Driveway options?

[polo1665]

View attachment 582848

Around here a vette is just another utility vehicle. ��

...but with the ability to drive on the ceiling...…….priceless.

 

[Streetcar]

Here is a second vote for crushed asphalt, not milled, but crushed and roller compacted right over your existing gravel. :thumbsup:

Where do you get your crushed asphalt? I only see it near me at asphalt plants, that do not want to sell it

 

[Streetcar]

View attachment 582848

Around here a vette is just another utility vehicle.

When I was working on Ohio river, there was a guy that used his vette to pull and launch his bass boat. He was regular visitor to the boat ramp in afternoons.

 

[millsan1]

I'd bite the bullet and pave.

I have to repave my driveway, about 1200 ft long, and it sucks, but spread out over the next 20 years, it isn't so bad.

I've done a lot of major improvements on the home the last few years, and each one has been an "ouch", but I do it so that I never have to do it again.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here, you can get what's called oil sand for a lot less then asphalt. Depending on how solid the base is, and how well it's applied, I've seen it last longer then some asphalt and concrete driveways. Having said that, I've seen big money spent on both asphalt and concrete that didn't hold up as well as you would expect for what it cost.

One of my clients is the office manager for the asphalt plant here in town. When the city or TXDOT orders it, they have a formula that must be met. To save money, contractors and private citizens can order it mixed however they want it. When buying, you really need to know what the mixture is, and that you are paying for that mixture. I think some of the issues that I've seen is that they hired a contractor to do it, they agreed to the price, but really didn't know what they where getting in the mixture. I see this a lot in roofs too!!!!

I know two people that where pretty handy in building stuff that bought an older paving machine and had the asphalt delivered to their places, and did it themselves. They rented a roller, and had a few helpers to get it all done. If I remember correctly, the saving was over half of what they where bid, but I don't know if that savings kicked in before or after they sold off the paving machine. Both driveways looked pretty good when new, but started to crack after a few years. But now, more then a decade later, they re still drivable and doing better then gravel would have been.

I didn't know about the variations in mixture until recently, or the significant cost differences from a cheap mix to a city mix.

 

[Xfaxman]

Where do you get your crushed asphalt? I only see it near me at asphalt plants, that do not want to sell it

Don't know where it came from other than out of a big dump truck owned by a friend of the guy that did the job. The guy is a "neighbor" that had hauled in fill dirt here about six years ago.

He is the one that told me crushed is better than milled.

 

[CADplans]

I can not believe the Vette is lower than my wife's S2000,,,
she typically goes up or down our driveway at ~20 MPH,, no rocks flying,,,

I have to drive the S2000 up on a wooden block to get ANY floor jack under the car,,,

Our driveway is topped with a material that is locally called pug mill run.
The Virginia DOT puts the material down before laying new asphalt,,,
It will literally almost compact like concrete,,

After rolling with a lawn roller, you can not push a walking stick into the material,,,

 

[Tomtint]

I had a similar situation. My road is about 16-1800 feet of dirt/gravel/ crushed bluestone etc.. it sucks.. my driveway was 1300 feet of processed asphalt..that sucked as well. .. over the past couple years we have paved the top action of my driveway, paved the long single track 12' wide part of my driveway, and just this past summer top coated the parking area of my driveway,
.

 

[oosik]

Holy hot and steamy cow pies - after seeing the $$$$ for asphalt that you fellows are throwing around here - I'm MORE than pleased that my gravel driveway is adequate, for me.

Please - NOBODY take personal exception to what I'm about to say here. I consider my cell phone ONLY as a device for making phone calls - NOTHING else. Likewise - I consider my driveway as access to my property - NOTHING ELSE.

If the 150 foot portion of my mile long driveway that gets muddy every spring & fall, bothers you - stay home. If you are concerned that any time of the summer - you might have to drive thru several fresh, hot and steamy cow pies - stay home. I'm out in the COUNTRY - I will NEVER spend that kind of money, simply on access.

In my mind - my cell phone is for MY use - that's why I pay for it. My driveway is for MY access - that's why it is what it is.

 

[flashpuppy]

I can not believe the Vette is lower than my wife's S2000,,,
she typically goes up or down our driveway at ~20 MPH,, no rocks flying,,,

I have to drive the S2000 up on a wooden block to get ANY floor jack under the car,,,

Our driveway is topped with a material that is locally called pug mill run.
The Virginia DOT puts the material down before laying new asphalt,,,
It will literally almost compact like concrete,,

After rolling with a lawn roller, you can not push a walking stick into the material,,,

If you look at that video I posted... That hot rod is about 3 1/2” clearance. My 06 GTO is as low as an S2000. My Camaro wears gooey drag radials, twin turbo LS3 needs some sticky tires to be drivable.

It is not just about ground clearance. My gravel is GOOD and packed real solid but it still gets messy when it is wet and dusty when it is dry. Neither of those are things I want on my “toy” cars.

Thinking about looking at crushed asphalt and a compactor.

