Where do I get gravel for driveway?

[rambler]

You should prep the driveway, it should all be crowned a bit, no dips or old 'low weak' spots, there should be a ditch on each side so it drains.

Otherwise you just dump gravel on it, and it goes away again, and you diump gravel, and it never gets better.

Those weak spots need to get cut out & repacked in nice and proper.

Some start with bigger rock, crushed concrete is often cheapest, at 2-3 inch size.

Then gravel driveway material over the top, it's called something different in each region, 'here' it's just driveway gravel....

I can't believe $400 a load, wow. Paid $125 here, that was up from $100 a few years ago.

The driver should be able to spread it that you will have very little to do, he should let it flow out in a nice ribbon right down the driveway.

--->Paul

 

[Sackett2]

I guess rock is cheaper in Oregon..
2 years ago Price out a transfer of rock (2 large dump trucks- 400 -450 dollars.
My brother in-law got me the same for free...

Last fall a smaller truck was hauling rock to a neighbor; 135. a load inch and 1/2 minus..
Cant imagine spending 400 for any one truck load.

 

[CurlyDave]

... he said I needed the bigger rock and not crush and run...

I hate to be picky, but the material is called crusher run. That means rock directly out of the rock crusher and not sieved to select a particular size range.

If you call it "crush and run", the quarry, the driver and any contractor will know you are an amateur and may charge accordingly.

* * * *

In my area, we commonly get what is called "base rock" or "shale", which is angular pieces of rock up to 12" x 12" although we can ask for something like 6" minus, sometimes written 6" -. That means everything which will pass a 6" sieve. The other material which can serve the same purpose is called "pit run" and is just the material as it comes out of the gravel pit. If you get this, be sure you get it "washed" which means dirt has been removed. Otherwise, pit run can be mixed with mud, sometimes a lot of mud.

The other thing we get is 3/4" minus, which is everything that comes out of the crusher and will pass a 3/4" sieve. The fine material in the 3/4" minus is very good for binding the larger pieces together.

The price for base rock is $6-8 per ton, 3/4" minus is $14-15 per ton.

I have had both drivers and contractors try to cheat me by quoting $/yard on the phone and then delivering tons, not yards. A yard is ~ 1.4 tons. Get the unit of measurement defined before the first truck shows up and be certain of it. Most quarries sell the material by the ton.

If someone quotes a price per yard, challenge this and tell him you want a receipt from the quarry for the material designated in yards. Usually he will back off and confess that the price is per ton.

 

[wcampbell47]

When you work it with your blade angle your blade to the direction of travel if it has that adjustment. About 45 deg. this will take the humps out. If your blade doesn't angle it's hard not to get a wash board. You can help that by turning around after each pass. (not backing up and trying again) The geometry of the tractor/blade changes with the direction.

Roy

As mentioned in another post acquire a land plane which has two angled blades to work the drive with - before and after you have the gravel hauled. The land plane will do the above much better. The amount land plane blades cut can be adjusted with the top link. Extend the top link for less cut on the front blade, collapse for the front blade to cut more. I installed a hydraulic top link to do this on the fly.

In my area the best choices are crushed limestone or crushed concrete. Crushed concrete is good if you can find a yard that doesn't allow large chunks to get in the mix. $400 per truck load - usually about 14 tons. In my area it is sold by the ton because the loaded truck weight is set by state law.

 

[s219]

I hate to be picky, but the material is called crusher run. That means rock directly out of the rock crusher and not sieved to select a particular size range.

If you call it "crush and run", the quarry, the driver and any contractor will know you are an amateur and may charge accordingly.

* * * *

I have had both drivers and contractors try to cheat me by quoting $/yard on the phone and then delivering tons, not yards. A yard is ~ 1.4 tons. Get the unit of measurement defined before the first truck shows up and be certain of it. Most quarries sell the material by the ton.

If someone quotes a price per yard, challenge this and tell him you want a receipt from the quarry for the material designated in yards. Usually he will back off and confess that the price is per ton.

I did a culvert recently, using crusher run. I thought I'd add a couple notes.

First, I have always called it "crusher run" myself, but the rock yard had it listed as "crush n' run" on their price sheet! How's that for figuring out who the amateur is! I don't think it made a difference -- we all knew what the other was talking about. The actual quarry just lists their materials by numbers and codes -- the crusher run mixes are 21A, 21B, CTA, 24, 25, and 26.

The crusher run did work out to about 1.4-1.5 tons per yard when loose. However, it compacts to 1.7-1.8 tons per yard when packed down with vehicle traffic. So I'd say to use the high number when figuring out what you need to order -- compute the volume in cubic yards desired after compaction, and then multiply by 1.8 to get tonnage required. To figure out how much a truck or trailer can haul, use the 1.4 number.

 

[Ford tractor]

Around here for driveways, the best thing to ask for is "county mix" which is what the county specs for roads.

 

[newsleet]

I use Asphalt Grindings paid 250.00 for 20 tons. Limestone was costing about 500.00 for 18-20 tons and the grindings pack better.

 

[powerpace]

I guess rock is cheaper in Oregon..
2 years ago Price out a transfer of rock (2 large dump trucks- 400 -450 dollars.
My brother in-law got me the same for free...

Last fall a smaller truck was hauling rock to a neighbor; 135. a load inch and 1/2 minus..
Cant imagine spending 400 for any one truck load.

It is cheaper here. I bought 5 ten yard loads for $750 total. they were full loads. Three loads of 3" minus and two of 3/4" minus. I'm getting three more loads soon but the guy I buy from has been busy. It's too wet for what I need it for anyway.