Advice for gravel drive?

[CoyPatton]

I am located about 3 hrs south of St Louis. The clay in my area is locally known as gumbo. It is a terrible base material.
Unless your clay is at least 40% or greater rock, I would suggest you dig out your clay, put in about 8 inches of sand to help with drainage. Then put in 6 inches or more of large rock (4”+) in order to establish a base. If you can leave that in place through your construction phase. Then put 2” on top of that and continue to build on top of that.

 

[ovrszd]

I am located about 3 hrs south of St Louis. The clay in my area is locally known as gumbo. It is a terrible base material.
Unless your clay is at least 40% or greater rock, I would suggest you dig out your clay, put in about 8 inches of sand to help with drainage. Then put in 6 inches or more of large rock (4”+) in order to establish a base. If you can leave that in place through your construction phase. Then put 2” on top of that and continue to build on top of that.

I'm continually amazed at the huge variance in soil types in the little ole state of Missouri!!!!

 

[2506shooter]

There are MANY different grades of clay. Around here the red clay is great to work with. Once you get it compacted correctly it just gets slick on top as long as you don't let water stand on it. Some of the yellow to white clay is a completely different story. I've dug clay out of a creek bank that i think could have gone straight to a pottery factory.

On the driveway:
If I was building a driveway for construction but planning on probably moving it eventually I would put down matting and cover it with a layer of surge stone. I would let the construction trucks pack it in and cover the surge with #5 stone once that happens. The surge over matting is what we use here on commercial construction sites for the DEQ required construction entrances. On larger sites we have to stir it about once a week because it packs together and won't pull the mud off of truck tires. VERY rough ride till it gets packed, but forms a good tight sturdy bed.
Number 5 stone is about a 1" gravel. It's one size bigger than the commonly used #57 stone. Seems to last longer than #57.
Stay away from ABC/crusher run. Yes it's cheaper but that's because you are buying the dirt/screenings that wash away and get tracked in the house. ABC makes a great base also after you get over 4" thick and pack it correctly. Light duty asphalt here normally has at least a 6" base layer of ABC under it.

 

[ovrszd]

There are MANY different grades of clay. Around here the red clay is great to work with. Once you get it compacted correctly it just gets slick on top as long as you don't let water stand on it. Some of the yellow to white clay is a completely different story. I've dug clay out of a creek bank that i think could have gone straight to a pottery factory.

On the driveway:
If I was building a driveway for construction but planning on probably moving it eventually I would put down matting and cover it with a layer of surge stone. I would let the construction trucks pack it in and cover the surge with #5 stone once that happens. The surge over matting is what we use here on commercial construction sites for the DEQ required construction entrances. On larger sites we have to stir it about once a week because it packs together and won't pull the mud off of truck tires. VERY rough ride till it gets packed, but forms a good tight sturdy bed.
Number 5 stone is about a 1" gravel. It's one size bigger than the commonly used #57 stone. Seems to last longer than #57.
Stay away from ABC/crusher run. Yes it's cheaper but that's because you are buying the dirt/screenings that wash away and get tracked in the house. ABC makes a great base also after you get over 4" thick and pack it correctly. Light duty asphalt here normally has at least a 6" base layer of ABC under it.

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