As far as the cost goes... It is what it is. I just bought the 33 acre farm. We bought it because we live the property. I am almost done with the house remodel and have started on fencing now. Waiting on Morton to get my 50x80 shop put up. I have a lot of cars, none of which are exactly cheap. Another $50k to keep them all clean and scratch free, plus the additional ease of snow removal, is worth it to me. BUT... I am a car guy and have based a lot of my life choices around that. This is just another one of those.

 

[plowhog]

Only used for motorcycle traffic

Whew! I was afraid it was a mobility scooter.

 

[coobie]

So my driveway is about 3/4 mile long. I hate that it is gravel, albeit well maintained and in great shape. But my poor Camaro... I can hear the ticking of gravel no matter how slow I go due to the drag radial tires. I am considering a new Corvette but I have to do something about this driveway before that bad boy comes home.

Chip and seal? Paving? What do you think I would be looking at for cost? Thoughts?

I would say new driveway first,corvette second.I feel your pain.

 

[oosik]

I think that a nice spray of mud, followed by cow poo highlights from hot, steaming pies in my driveway, adds a bit of panache to my Jeep TJ.

However - I do like the looks of the hot cars you guys have pictured here - its just that my gravel driveway and your hot cars are not and will never be a match made in heaven.

My God - I'm still in total amazement at the $$$$ that will/could be spent on something as basic as access.


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[dodge man]

I am a car person also. I had hot mix asphalt put down on mine about 18 years ago and had it repaved 2 years ago. This last time it cost 16k. It is expensive plus you have to seal it every 4 or 5 years. It is also really nice, this time of year especially. It seemed like my gravel would turn to mush during the freeze thaw cycles this time of year. My drive is about 600 feet long.

Two less expensive options. One is chips. Kind of like pea gravel. It is smaller rock and clean, no fines in it. If you have a decent base this makes a much cleaner surface. The bad is it can still get messy. It also does not pack in so it can scatter and you will have to haul more in once in a while. If maintained this can look good and be more dust free than gravel.

The second is oil and chips. It has already been mentioned. I will just add the key is to do it right. The perfect amount of oil and chips is the key. Not to much of either. Make sure they roll it with a rubber tire roller. I work for an engineering firm and my boss is a little obsessive about it. To much oil and it bleeds in hot weather, not enough and the chips do not stick. To much chips and they just scatter, not enough and the oil is not covered. It can make a really nice surface and be fast to install. If your driveway is fairly straight once the base is smoothed out, the can chip it in an hour.

Good luck.

 

[oosik]

So - Dodge Man - and all you others with your more than just nice - asphalt driveways. The METHOD & MEANS of winter snow removal/ plowing is a major concern for you - right? Being too aggressive and all that $$$ spent could end up looking like a dried out ear of corn or worse, end up in the driveway ditch.

Perhaps, now I understand, all the concern for rubber edged blades - blowing rather than grading - sand & de-icer rather than plowing.

Ha, ha - if I spent that much $$$ on my driveway - I'd have some form of toll system down at the beginning to charge folks just for the pleasure of driving down the driveway. As it it - I leave selected pot holes - strategically located - all the way down my driveway - just to slow those fools who come and would find great pleasure going 40 - 50 - even 60 down my driveway. As a matter of fact - they use to brag about it - as the choking clouds of dust and volcanic ash would descend upon my house.

Vocal, verbal requests always fell of deaf ears - strategically located potholes - like speed bumps in a large parking lot - do their job and do it well.

You know - most of the pictures of your driveways show a superior surface than the county maintained road that my driveway connects to.

 

[dnw64]

...I'm still in total amazement at the $$$$ that will/could be spent on something as basic as access.

That's the whole point right?

You wouldn't spend $$$$ because your Jeep can access your property just fine the way it is.

Many do/will spend $$$$ because if they don't, they won't be able to* access their property with the vehicles they have.

Some just place a high value on having a nice drive and can afford to put the money into it.

*theoretically, probably any street legal vehicle could make it down your driveway. But if you have a $500k vehicle with flawless paint job, or even a $50k car with 75 year old original paint, you won't drive it anywhere other than near-perfect conditions. I won't even drive my $20k Porsche on dirt roads, and if I visit someone with a gravel driveway I drive it very, very slowly. Much more slowly than I'd be willing to drive on my driveway on a regular basis.

 

[Xfaxman]

My low slung car doesn't care what the driveway surface is, but it doesn't have enough power to go up steep hills :thumbdown:.

 

[plowhog]

it doesn't have enough power to go up steep hills

I guess you don't need a horn, as it seems you won't be passing anyone ...

 

[Xfaxman]

I guess you don't need a horn, as it seems you won't be passing anyone ...

:laughing:, you got that right!

 

[ruffdog]

These cars are only cars, not humans. Spend the money with the family or friends on a vacation etc. Life is too short...have fun with it before it is gone. So, don't worry about chips, smile, drive, have fun.