Gravel drive repair

[SPYDERLK]

I am entering into my third year using a DR Power Grader to maintain my 600' driveway straight level driveway. For me it is about a 15-20 minute project every 30-60 days. The drive develops the worst potholes in the winter (2-3" deep max) and minor ones during the warmer months (1-2). I have brought gravel in 3 times or so to top dress it. I have also broken up the holes and replaced well with tamper. Still they come back. For me the Power Grader has turned it into just a simple effortless maintenance task pulling the tractor.

Perhaps work on some spot fixing. ... Drive over the holes after you fix them with gravel topped fines while dry and damp only. Dont drive over the patched hole in the 1st few rains. Let it dry a day or so before resuming drive over. If you see any depression start drive next to the hole - esp when wet. When dry refill the beginning depression with gravel and fines. Continue drive packing. Never drive thru standing water. Drive the high spots to keep even slight ruts from developing. When raining drive them slowly. Cultivate a slight crown.
... Natural incidental maintenance.
larry

 

[teg]

What has worked for me... When I'm ready to fix a pothole, I put the box blade on and fill my bucket with fresh crusher run from my stockpile. I always have a load sitting there and it lasts for several years.

I first cut a small ditch from the bottom of the pothole to the edge of the drive with the boxblade. I do this so if any water that seeps into the road will have a way to drain off. For whatever the reason, a pothole (to me) is a very small pond that will always hold water and not drain the water away... so you *HAVE* to fix that.

If the material from that little ditch is good (mostly rock) I'll push that material into the road. Otherwise, I push it aside. Then with fresh gravel, fill the hole and driving over it. I add a little extra so that it becomes a very slight bump up.

Since there were a few different questions asked, for the soft road, added larger sized rocks 3-4" have help me... followed by a top coat that locks the water out.

If I see "thin" spots of gravel in the road, I'll cover those areas with an extra layer of gravel - sometimes using a shovel. Best of luck...

 

[Soundguy]

I agree that using cement or concrete to fill potholes is a bad idea, especially in cold climates, because frost heave will push it up, every time.

.

if you 2 guys are refering to my soil cement post.. I think you are missing the point on how soil cement is used.

it's not a pothole fill.. it's a stabilization method for the entire sub grade.

google it if you are unsure of it's application..

soundguy

 

[MasseyWV]

if you 2 guys are refering to my soil cement post.. I think you are missing the point on how soil cement is used.

My response wasn't in reference to your post because I understand what soil cement is and how it is used. I've seen people use cement or concrete to fill potholes with disastrous results so I simply cautioned against it.

However, I can understand that different types of cement could be confused so no harm done.

 

[Soundguy]

I hear ya. yep.. a simple plug patch in a non prepped pothole is junk.. I agree with ya. same when i see asphalt scab patches that I know will pull right off and out and make a thump when you run over them. no prep = bad results...

 

[radair]

....Be carefull of the boxblade. It's a terrible tool that does a lot of things, but none very well. Just because you have it doesn't mean you should use it.

Eddie

Hey Eddie, tell us how you really feel about boxblades.
To be honest, I don't really want to run out and buy another implement and have never had a problem grading & shaping with a rear blade. Most posts you read about boxblades people love 'em. I can see how they'd work well for washboard sections as DKCDK states.

Of course I dont know your ground, but your description matches what I have seen here. Undoubtedly, using fabric between clay or fines will prevent what you do above from sinking in. However, my experience is that "crusher run" emulsifies in a frost heave thaw - exactly as you describe in your problem area. I quickly decided it was a waste of money- even counterproductive. Gravel is less dense, goes further, and does not hold water and heave. It would be a cheap try, and I think a good enuf fix without the big project and expense. I use 57 gravel but you may need a heavier grade first. The main thing is to not allow ruts to develop because they hold water. And never fill a rut with gravel. A drive wide enuf that you can put a wheel anywhere on its surface allows you to drive down hi spots during natural occurring travel. About 16' wide and slight crown is all it takes. A touch up before each winter with landscape rake and a chaindrag to get gravel on top. Maybe add a little more gravel. Less and less as it stabilizes. Ive sure got bare clay under my 1mi drive and this works well for me.
larry

Great info, Larry, and you're right, it's worth a cheap try (that I can get done easily with my equipment). I suspect our terrain is similar with maybe the only difference being deeper frost depths here. I wasn't familiar with 57 gravel but googled it and found a gradation spec so I can figure out what the local equivalent is (they often use State specs).

