doing the best with a low budget driveway

[JCB]

What I am hoping for is maybe something in the range of 50% result for 10% cost.

You're not gonna like this post either, but the numbers you're hoping for are actually about reversed. You'll be more likely to get 10% result for 50% of the cost.

If we could build roads for 20% of the cost and get the same life...we'd be doing it. Standard practices here really are the most efficient.

You're on the right track with drainage. Unless you've got big trucks on your driveway, you don't need strength - you need to keep it dry. Passenger cars mean nothing. Passenger cars can drive on your lawn if it's dry and it'll hold up. If you can keep your driveway dry (i.e. drainage) you won't have to worry about frost heaves or ruts either.

You might get some satisfactory results mixing in some portland cement or other additive to the surface, but there is a reason it's not widely done. It can work well one time, but may not be satisfactory the next. Whatever you do, just be sure to run the numbers and make sure your not starting down the path to a 50/10 proposition.

 

[Egon]

You might get some satisfactory results mixing in some portland cement or other additive to the surface,

It'll look good till after the spring thaw! Then it's wasted money.

 

[crusty 1]

you can try class 6 or recycled but you must find out sooner or later that a gravel driveway is like a marriage,you,re never done smoothing out the bumps.Just a fact of lifeDave

 

[forgeblast]

you can try class 6 or recycled but you must find out sooner or later that a gravel driveway is like a marriage,you,re never done smoothing out the bumps.Just a fact of lifeDave

haha how true. I figure just about every couple of years i get more gravel for our driveway. I order 20 ton of modified they drop it i rake it and im good for another couple of years.
Crowning and controlling the water are your biggest concerns. I had a lot of ice problems before we put in some swales and diverted our gutters, not its very managable.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I got asphalt millings from the road, and put on my driveway. It is now set up hard, and the snow really melted a lot faster this last winter because of it. All it cost was my time to spread it, I got the millings when the road in front of my house was being redone and I just had to ask. A friend of mine bought millings and had it put down and rolled, not as good as asphalt, but almost. But it starts with proper grading to start with. I did some minor regrading of my drive with my FEL before I put the millings down.

 

[CurlyDave]

As others have said: either pitch or crown the driveway to provide drainage.

I have been maintaining my 1000' x 20 foot gravel driveway for about 3 years now with my tractor and until we can afford asphalt, it is doing fine. Slope on mine is 15% for almost its entire length.

I would be thinking about learning to backdrag with the FEL and possibly getting a box blade.

If I had to, I would think about creating a swale crosswise in your driveway, so the last 20' or so into your garage is uphill. This is a fair amount of material to move, but I bet it could be done with a boxblade in about a weekend.

I think the drainage half-pipes you describe would be a waste of time & money. Make a real french drain with a piece of perf pipe at the bottom.

 

[crazyal]

Sounds like you're money limited, welcome to the group. If it was me I would put down some fabric and then get another couple of inches of crusher run. It's not the best but it'll get the job done. If you can afford it each year put down another couple of inches until you get 8 inches or so. I would make sure I didn't direct water into the garage. Once you have 8 inches you can then you can work the driveway with a back blade without getting into the fabric.

As for the winter I just sand. I have a large load of sand brought up in the fall (I have a lot more driveway to do, you may be able to get it free from the town). I fill up a couple of sheet rock buckets and use a gallon or gallon and a half size pail and swing it back and forth allowing just a little to come out of it and slowly I put down enough for traction.

If you have a little extra money you could rent a tractor with a front end loader (if you don't have one) and try to scrape away what you have now. Of course you'll need a place to put it once you remove it. Then you can put the fabric down.

 

[PILOON]

I got asphalt millings from the road, and put on my driveway. It is now set up hard, and the snow really melted a lot faster this last winter because of it. All it cost was my time to spread it, I got the millings when the road in front of my house was being redone and I just had to ask. A friend of mine bought millings and had it put down and rolled, not as good as asphalt, but almost. But it starts with proper grading to start with. I did some minor regrading of my drive with my FEL before I put the millings down.

Some years back I also went the 'millings' route.
Never regretted that system and have suggested it to many friends.
Our city also uses it to coat our gravel road, 'specially the hills.
Over time it re-binds and becomes new used asphalt. Works great!

Another newer inovation in road building is a geotextile fabric covered with crushed then pavement.
The textile prevents the subsoils from migrating to the surface and mixing with gravel.

Old carpeting can be used as a substitute for geotextile as most are synthetic based.

Cement (concrete) is not a good solution unless you use a wire mesh armature as it will chunk and break up. (tried it with a few yards of left over that I raked to about 3" coverage and forever regretted it)

My current 'best suggestion' based on various attempts is; geotextile and crushed recycle, naturally combined with good drainage and crowned center.

Around here crushed recycle is just slightly more than standard crushed run (often called 0-3/4")

 

[powerstroke444e]

I have seen several concrete driveways fail do to poor drainage. I would put french drains and use lots of fabric wraped pipe, I would also try to find recycled asphalt and roll the heck out of it once you have it smooth, no bigger than your drive is and only having cars on you should be able to do it for $3,000 in equipment rental and material.

1. $300-$500 in pipe
2. Trencher rental $250-$350
3. pgravel $160
4. Fabric $500
5. Roller rental $200
6. Millings?? in our area they run $10 per ton delivered min of 14 ton.

You should find a small contractor that would do all the work in about 1 day and charge 1,000-2,000 to do the work and you would not have to pay the rental or break a sweat and not cost you any more than doing it your self, but then again I live in midwest hope this helps.

 

[dmccarty]

ABC gravel in NC which I suspect is what others call crush and run. ABC is the gravel that is put down before concrete or asphalt.

I maintain 800ish feet of driveway and another 2500ish feet of gravel road. I built the driveway by putting down geotextile fabric and then ABC. I put down at best four inches of ABC over most of the driveway. The plan was to put down enough ABC to get through construction and then add another 4-6 inches. The driveway held up so well we spent the gravel money on other things in the house.

We had seven cement loads delivered for our floor plus whatever it took for the footers. I can't remember how many loads of gravel the build brought it but I would guess it was 8ish double axle truck loads. Plus the logging trucks.

Our driveway held up perfectly. The road was not bad either but it needed some work. The road last had gravel laid down in the early 80's and none since. Every 4-5 years I rip the road with the box blade and smooth it out again. Next time I will try to get more crown.

The problem with fabric is you have to be careful of hitting it with the tractor. Should not be a problem if you put down 6 or more inches.

I think you need a slight swale to redirect the water from the road along with fabric and gravel. Making the swale out of concrete might be a good idea. I have seen many a gravel driveway that ends/starts on a public road that gets torn up because the owner has to accelerated rapidly into traffic. Eventually they put down a concrete "launch ramp", deal with gravel fixings, or pot holes.

Later,
Dan