Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work

   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #1  

Pirate

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
441
Location
Northeast TN
Drive is about 500' with half being real steep. I don't know the angle but I do know that if I stop my minivan while driving up, I need to back all the way down to get going again. It angles off to one side all the way down. Halfway down there is a 90 degree turn.
Problem is, over time tire grooves have formed on one side, really bad at the turn, and now the rain collects in that groove, runs down instead of off to the side, creating even more problems.
This drive is only 7 years old. I lost count of the number of loads of crusher run that have been dumped on it. This was the first year I didn't need another 20 tons. I think it was generic crusher run (receipts say #25) and not number 21a crusher run. The stones are all real small.
Would it really matter to use 21a vs. 25? If so, should I scrape down what I have a lay down 21a?
Can 't afford to pave it.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #2  
I would scrape, dress the drive up insuring a crown in the middle and then apply product 57 or # 5 washed stone. Crusher run is good for base establishment but in my opinion you need something else to drive on daily.
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #3  
Our name for it is crusher dust but it sounds to me like you need a coarse road base gravel. Crusher dust is OK if it is not prone to heavy rain but on a slope it will just wash away very quickly. Even a good road base gravel needs to be maintained on a slope using a boxblade or similar. A lot of locals in this area lost their driveways completely in the January rains here and some of those were not even on slopes. Yep, driveways are a pain....

Doug
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I was new to this gravel driveway business when I had the drive redone when we bought. All the locals around here and the local contractor all swore all you had to do was pile on crusher run #25. Well, it just gets swallowed up by the earth and rolls away. I had to follow his advice but.........
I am at the point now that I need to go blade it each time it rains. I reverse my blade on the back so it just sweeps the gravel back up the high side of the drive.
I had so much water running down the low side of the drive that I had a concrete trough put in next to the drive for the water to run down. It helped that problem but the drive is still too much work.
I read another post tonight where someone recommended crusher run 21a.

Here is another idea: What about just paving with concrete the 90 degree turn area? It seems that causes many of the problems from cars having to slow down while making the turn (curve really) and then start accelerating back up the second half of the slope, causing in spinning tires, loss of speed, etc.
 
Last edited:
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #5  
Actually if you just throw a few bags of cement over the top before you grade next time it will mix in and help your base stabilize. just wet it after you grade it to help it go off. Just do the corner first to see if it works. The cement seeps through into the soil too. Haven't got any more suggestions sorry.
Doug
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #6  
I would sure give that cement idea a try, I have been fixing potholes in the ultra thin asphalt drive with "sackcrete" here is our method, dump the "sackcrete" loose in the bucket, and put on the 15 gallon sprayer on the back mount on the ballast barell, then fill the sprayer with water.. Go out on the very steep driveway, (whats left of it) and spray the potholes. Then shovel in or if enough of them close enough together just dump in with the bucket to fill the hole/holes. take a push broom and level or just a little over level off the 'crete. Then spray it down at least once good, preferably twice. Some of the holes and sides were done before last winter and they held up pretty good. It is more resistant to the gully washer rains that tear up the thin old asphalt. Another upside is that it is way cheaper and way easier to apply than asphalt premix. I cannot attest to how it would work with the crusher run, because our lower crusher run driveway is one of the flattest places on the whole place, as it is cut into the side of a hill with wooden retaining wall along the downhill side. But it is filling the holes in the asphalt, and as more of them appear as the asphalt wears out we keep on filling them. It doesn't look bad, at least not to me, and sure is a whole lot less expense and work.

James K0UA
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #7  
I throw a bit of cement into post holes as I am filling them in too. Just mix it with the dirt etc. I had reason to remove one once. Boy, did it take some getting out. Took half of Queensland with it. It permeates into the soil around it.

Doug
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #8  
When I did my drive 26 years ago, the ol' geezer (with only one eye, but that didn't slow him down any!) that did the excavation simply told me up front: "This is going to go over budget, but here's what you have to do...."

He dozed it down 2 feet or more, brought in 350 tons of 5" stone, covered that with another 150 tons of "hardpack" (crusher run). He explained that that was the only way to ensure it would hold up. It's wet here, with a layer of clay 2-3 feet down. We have a great crop of ferns every year....

I've had to do major touch-ups only three times in all those years; it has held up extremely well. My drive is around 250 feet long, 90 degree corner at the bottom, and uphill all the way. Quite steep at the top.

OTOH, I've finally decided to bite the bullet and have it paved! Big decision for us (and pretty $$!!) but something I've wanted to do ever since we built the house. Asphalt arrives today!

At least it has a good stable base under it!:D
 

Attachments

  • DSC03659.JPG
    DSC03659.JPG
    146.4 KB · Views: 3,305
  • DSC03660.JPG
    DSC03660.JPG
    150.9 KB · Views: 7,797
  • DSC03667.JPG
    DSC03667.JPG
    151.8 KB · Views: 4,363
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #9  
Crusher run sounds like the wrong approach to me for a steep hill. I put in #2 (3-4" crushed stone) and let the truck pack it down into the clay base over time. Held up very well. The contractor suggested #4 but that just disappeared.

I also had good results with #2 topped with #4 on a flat driveway in a clay environment.

Ken
 
   / Steep Gravel Driveway Too Much Work #10  
Steep and gravel don't work well together. Your idea of concrete on the turn is the best solution. Consider adding some swales to divert the water to the downhill side of the road.:):)
 
 
Top