Thanks for all the good ideas, guys!

 

[JJP]

Hi. What I have done is put 1FT diameter concrete pavers in the potholes , (maybe a buck a piece if not too many), some pit run gravel and then level. Later you can add the A gravel.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Hey Eddie, tell us how you really feel about boxblades.
To be honest, I don't really want to run out and buy another implement and have never had a problem grading & shaping with a rear blade. Most posts you read about boxblades people love 'em. I can see how they'd work well for washboard sections as DKCDK states.


Great info, Larry, and you're right, it's worth a cheap try (that I can get done easily with my equipment). I suspect our terrain is similar with maybe the only difference being deeper frost depths here. I wasn't familiar with 57 gravel but googled it and found a gradation spec so I can figure out what the local equivalent is (they often use State specs).

Thanks for all the good ideas, guys!

The problem I see with box blades is they usually incorporate tines that can dig. This "may" be a good 1st step in correcting a problem drive, but after that make believe that function option doesnt exist or park em. -- The idea is to get it the right shape and stop stirring. You want it to pack a good base and then stay on top of that with a light gravel surface. It takes time, combined with wet dry cycles to get a good pack. Gravel slowly grinds itself up and contributes fines to the base. Thats why its so effective to backdrag/scrape the base around a pothole to get material to fill it.
...Use your discretion for the severity of your situation. It may be that you need a larger size gravel to stabilize your base most efficiently, esp with your deeper freezes. -- Then after at least a couple weeks of driving all over it, a top coat of ~57 gravel.
...Good luck!
larry

 

[DKCDKC]

I still swear by my box blade for maintenance. I never put the tines down for a driveway run. They are great for leveling a garden or field, but would tear up the gravel base. The box blade lets me fill in ruts, wipe out washboarding and smooth the gravel without moving it off the drive. The flat sections of my mile drive have now become so stable I rarely touch them. The hills, however, still rut and see gravel moving. The box blade is a good fix.

I have a good blade as well, and use it sometimes to move gravel back to the center of the drive. The problems are (1) that my drive used some larger gravel in the base, (2) my drive has some larger rocks that work up over winters, and (3) my drive is largely through heavy forest and there are the occasional roots and stubs that pop up. These things make the road unfriendly for a blade. Despite max care, I have had to have the blade repaired by my welding-expert neighbor several times. The box blade, however, just dances over them.

And, with care, I can set the angle of the box blade a bit so that it cuts less into the drive and ultimately leaves a nice, even gravel surface.

I do use a borrowed landscape rake from time to time to capture any gravel that scoots out and to clear out the mild ditches along some of the road. The stubs and rocks don't bother a rake.

 

[elginfarm]

Hi Guys,
We just bought a place with an old gravel drive that's about 150 Ft. in length. Since we haven't really had a hard freeze here it had a lot of pot holes and was getting really muddy. I don't have a box blade, but I do have a loader and a regular grader blade. After we had a couple days of windy and dry weather, I dragged the drive with the rear blade to loosen things up and level them out a little bit. I had looked into getting a load of gravel to fill and level things out, but found a supplier on Craigslist that was selling asphalt grindings at a really reasonable price. I ordered two loads. I used the first load to fill and level the potholes and low spots with the loader and then compacted it with a plate compactor. A few hours later I had the second load delivered and before the driver dumped it, I asked him to pull up and down the drive a couple of times to help compact the previous load. I used about half of the second load to finish leveling things out and went over it several times with the plate compactor lto ock it in place. I will use the rest of the grindings for a pad for my flatbed trailer after I tear down an old garage that is ready to fall down. I hope that the rest of the rehab work on the house and barn will be that easy. Good luck with your project and keep us updated.