Alternatives to Concrete

[texasjohn]

My .02 worth...

Road base (mixed fines and smaller rock) costs me $4.00 a ton
3/8" washed crushed rock (kinda like pea gravel, but sharp edges) is 8.50 a ton

The quarry is 4 miles away, one way. I have my own hydraulic dump trailer so I haul my own material. I haul 9 tons at a time.

If worked carefully, the road base could be rolled and watered down to be extremely hard, nearly like concrete. It would seem very flat However, it would be dusty and problematic for a quality basket ball court since rocks would still be there and there would be sufficient unevenness to cause problems...wouldn't be like a wood or concrete base. That said, I've seen lots of kids playing on dirt courts, mostly in foreign countries, but doubt that you could measure a difference in the fun that they were having over those using an improved court.

The 3/8" pea gravel-like stuff would in no way be proper for a basketball court...it ALWAYS remains loose and mushy on top....don't even consider it.

If you did put down a solid base of some larger rock, flattened it, then put smaller rock down, flattened it, then put down blacktop millings and rolled it...then it would be just like a road base, wonderfully smooth, water resistant/tight. The county built the county road to my place using this technique.

Whatever you do, hope that your approach builds the right character in your kids!

 

[sfloggie]

Wow TexasJohn..good advice.

Also made me notice I got carried away with the road work and crushed concrete and I forgot he was asking for a basketball type court.

The Crushed run, what you noted or the finer crushed concrete would be best for the basketball court. The crushed concrete I described is great for a road, but rough on feet, ankles and knees.

Amen about character. My Dad gave each of us work on the farm such as cattle to watch who were calving or going to, so much land to bush hog etc. If he came home and we could not tell him how a cow was or had not bush hog then we were no that night. Our old Ford barely had lights. It only took me once to look for a cow who hid in the lowland near a creek to have a calf. I knew the "swamp monsters" were going to get me that night and I never forgot it!

It helped me in the Army as he died my senior year of high school and I went to Viet Nam..

Best to you.
Jim

 

[MMH]

My .02 worth...

Road base (mixed fines and smaller rock) costs me $4.00 a ton
3/8" washed crushed rock (kinda like pea gravel, but sharp edges) is 8.50 a ton

The quarry is 4 miles away, one way. I have my own hydraulic dump trailer so I haul my own material. I haul 9 tons at a time.

If worked carefully, the road base could be rolled and watered down to be extremely hard, nearly like concrete. It would seem very flat However, it would be dusty and problematic for a quality basket ball court since rocks would still be there and there would be sufficient unevenness to cause problems...wouldn't be like a wood or concrete base. That said, I've seen lots of kids playing on dirt courts, mostly in foreign countries, but doubt that you could measure a difference in the fun that they were having over those using an improved court.

The 3/8" pea gravel-like stuff would in no way be proper for a basketball court...it ALWAYS remains loose and mushy on top....don't even consider it.

If you did put down a solid base of some larger rock, flattened it, then put smaller rock down, flattened it, then put down blacktop millings and rolled it...then it would be just like a road base, wonderfully smooth, water resistant/tight. The county built the county road to my place using this technique.

Whatever you do, hope that your approach builds the right character in your kids!

Good advice - thank you.

 

[Diamondpilot]

This must be a local thing. I have a 280' long drive and got quotes for Concrete and it was about $28,000 last summer. I had it black topped for $7500. I did go ahead and had a 6" 40x15 concrete pad poured in front of the pole barn so I could jack stuff up, ect.

I had enough of the gravel after 10 years. I was spending $500 a year to maintain it the way I wanted and it was non stop.

By the way my asphalt job took them 3 days. They did 3" total. 2" of heavy base and 1" top coat. They spent a day with 3 guys grading using a BobCat, rakes, and a 10 ton roller. They then put down the asphalt over 1 1/2 days then the rest of the 3rd day they graded the dirt and cleaned up. It was 4,600 total SQ FT. I had another guy do the Concrete work and it was about $2500.

