Driveway Recommendations

njrqs · Nov 1, 2001

I have approx 100m of driveway (300'). It is in bad condition and I have been patching it by hand and with some fill I have on my block using a bobcat (hired) (I don't have a FEL - shame !)

There are all sorts of things I can do with the driveway but the interface between the drive and the lawn puzzles me.

Short of concrete kerbing or something, I have rocks and dirt etc. on the lawn when I mow.

The drive is uphill so scours out a lot when it rains. The last time I got 2 speedhumps put in with dirt and they help.

Any recommendations as to the driveway and especially the edge treatment?

Cheers

Neil from OZ.

ERNIEB · Nov 1, 2001

Neil, my driveway goes down hill, amd then back up again. I put a crown on it, using limestone roadbase packed down as good as I could get it. Water then drains to the sides rather than running down the drive. In my case I had to cut ditches on the sides to handle the water.
It worked good until drainage ditches on the main road clogged, and caused a small river to flow on to a neighbors land, and ended up hitting my drive from the side. I had a couple of gullies running across it. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Looking at your picture, I don't think that would be a problem for you. As far as the curb, I don't think you would need it, unless you wanted it for looks. When A house is brick or rock, I like to see a curb that matches the house, but it can be expensive/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Ernie

StanInCalif · Nov 1, 2001

Neil-
I would pull some shallow ditches on the edges of the driveway and put a little crown in the driveway, using a rear blade with tilt capabilities, in order to manage the water. I would then use post-emergent herbicides, such as Roundup, to define the border between driveway and lawn, and, ultimately pre-emergants, such as Surflan or Trifluralin (Preen). That's what works for me here in California. Cheers-

stan

njrqs · Nov 2, 2001

Yes I thought that might be the go. Since the speed bumps were installed, the gully on the down side of the drive has become more eroded, but still out of control, so maybe I need to define it more before it scours away more of the drive or the grass.

I don't mind the brick idea, much cheaper than concrete and gives me something to round-up to. Just the labout to lay 600' of bricks worries me.

This arvo I am going to try using my ripper to lay some brick edging around a garden, and maybe if it isn't too hard I could have a go at the drive.

I figure just rip a shallow trench and drop the bricks in and scrape dirt up to them.

I know I need a rear blade. Just have to convince the finance officer.

Cheers

Neil from OZ.

GlueGuy · Nov 2, 2001

Neil,

Your hill is pretty non-existent compared to ours. Our driveway is about 4300' (1300 meters) long. It runs up one hill for about 100' elevation gain, down a short way (about 30' elevation loss), then up another 100' elevation gain, then down about 75' elevation loss, then up another 50' elevation gain (whew /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif)... About 3 years ago we had about a 1000 tons of rock/fill brought in and spread over the whole thing.

We have a number of different schemes in place, depending on the surrounding terrain. The one that I've found works the best is the "crown". The general idea is to make the road surface higher than the surrounding terrain.

This can be over-done. What I've seen many times is an "ever cambered" crown. If the crown has too small a radius, people tend to always drive on the middle, and wear grooves on either side of the top. If the crown is flatter, & it is still higher than the surrounding terrain, people will (more likely) drive off-center (drive off to the left/right depending on local custom), and spread out the wear.

What you really need is either a box blade or a back blade to allow you to contour the driveway to your liking.

The GlueGuy

TerryinMD · Nov 2, 2001

To prevent the errosion, use some rip-rap (piled larger rocks) to slow down the water on the slopes. May want to dig some small drainage ponds to catch the water also.

Terry

jwstewar · Nov 2, 2001

1000 tons of rock /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif - whew!!! glad I wasn't the one footing that bill/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Jim

njrqs · Nov 3, 2001

Bird

I am now on the hunt for a back blade. I am convinced it will be the thing to go for.

One question after looking at a few US sites (We don't have many manufacturers) Is there many that will tilt left/right to allow you to do that crown or are they done via the 3PL linkage up/down adjustment on (my) Right Hand lower arm?

I see they pivot to scrape to one side or the other, but the tilt thing I am interested in?

Neil from OZ.

Anonymous Poster · Nov 3, 2001

...Is there many that will tilt left/right to allow you to do that crown...

I'd say the majority of them do have "tilt" as a feature...

Bird · Nov 3, 2001

Neil, I'm confident that John's right in that most do tilt the way you want, but I don't have one and have never even used one; just use a box blade.

Bird