grading driveway

[BeardyWan]

I have been lurking on this forum for a while and a happy BX1880 owner. I am now considering a larger piece of property and coincidentally many of the posts I have read reference grading a gravel/dirt road. I would be grateful if anyone could advise how much gravel needs to be added to virgin clay to make a dirt road.
cheers
Beardy

 

[sandman2234]

Welcome!
My first thought would be "a lot"!!
David from jax
I would think you would spread some over it, roll it in and hope for the best. If not, add more!
David

 

[Thomas]

Talk with near by neighbors on how much and what type of gravel they use.

 

[DJ54]

6" of 304 Limestone, #4 limestone down to dust would make good starting base. The term gravel here means river gravel and is round. You don't want that it just rolls around and does not compact. Crushed gravel is OK, it will lock together/compact.

Before doing any of that, you'll want to make sure the topsoil is removed, or, put Geotec cloth down first, or your stone will seem to disappear after a while, sinking into the topsoil, even though it may be mostly clay.

 

[LouNY]

Depending upon your location and the type of clay it will vary considerably. In my area with freeze thaw cycles it would never be done. The gravel will migrate downward and the clay will work it's way up through the clay to the surface of the roadway.
What can be a well drained roadway 90% of the year will turn into a soft bottomless swamp in the spring thaw.
A good heavy duty highway fabric and 4" of compacted gravel with hold up for a long time with minor periodic redressings.

 

[dodge man]

6” is a good start. Removing any grass and vegetation before hand is important. Also some grading so water doesn’t run across it or down it is important.

 

[JJT]

I removed ~6" of heavy clay topsoil/sod, put down ~6" of fist sized cobbles, (bank run) and top dressed with another 3-4" of crusher run 30 years ago. It's held up well. If I were to do it again today I'd add geotech fabric as the first layer.

 

[old and tired]

I removed ~6" of heavy clay topsoil/sod, put down ~6" of fist sized cobbles, (bank run) and top dressed with another 3-4" of crusher run 30 years ago. It's held up well. If I were to do it again today I'd add geotech fabric as the first layer.

^^^ This, Geotech would be great. First layer would be 4" to 6" crushed rocks. Then minimum, 4" to 6" thick of crusher run (5/8 minus?) on top so that you can grade and smooth once in a while.

 

[BeardyWan]

Much appreciated!

 

[Egon]

On a well shaped compacted & drained clay roadway tow or three inches of crusher run 3/4 inch gravel should work. Might have to add a little bit every few years. It will also depend on the tire loading it will see.

Or, you can spend lots of dollars for materials and build a road But chances are you will not have the proper equipment to do it properly.