Gravel versus red clay road vs combination of the two

[Deadman]

When I built my house, the excavators dug all the clay and topsoil off my driveway location and hauled in 24 loads of breaker rock. Then they hauled 27 loads of 3/4 inch gravel in to go on top as the surface layer. Its packed like cement now after 2 years, but every spring when the frost goes out it gets slimy like everything does around here.
The clay in my yard is like a glue trap when its wet, you don't dare drive on it.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

When I built my house, the excavators dug all the clay and topsoil off my driveway location and hauled in 24 loads of breaker rock. Then they hauled 27 loads of 3/4 inch gravel in to go on top as the surface layer. Its packed like cement now after 2 years, but every spring when the frost goes out it gets slimy like everything does around here.
The clay in my yard is like a glue trap when its wet, you don't dare drive on it.

did they install any underdrains to get the water away from the rock or did they make a bowl and fill it with rock?

 

[Deadman]

did they install any underdrains to get the water away from the rock or did they make a bowl and fill it with rock?

Where I am, there is about 6 inches of top soil and then a foot of clay and then its all sand underneath, so they pushed the topsoil and clay off and then put the breaker rock down for the base and then topped it with the 3/4 gravel. I can't believe how firm it is. They put the breaker rock in and them all the cement trucks, semi's, etc drove on it to build the house and the weight of those trucks packed that breaker rock down like a concrete road. It was insane how hard that was. Then the 3/4 inch gravel basically just topped it as the driving surface so pack smooth. After 2-3 years of living here now, I have 2 pot holes that are about 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep, nothing else! I'm beyond impressed! I have never graded it.

 

[bspeedy]

Here's my input FWIW.

Red clay can be a term for a lot of different materials. Having spent some time in Alabama, I believe that your 'red clay' is similar to mine here in SC. Ours is red in color with lots of sand in it. It is hard as concrete in the dry summer and can get very soft and swampy with a lot of rain that does not drain away from it.

For our driveway, we graded it smooth and put down crushed concrete. 'Surge stone' is the name used for the size. It was fist-sized gravel / crushed concrete. We then drove on that for a full year during our house build. All the traffic changed if from extremely bumpy to fairly smooth and REALLY packed. The large gravel packed right into the sandy clay and made a super solid road. When the house build was complete, I had 'crusher run' gravel - 2" and smaller pieces with lots of fines - hauled in and spread it over the top of the fist-sized gravel. I made sure to crown the driveway or pitch it to one side based upon the lay of the land. Also added a culvert to divert runoff and added some ditches along the sides to carry runoff away. It has been five years and I have graded it two or three times. Haven't touched it probably a year or two. It is like a concrete road, but it gets a bit dusty in the hottest summer months. I am very satisfied with this method for my area.

Best advice is to find out what the highway department uses in your area and do something close to that. Someone from Ohio - where they have actual topsoil - can't tell you how to build a road in your soil.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Where I am, there is about 6 inches of top soil and then a foot of clay and then its all sand underneath, so they pushed the topsoil and clay off and then put the breaker rock down for the base and then topped it with the 3/4 gravel. I can't believe how firm it is. They put the breaker rock in and them all the cement trucks, semi's, etc drove on it to build the house and the weight of those trucks packed that breaker rock down like a concrete road. It was insane how hard that was. Then the 3/4 inch gravel basically just topped it as the driving surface so pack smooth. After 2-3 years of living here now, I have 2 pot holes that are about 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep, nothing else! I'm beyond impressed! I have never graded it.

Oh wow, once you get into clay here in pa, you can dig for feet and not hit anything different but changing colors. IF you are lucky you may get shale at some point but it ranges from loose to tight and tough to dig. I'd kill for some sand in my clay. I have to be very careful about using rock on top of it because the clay just eats it. A geo fabric is almost required unless you start out with 6"+ stone and start choking it down which gets expensive. Getting the water off the top is mandatory. There is a dirt and gravel roads program that is here in the state because townships used to run a grader down the road and incised the road into the dirt and created a bowl and made maintenance a nightmare. So they go in and raise the elevation of the road sometimes feet to create sheet flow off the crown of the roads and top with a DSA (driving surface aggregate with a PennDot spec) to get the surface to hold up. Very neat application of techniques.

 

[ovrszd]

Now we are beginning to see what I was talking about. Each of us have a different story. None of which apply to the OP's situation.

 

[rustyshakelford]

You don't want anything to do with that red dirt unless you in the desert. When it rains it's slick and makes a mess of everything. Call some local Dozer guys and ask what they recommend for a road. Every region seems to use different lingo and has different material available.

Brett

 

[ovrszd]

You don't want anything to do with that red dirt unless you in the desert. When it rains it's slick and makes a mess of everything. Call some local Dozer guys and ask what they recommend for a road. Every region seems to use different lingo and has different material available.

Brett

And in my area we'll haul in red clay if it's not available onsite.

 

[Streetcar]

When I built my house, the excavators dug all the clay and topsoil off my driveway location and hauled in 24 loads of breaker rock. Then they hauled 27 loads of 3/4 inch gravel in to go on top as the surface layer. Its packed like cement now after 2 years, but every spring when the frost goes out it gets slimy like everything does around here.
The clay in my yard is like a glue trap when its wet, you don't dare drive on it.

what is breaker rock?

 

[Egon]

A road made from properly contoured and packed clay covered with a proper granular material will make a good cost effective road. Look up some of the government sites on road design. That will give lots of good advice.

There are many, many ways to build a good road that is very expensive but not cost effective.