out there just using stone dust in a New England type climate?? Thanks so far

 

[escavader]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

I used stone dust on a part of my drive that always washed,15 years ago...it still hasnt moved,just like cement
ALAN

 

[JimMorrissey]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

Pat,

Call around and try to find "3/4" minus" crushed gravel or what is commonly know as "surepak" or "surpak". It's perfect for the top layer (that's what it's for) and costs about 7$ a ton in VT. Surpak has less dirt than crushed gravel and you can usually get a variety of colors (white, gray, brown, etc.).

 

[HEC]

Re: Driveway ??\'s

I used the stone dust at one of our homes and it worked fine and no problem using the snow blower on it.The only problem we had was tracking in the house when it was the least bit damp or wet .