Gravel drive help.

[forester2]

Put down geotexile road fabric first and it will save you gravel costs for years to come.

 

[weedsportpete]

I've put down geo-textile fabric last year on the first 100 feet of my driveway, and I've got some material on top of that and intend to put down crush run to top it off.

But I'm wondering about the rest of my driveway. I've got some gravel down already, but I can't say that there is a good base beneath it. Is there a way to save that existing gravel if I have to dig up everything that is there now, down far enough to put in a base and compact it? Is there such a thing as a large portable gravel sifter? or can I just put it all back on top of the fabric and allow rain to wash away the dirt and leave the gravel?

Pete

 

[radioman]

weedsport- take a gander over to this thread. A tbn'er built a motorized dirt sifter. perhaps this is what you ar elooking for ? http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/124659-motorized-dirt-soil-screening-machine.html
Also you not too far away from me, probably a hour drive east. Let me know if you need help. (disclaimer - I am no way an expert on driveway building or anything, but seat time is always fun )

 

[weedsportpete]

Thanks RadioMan! When I get the crush run delivery setup I'll let you know! But I'm thinking its not going to be a big job, just several hours grading and regrading. My neighbor has an old lawn roller thats sized about halfway between the plastic ones at Lowes and the smaller steamrollers - pretty heavy.. hopefully that will be good enough compaction.

I'm not capable of building that dirt sifter - looks great though - very useful.

Pete

 

[wedge40]

I have a high side and a low side. I would put the drainage/ditch along the low side only? Should I dig up the old base before putting down the larger stone?

Wedge

 

[Ken45101]

I have a high side and a low side. I would put the drainage/ditch along the low side only?

That depends on your situation. I my case I have a steep hillside draining down on the one side, running across the driveway and freezing (up to 4 inches of ice, tire chains required on the 4 wheeler to navigate the driveway!). I needed drainage ditches on the high side and a culvert further down to get the water under the driveway. I didn't need a ditch on the low side, there was a big hillside (mountain? LOL) there to drain everything.

If, on the other hand, you don't have drainage across the driveway and/or freezing, that's a different story.

Should I dig up the old base before putting down the larger stone?

IMO, that's a lot of work that won't acccomplish much if anything. I'd just put the larger stone on top of whats there. That's the way I did it when I had smaller stuff sinking into the clay.

Ken

 

[5030tinkerer]

I have a 24" or so ditch on the high side of my drive and only a 8" or so on the low side. A culvert runs under the drive at the point where the drive tended to get soft. Once the culvert was installed, the softness went away. One mistake made on mine was setting the ditch too close to the road. I don't know that the standard is, but I might just re-do that ditch this spring so that the deepest spot is a good 6' off the edge of the road.

I have the geotextile under the gravel and it is working great - the immediate neighbor didn't choose to use the geo and over just the two years that we have had these drives already has about $1000 more rock into his drive than I do.

The thing to remember, though, is that you have to have a thick enough base on top of that fabric to prevent ripping it up (don't ask how I know) during snow removal.

 

[Ken45101]

I don't know that the standard is, but I might just re-do that ditch this spring so that the deepest spot is a good 6' off the edge of the road.

Obviously you are in the flatlands Six feet off my driveway would mean cutting down through as much as ten vertical feet of dirt and rock. I wish I could cut back that far!

Here is a photo of the driveway when we bought the place. Since then we had a contractor with a big excavator cut the hillside back and widen the driveway enough to get a ditch in alongside it but I can only dream of cutting it back far enough to have an idea setup.

Ken

 

[varmint]

This sounds familar! We have about 700' of pretty straight but sloped (8%?) lane thru trees and brush... always a problem with rain washing out... Can't afford paving, so we finally made some progress by having it regraded (wider, with some ditching on the sides) and 4 angled bumps to divert the wash off to the sides... crusher run base, over many years of stone and gravel base, with a top layer (rolled) of ground up asphalt paving material. It would have been best to lay it while it was still warm out, or hot, even, so it can "bind" but we didn't have that option- late November... still, it is holding up well. I plan on having a top coat laid next summer. Now, if I just had some skid shoes for my rear blade...

 

[5030tinkerer]

A friend told me about the ground up asphalt paving in lieu of limestone. I may have to try that out since it seems like a way to get the asphalt drive without the cost. Has anyone had good luck doing that?