new to the site and a new project....

[utahskierdave]

Hello Everyone, Just joined the site and did a little searching and still have some questions. I have a parking strip on the side of my house where I park my little pop up trailer, my Dad visits with his RV a couple times a year and parks there as well. The soil is mostly clay and has been graded to be roughly 6 inches below the existing concrete driveway. The strip is about 70'x12' and slopes to the street. My plan (after looking through this site) is to put down a fabric barrier (SoilTec or something similar) and then use recycled concrete. Will this work for my purposes? Or is it overkill? Is this the most cost-effective way to go? Will only be driving on it about 6 times a year or so....Thanks in advance for your help.....

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I don't know much about recycled concrete. Is it like gravel?

I think that a gravel finish will be fine for your needs. If you were using the area more for heavy traffic, you may want more road base, but for parking an RV a few times a year I think it will be fine.

BTW... Welcome to the site. You'll find a lot of helpful people here.

 

[MarkV]

The fabric is great stuff when you have soil that stays wet and gravel sinks in and disappears. You don't really need it all situations. Sounds to me like you already have stable ground hard ground so I would just put down stone. Recycled concrete might work fine depending on how it is processed in your area. I have seen some with bigger chunks than I would want for a parking pad.

MarkV

 

[utahskierdave]

thanks for the quick responses! The area tends to hold water down near the street as the gutter prevents complete draining, plus, I am thinking fabric will keep weeds at bay....I was thinking about 6 inches of 3/4 inch crushed concrete would do the trick. Am I on the right track?

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Crushed concrete packs down just like gravel, makes excellent base material or parking lot material. Use it if it is cheaper.

Ron

 

[utahskierdave]

So here's what I have found....there is a plant about 3 miles from me that has both recycled concrete and recycled asphalt (both 3/4) at about $5/ton and it looks like I need about 18 tons for my job. I spoke to a guy at the quarry who suggests a base of 1.5 inch rock for the first 2 inches or so with smaller rock on top. Since the quarry is so close to me I plan to rent a dump trailer and do it all on my own with a buddy to drive a skid steer to spread rock while I go back and forth picking up additional material. Think this is doable? I am leaning toward fabric on the dirt, 1.5 inch material, then the 3/4 recycled concrete on top....Any and all advice is welcomed! Thanks! Dave

 

[EddieWalker]

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan. The secret to gravel is that is has to have a variety of sizes to lock together when compacted. It needs to be at least four inches thick. If you go thicker, it's harder to compact, but once compated, it's going to be even stronger. Until you compact it, it will hold water and it will squish and move on you. Once compacted, it will become a solid surface that will shed water and support heavy loads.

The fabric doesn't hurt anything, but is only needed if your base is soft, wet or weak. If you have solid clay, then there is no need for it.

Fabric under gravel wont stop weeds. They will grow in the gravel on top of the fabric.

How are you going to compact the gravel or concrete?

Eddie

 

[utahskierdave]

Thanks for the reply Eddie....Was going to rent a plate compactor....or maybe just drive my pick up along the new rock....

 

[forgeblast]

Plate compactor will do a much better job.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Thanks for the reply Eddie....Was going to rent a plate compactor....or maybe just drive my pick up along the new rock....

70 X 12 is a lot of area to do with a plate compactor. They are really designed for small areas and corners where a roller can't reach. A small roller will do a much better job as plate units have limited power. Most rental palces have one.

Ron