So in the end I spent $10,000 versus $28,000.

Here is the only pic I have of the new drive. I need to get more.


Chris

 

[texas42]

The best thing to do no matter what type of surface, is to get a good base down like others have described, drive on it a while to get it packed down and to reveal any soft spots.
Fix the soft spots and then regrade it smooth, water it and roll it.
Then you are ready to put down asphalt pavement or millings.
If you use millings spread and roll them the day you get them, especially if its hot. - Do Not let them set in a pile.
When doing your base remember to allow for the thickness of the pavement layer whether it will be Asphalt, Millings or Concrete.

 

[MMH]

The best thing to do no matter what type of surface, is to get a good base down like others have described, drive on it a while to get it packed down and to reveal any soft spots.
Fix the soft spots and then regrade it smooth, water it and roll it.

Can you compact it by driving on it or do you need a steam roller?

 

[Modn]

Not really a tractor operation question but thought that there were plenty of knowledgeable folks here that may offer me some advice. I have a gravel driveway & can live with that, but need to set up an area where the kids can play basketball.

At $115 per yd. of concrete & $20 per ton of gravel & putting down 4" of each, I can pour concrete for $2.55 sq.ft. The prices I see for asphalt are too close to what I can do concrete for for me to consider.

Money really tight for now. Are there any other alternatives? Thinking about putting down a / the bigger size stones & then coating the top layer w/ smaller stones/pea gravel. Would this work at all? Any other suggestions?

If you're going to drive on it, I would go 6". 4" isn't much when you have a 4000# vehicle on it....or if the UPS truck or fuel truck comes in it is that much worse.

I'm having the same problem. I have 600' with a sizable turn around and my father's driveway 20'x150'. Concrete is cheaper for me if I do the work which is no big deal, but with the salt used in the winter I wonder how the crete will hold up... Last time I checked the asphalt would be $20,000:confused2:

 

[Egon]

[QUOTE but with the salt used in the winter I wonder how the crete will hold up][/QUOTE]

Seal the concrete and all should be good.

Many towns that have Bus Transit Systems place concrete pads at the Bus Stops as they stand up better than asphalt.

Ot that used to be about 40 years ago!

 

[JCB]

Money really tight for now. Are there any other alternatives? Thinking about putting down a / the bigger size stones & then coating the top layer w/ smaller stones/pea gravel. Would this work at all? Any other suggestions?

NM,

There are some ideas here and at the end of the day you're really not gonna find a better alternative than asphalt or concrete. These products get used on roads because they work and they are cheap. If there was a better/cheaper way to go...it would be done.

You've really painted yourself in a corner with your needs. You can get a strong driveway cheaply by using some of the recycled materials and techniques mentioned above, but wanting a smooth surface to play basketball on really only leaves you with your original choices asphalt or concrete. Furthermore the fact that the surface is also gonna be open to your vehicles means you'll need the 4" concrete or 2" asphalt no matter what or else your vehicle traffic will tear up the surface regardless.

Joe

 

[EddieWalker]

NM,

There are some ideas here and at the end of the day you're really not gonna find a better alternative than asphalt or concrete. These products get used on roads because they work and they are cheap. If there was a better/cheaper way to go...it would be done.

You've really painted yourself in a corner with your needs. You can get a strong driveway cheaply by using some of the recycled materials and techniques mentioned above, but wanting a smooth surface to play basketball on really only leaves you with your original choices asphalt or concrete. Furthermore the fact that the surface is also gonna be open to your vehicles means you'll need the 4" concrete or 2" asphalt no matter what or else your vehicle traffic will tear up the surface regardless.

Joe

I agree with Joe. Trying to save money with another material of method is just going to leave you with an inferior product and something that will not work very well, or last very long. Usually it will either be abandoned because of it falling apart, or you will have to spend more money fixing or replacing it.

Do it right the first time and have it forever Cut corners and you will keep spending money on it forever.

Eddie