Grading Dirt Driveway

[RidgeHiker]

A loop portion of our driveway is dirt. It is crowned in the center and low where the tires ride. The soils are reasonably well drained with little rock.

I plan to grade it for the first time with our new 5' box blade.

Is it better to do it when the ground is dry or moist?

Is it better to start driving over it soon after to compact it? Or will that just push the loose dirt to the sides? We do not need to drive in the loop portion and can let it sit a while if needed.

I will probably put some gravel or asphalt millings down this summer.

 

[RPW]

IMO I'd do it dry. Compact as soon as you can then spray with water and let dry. Keep the crown.

Good luck.

 

[crash325]

It sort of depends on the type of soil you have. In my part of the world, dry is dry and it just turns to powder if disturbed. So slightly damp is best.

Once graded stone is added and rolled in. More water and more rolling.

Picture is right after grading. Then gravel was spread, watered and rolled in.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I like to do mine when it is a little moist - not wet. A day or two after rain. After you do yours a couple times you will figure out what works best for the material you have.
When I have wheel ruts with a center hump after I get it graded I drive over it with a car everywhere to pack it. Sometimes the wheel ruts reappear but not as deep because when I graded the loose material was deeper where the ruts were, therefore it packed more there. If that happens I just do it again and repack. It is much easier the second time. Do this until it is what you want.
You can prevent this by cutting deeper with your blade so that the solid undisturbed road base has the same contour as the loose top material. ie The loose material is the same thickness across the whole road as oppossed to a cut and fill which leaves the cut part part of the road more solid than the fill part.
Hope this helps. And have fun.

 

[RidgeHiker]

"When I have wheel ruts with a center hump after I get it graded I drive over it with a car everywhere to pack it."
My problem with this is that the drive is surrounded by trees so I cannot drive to the sides enough to pack it all.

 

[wade simpson]

I find a little damp works better. The soil in my area has a lot of clay and seems to stay packed better if done a little damp. My road is mostly bare soil (no crushed rock) with lots of rock in it so it makes a good road. I had to make a lot of drainage ditchs and small ponds to get it to dry quicker.

I drive over it to pack it down as soon as I'm done grading, in case it rains. That helps get the water off the surface quicker. I also use the box tipped rearward, using the aft blade to start the packing after I've finished grading and smoothing.

 

[RidgeHiker]

Can I compact it much with the bottom of the loader bucket if I back up with it pushed down to take weight from the front of the tractor?

 

[Egon]

Grade when the soil is slightly moist. You should be able to take a handful of the dirt and roll it between your hands till it ends up as a nice thin roll of dirt.

Can I compact it much with the bottom of the loader bucket if I back up with it pushed down to take weight from the front of the tractor?

Nope; at least not by the standards compaction is measured.

 

[Gordon Gould]

You should be able to compact where the wheel ruts were and all the way to the edge. This is the most important part. If you cant get the center or top of the crown don't worry about it. Just pack as much as you can.

 

[jenkinsph]

Good advice so far, keep in mind that later when you are planning on top dressing the driveway that you can have the gravel truck drive over it a couple of times before he unloads the truck. That will help with packing the base alot.