Getting crushed rock back on driveway

[Thomas]

Is there lawn care company near by,if so maybe worth hiring if the have equipment.

 

[seville009]

It is a thought. Kind of pricy, and I checked to see if I could rent one locally. No one has them. There are Stihl dealers in my nearest town of 30,000, but not have them in stock. Thanks

Home Depot rents them per their website. No idea as to the cost though…..

 

[zzvyb6]

A strong leaf blower works really well if you get the gravel & stones before they sink in. The best solution is concrete. However, setting the plow up on mushroom skids and packing a track down with a vehicle first will stop the stone migration.

 

[JohnnyMX]

We had a rough winter in upstate NY this year with constant freeze/thaw, but not quite enough to melt things fully between storms. We pack it down before plowing and ended up with a giant skating rink. The drive is 1/2 mile and flat so we are good, but friends/family/deliveries are sometimes dicey.

For smaller areas with smaller stone I use the Sthil Kombi with the power broom attachment to make pretty quick work. It does a great job.

The landscape rake can work, but you'll move sod/dirt onto the drive at some point. Gauge wheels and float (chain or EA rake's slot) can help some.

The chain harrow seems to catch every stick/twing/rock when using in a food plot. I wonder if it may consolidate piles where they could be raked??

I also have a rock spreader attachment that came with the house when we moved in that is custom built and it has a "gravel reclaimer" built in. It will grab 2' off the drive and funnel that rock back to the drive assuming it is on the surface and not packed down in. I've never seen anything like it, but it is a simple concept.

 

[IndyIan]

If your turf is pretty tough and flat, and your rear blade is pretty light, I've had decent luck just using it to pull some of the gravel back, not all of course.
I think the real solution is calcium chloride on grade A gravel so it stay hard and packed as a municipal gravel road and a lighter rear blade can't hardly leave a mark, but I haven't done that yet. I guess I should try a section of my driveway and see what it does.

 

[bdhsfz6]

My experiance with the york rake is that it moves a lot of dirt and sod trying to get gravel out of grass.

Very true.

I found a T&T kit and gauge wheels help. You can adjust the "bite" and pitch of the rake on the fly.

 

[bookman51]

Is there lawn care company near by,if so maybe worth hiring if the have equipment.

Worth checking in to. Thanks

 

[bookman51]

If your turf is pretty tough and flat, and your rear blade is pretty light, I've had decent luck just using it to pull some of the gravel back, not all of course.
I think the real solution is calcium chloride on grade A gravel so it stay hard and packed as a municipal gravel road and a lighter rear blade can't hardly leave a mark, but I haven't done that yet. I guess I should try a section of my driveway and see what it does.

I try not to pack the crushed rock down too much. After it rains or with melting snow, the rock just goes into the soft clay. I have to keep working it back up. Thanks

 

[bookman51]

We had a rough winter in upstate NY this year with constant freeze/thaw, but not quite enough to melt things fully between storms. We pack it down before plowing and ended up with a giant skating rink. The drive is 1/2 mile and flat so we are good, but friends/family/deliveries are sometimes dicey.

For smaller areas with smaller stone I use the Sthil Kombi with the power broom attachment to make pretty quick work. It does a great job.

The landscape rake can work, but you'll move sod/dirt onto the drive at some point. Gauge wheels and float (chain or EA rake's slot) can help some.

The chain harrow seems to catch every stick/twing/rock when using in a food plot. I wonder if it may consolidate piles where they could be raked??

I also have a rock spreader attachment that came with the house when we moved in that is custom built and it has a "gravel reclaimer" built in. It will grab 2' off the drive and funnel that rock back to the drive assuming it is on the surface and not packed down in. I've never seen anything like it, but it is a simple concept.

Thanks

 

[bookman51]

Home Depot rents them per their website. No idea as to the cost though…..

Thanks for checking. I checked the Home Depot site and the nearest Home Depot store is 42 miles away and they do not rent them. The next nearest might be 120. But I do like the idea of renting the Stihl Powebroom. For about $50 I probably can rent one long enough to do what I need. I will keep looking. Thanks

 

[bookman51]

Are you using a 3-point mounted blade on a tractor to clear the snow?? If so - try this next year. You may be trying to blade the snow before the driveway freezes up hard.

Reverse the rear blade 180 degrees. Blade the snow using the blade this way until the driveway gets good and hard.

You will find a whole lot less gravel in your grass.

Generall I use the front blade on the ATV. With deeper snow I use the front loader blade on my Farmall 340. With real deep snow I used the front blade on my John Deere 420 crawler. I have put a pipe on m ATV cutting edge so it does not bring up as much crushed rock, but it still brings up some. Thanks

 

[bookman51]

My experiance with the york rake is that it moves a lot of dirt and sod trying to get gravel out of grass.

Thanks

 

[treefarmerguy]

My driveway is graded base and I try to leave some snow on it when snowblowing or using the FEL. For the stone that gets on the grass, I have good luck with a backpack blower.

 

[gstrom99]

I bought a Stihl Yard Boss with the sweeper, last year. A liitle pricey, but it works really well, in reverse (pulling towards you).

 

[bookman51]

My driveway is graded base and I try to leave some snow on it when snowblowing or using the FEL. For the stone that gets on the grass, I have good luck with a backpack blower.

Good to know. Thanks much

 

[bookman51]

I bought a Stihl Yard Boss with the sweeper, last year. A liitle pricey, nut it works really well, in reverse (pulling towards you).

Good to know. I am still looking to rent one. I understand they do give one a workout! Thanks

 

[repete]

I have a 7' landscape rake very similar to one shown above. My "driveway" is ¼ mile long.

Couple times a year I need to bring the rock back onto the drive that have been forced off. It takes a little practice but if you turn the rake @ 45° angle and set one side a little lower than the other, you can bring gravel back up onto the drive. (It will take several passes, and you'll get a little dirt with it, but the more passes you make the cleaner it will get) The dirt washes thru in a couple of rains. The trick is to set the rake draft so it doesn't dig deep into the soil. In other words, don't try to do it in one or two passes. I usually take 5-6 light passes.

I've found it's better to try to bring the rock back up onto the drive after it rains, rather than when its dusty dry.

Just my 2¢.

This is how I take care of my 3/4 mile driveway.

 

[bookman51]

This is how I take care of my 3/4 mile driveway.

I assume you have gauge wheels on your landscape rake so you can control the depth better. Thanks much.

 

[repete]

I assume you have gauge wheels on your landscape rake so you can control the depth better. Thanks much.

No, just a rake.

 

[bookman51]

No, just a rake.

Good to know. Thanks much!