Driveway question

mb25acres · Nov 26, 2005

I have the ability to get concrete from a concrete plant for the cost of transport 4.00 a ton. the concrete company dumps what is left in the trucks after delivery on the ground and then breaks it up an piles it up. In my area driveways are normally cut in 6 inches. I was thinking of useing this as my base and then placing hardpack on top. some of the chunks can be rather large. do I need to break these up into smaller chunks say 4-6, or 6-10 inches square, or will the 2-3 foot squares work. I am a little worried about heaving and do not want these to work there way up. I have 750- 800 feet to do. it is in central ohio. thanks Mike

JSUnlimited · Nov 26, 2005

Mike,

I guess that I'm not sure the question you are asking. If you need a good base, I used limestone 304's let it rain on it and then the sun baked into almost "concrete". Then I covered it with limestone 57's. Most of my drive is on a hill and this has held up great! I'd say that if you have large pieces of cured concrete, sooner or later they will show up again. When you say "cut in at 6 inches"... do you mean 2" of base and 4" of concrete? I poured 4" concrete for an apron and sidewalks over slimestone screening and have had no problems at all.

RobS · Nov 26, 2005

I'm having some problems with my drive now, not sure if your situation is the same or not. We had ours (750 feet) constructed with recycled concrete. They put down a layer of large (fist sized) chunks first, then topped with smaller (3/4" to fines). The smaller stuff is great, packs well, grades well when you need it. Trouble is, the larger stones are either working up or the smaller stuff is working down. I'm finding more and more of the larger stuff at the surface. I suspect I just need to add another layer of the small stuff. Overall, the drive is very stable but I don't like the larger chunks coming up. Very bumpy /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

mb25acres · Nov 26, 2005

I meant by cutting in removin 6 inches of dirt. I was thinking about cutting in 8 inches so that i can get two layers of concrete at about 3 inches thick and then topping with 2 inches of 57's with fines.
Thanks Mike

Highbeam · Nov 27, 2005

It needs to be clear that Mike isn't pouring any wet concrete, just recylced chunks. Recycled concrete is great for a crushed rock substitute. It needs to be crushed to the same size as you would have used had it been regular rock. I don't see many roads being built with 12" quarry rock so I wouldn't use 12" concrete chunks either. So you can either get it ground up before delivery or find some way to pulverize it once delivered. Seems to me that if the recycled concrete isn't crushed to the 2-4" or smaller size then it will need extra effort and may not be worth the cost. It could be expensive to buy that free concrete.

Wiens · Nov 27, 2005

mb25acres,

What you should be getting from the concrete plant is washout. Apply it in a layer 4-6 inches thick. After a week or two have some road gravel laid on top, about an inch. You'll have a very solid inexpensive driveway. We had to use it due to the sugar sand in our area. The washout "bridges" over the sand and doesn't let any rocks or gravel sink in. We had our lane built up in this manner almost 8 years ago and it had held up wonderfully with three families worth of traffic.

If you do get large chucks of concrete, break them up and lay them in the roadbed. In our area, washout is more clumpy than chunky.

Kevin

mb25acres · Nov 27, 2005

I will go and talk to them about washout. I had been getting chunks with some of what your talking about mixed in. I used the chunks to make walls around my culvert so it wouldn't wash out.So far i have used 60 ton for that, and still need to do the down stream side. I am getting the free use of a bobcat for the weekend soon and am hoping to use it to cut in the drive. I am short on cash and am trying to get as much as I can for the little I have.
Thanks for the help,
Mike

jmc · Nov 27, 2005

Yeah, I'd be concerned about big chunks too, when you drive on the edge of them and the opposite side is pried up.

SPIKER · Nov 28, 2005

Hey Mike:

I was wondering WHERE you were getting the stuff from? I'm in Jeromesville and am in need of some 100 ton of fill for a barn base...

anyhow I'm getting kicked off thanks for info you can PM me the number if possable & location?

thanks Mark M