Pothole theory

[old and tired]

If I used loose stone on my driveway (only one "flat" spot) my truck tires would never get any traction. There's a reason it's called "Hillsville"... I've seen others with flat driveways with loose stone, too noisy for me. YMMV.

 

[/pine]

There is a simple way to tell if you have fixed a pothole correctly...if fixed correctly a pothole won't come back...

stir it up, fill it in, pack it down and make sure water runs off the area...

 

[deezler]

If I used loose stone on my driveway (only one "flat" spot) my truck tires would never get any traction. There's a reason it's called "Hillsville"... I've seen others with flat driveways with loose stone, too noisy for me. YMMV.

Haha yes it is quite noisy! It's a helpful driveway alarm, at least when I am working outside. Hear a nice loud rumble-whoosh as any visitors arrive. I do feather my pedal a bit when driving my truck up the drive... easy to spin the tires.

 

[Snobdds]

Potholes develop because water can not escape. The road surface should be higher than the surrounding dirt and it needs to be trenched to move the water away.

On my ranch, my grandfather understood what it takes to make a good road. He raised the road bed up about 10 feet from the surrounding land and made good ditches the entire way. I have never seen a pot hole on that road in my life. The water never sits on the road and it's always in the ditch. Good roads have good ditches.

You can kinda see what I'm talking about, the only pictures I have on my phone at the moment.

 

[RSR]

Potholes develop because water can not escape. The road surface should be higher than the surrounding dirt and it needs to be trenched to move the water away.

On my ranch, my grandfather understood what it takes to make a good road. He raised the road bed up about 10 feet from the surrounding land and made good ditches the entire way. I have never seen a pot hole on that road in my life. The water never sits on the road and it's always in the ditch. Good roads have good ditches.

You can kinda see what I'm talking about, the only pictures I have on my phone at the moment.

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This^^^^

Potholes are the symptom of an underlying problem (poor drainage). Tackling the symptom, without addressing the underlying problem, is a fools errand.

 

[fried1765]

Potholes develop because water can not escape. The road surface should be higher than the surrounding dirt and it needs to be trenched to move the water away.

On my ranch, my grandfather understood what it takes to make a good road. He raised the road bed up about 10 feet from the surrounding land and made good ditches the entire way. I have never seen a pot hole on that road in my life. The water never sits on the road and it's always in the ditch. Good roads have good ditches.

You can kinda see what I'm talking about, the only pictures I have on my phone at the moment.

View attachment 693719
View attachment 693720

There is an old saying about driveways.
The three most important things about driveways are: DITCHES...DITCHES...DITCHES!

 

[shooterdon]

So all I need to do is have the drive 10' higher, and have good drainage?

 

[Snobdds]

So all I need to do is have the drive 10' higher, and have good drainage?

Don't forget the ditches...

 

[deezler]

So all I need to do is have the drive 10' higher, and have good drainage?

I'd go 15 feet up, just to be safe. Should only take about a couple hundred dozer hours and 50-60 tri-axle dump loads of fill. Easy weekend job. I mean, you don't want any pot holes, right?

 

[MoKelly]

Don't forget the ditches...

Oh my - you made my soda cone out!!!

Very good!!!

MoKelly