Driveway repair with rear blade HELP!

[Egon]

No mud!

Its just that I have a different perspective of whats proper. For me a well graded gravel laid down and compacted is what I'm looking for for durability.

Others may what a course open graded gravel that looks nice and gives lots of opportunities for working on it to look good. Difference perspectives.

By the way I'm not an Engineer.

Picture enclosed of work done with a Kubota B7100 HST and back blade. Make you own judgment on quality of work!

And I will admit I'm not a good operator!

 

[EddieWalker]

From looking at your pictures, and the condition of the rock, I think you are wasting your time with a blade or any other attachment.

The rock is large, and there's isn't very much of it. From the look of the road where the tires travel, it looks like bare earth is coming through.

For a gravel road to survive, it needs to be thick enough for the rock to bind together to form a solid mass. From what I've been told and personally experienced, 4 inches is the minimum. If you have less then 4 inches of rock, it will move and slowly disapear on you. The rock needs to be mixed in size from what you have all the way down to the very finest particles. This way, when it's compacted, all the voids around the rock if filled.

If by some miricale, you can get a rear blade to work like you want it to, which I don't think it will, you will move a very small amount of rock onto your driveway. This rock will just sitt there and probably make the drive rougher to drive on, but not much else will happen.

I think you need to use the money you want to spend on a rear blade and buy some road base rock. It's called different names all over the country, but the use is always the same. ROAD BASE.

Eddie

 

[easygo]

Say,..... Egon.... what kind of sailboat will go into that boathouse. That is some thin slice of heaven you got there. As far as the gravel, I think it looks fine it just needs a boat on top of it to make it look more finished.

Edit: As far as being an engineer. It is always the engineers fault!!! If it brakes the engineer didn't design it strong enough. If it's too expensive/heavy the darn engineer overbuilt it. If it's behind schedule the engineers are slow with the design. If actually gets done on time it must have been an idea from someone other then the engineer.

 

[crocodile_jkg]

After reading some of the posts here I contacted a builder with a good reputation in my area to come look at the driveway. Turns out he was the builder who started it for the previous owner. The driveway was never finished correctly for two reasons. 1 the previous owner was going to do some of the rest of the work himself. 2 the previous own never paid the builder what he was owed for the work he did complete. I talked to the previous owner several times when we were buying the place and I can not say that I was surprised by what I was told. Bottom line is that the builder is going to finish the job right today. He is going to bring in 6 loads of chirt to correct some problems then put gravel over the whole length of the driveway.

Thanks for all the info.

James

 

[Egon]

Crocodile: Glad to see you got the driveway problem resolved.



Easygo, that is not our place. We live in town but do have some lake front land at another lake.

I was just doing this work for someone else. Went out to spread a load of sand as a favor and spent most of the summer out there working on projects.

 

[EddieWalker]

The driveway was never finished correctly for two reasons.

James,

I'm curious to know what part wasn't finished? Was it just bringing in enough rock? or was there more to it?

Eddie

 

[crocodile_jkg]

Eddie:

There were a few ditches that were not completed, the culverts were not rocked, and several spots that were not compacted enough. About half of the drive was not covered in gravel.

James

PS we are also removing part of the driveway where it split around two trees. The left branch of the split went up a good slope that was contributing to the run off problems.

 

[Lynkage]

From looking at your pictures, and the condition of the rock, I think you are wasting your time with a blade or any other attachment.

The rock is large, and there's isn't very much of it. From the look of the road where the tires travel, it looks like bare earth is coming through.

For a gravel road to survive, it needs to be thick enough for the rock to bind together to form a solid mass. From what I've been told and personally experienced, 4 inches is the minimum. If you have less then 4 inches of rock, it will move and slowly disapear on you. The rock needs to be mixed in size from what you have all the way down to the very finest particles. This way, when it's compacted, all the voids around the rock if filled.

If by some miricale, you can get a rear blade to work like you want it to, which I don't think it will, you will move a very small amount of rock onto your driveway. This rock will just sitt there and probably make the drive rougher to drive on, but not much else will happen.

I think you need to use the money you want to spend on a rear blade and buy some road base rock. It's called different names all over the country, but the use is always the same. ROAD BASE.

Eddie

Road base is your friend!! Very good advise Eddie

 

[Northland]

Here are a few pics of a road that I maintain with a landscape rake. You can't beat a landscape rake for snow removal on a stone road. I'll take on any rear blade enthusiast to get similar results.

you gotta bet dirtworksequip! That landscape rake isn't going to plow the snow that dumps down on us here off the NE shore of Lake Superior. A snowblower, front blade or rear blade is required up here.

 

[dirtworksequip]

Northland, you misunderstood me as to using a landscape rake for snow removal. I don't use it alone, it's used in conjuction with a front blade. I was stating that the landscape rake will not windrow your stone off the road as bad as a rear blade. If we get deep snow I'll high blade it off with a front blade and then finish with the landscape rake. Although the rake by itself is pretty effective for snows up to one foot.

Sincerely, Dirt