Gravel driveway grading

[Gary Fowler]

I have a slightly steep section of hill where I built a gravel path for golf cart traffic between my place and brother in laws that I cant keep from washing away the gravel and creating a trench so I plan to fix that with a catch basinn at the top of the hill to direct all the run off into and then an underground drain pipe down the hill to where I can discharge it in a more level area. Probably have to put some kind of turn up at the end and a rock pit to absorb the force of the flow to keep from having a crawfish pit at the end but at least with it flat, no more gully washed in the hill that has to be patched after every large rain.
I am thinking that at the bottom of the drain I can direct the water up into a pit of large gravel or stone maybe contained in an old plastic drum that will diffuse the water enough to let it flow out into the flat area without washing away anything.

 

[DKCDKC]

Sounds like a lot of work. I imagine it will do the trick, but you may want to try ditching if you haven't already... Works pretty good here in the Virginia mountains. For a slight slope in a warm climate, I would also consider ground asphalt. It may cost no more - or less - than regular stone and really resist rutting. The secret is to lay it down now like regular stone, then roll it good. You Arkansas summer will make it into a rough pavement that should last.

My other trick here is water breaks directing the water to the side. I use ditches to carry the water off. I also put larger stones in the ditches at intervals to prevent the water from gaining the speed to do damage.

 

[Ron JD670]

I appreciate the advice. The problem that I think needs solving is that the driveway is basically lower than the ground to either side of it. It seems to my uneducated mind like the right thing to do is slope it to the outside so that water runs off to that side, but that would require bringing one side down by several inches at least, since currently it slopes the exact wrong way. I say, "wrong way," because the driveway is a loop, and so if water is directed to the inside, it will have to cross the driveway again at the bottom of the loop. .

You mentioned the drive being a loop so you should find that while straight across it slopes inside , but if you measure from the inside to a point a few feet or a yard lower on the outside you will find it is lower at that angle. This is the angle you want to put your cross bars in or maybe a bit more aggressive. I built some soft cross bars using fresh gravel. I have to rebuild them periodically, but it keeps the neighbors from complaining about speed bumps. I ordered a 10yd load of gravel and had it dumped in a pile so I could use it as I experimented while I fixed up my road. Something I could not have done if I did not have the tractor.

My ditch on one side had filled in and was higher than the road because they had built a berm which fell into the ditch over time. To reestablish the ditch I had pull down the berm then use the box blade to bring the side down to road level then to slope it to form a ditch. I must say be careful working a slope and don't drive diagonal across the ditch (unless you can lock all four wheels). Depending on the length of the ditch, slope, road you may need to run the ditch away from the road after a distance to dump water and start a new ditch. I'm working up a plan for my drive now to deal with the occasional down pour.

Before going at it with the rippers see what you can do with the box blade first. You may be surprised how much you can move (and how quickly you can make a mess). Once you rip it you have to repack it.


I know you Check out You Tube but Search under
"Using a subcompact tractor to ______"
The following one is good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoc2Mf5yRZI&sns=em


Also there are some very good threads on here on TBN see if you can find these two.
Beginners guide to using a box blade
Rear Blade: How to grade a driveway

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[crazyal]

My advise, unless you have really major repair work forget the box blade. For the last few years I've been borrowing one who good results but this year I broke down and bought a grading scraper and it just does a nicer job with less user input. Get yourself one with ripping teeth if you have rocks or a drive that packs down real hard. They are much easier to use and the novice would have a much harder time making the drive worse.

I have steep sections I maintain, some of which are roads built by others that are nothing more than dirt that's been leveled. By adjusting the length of one of the lower links I can set an angle on it so I can make the center of the drive higher to help shed water off to the sides. It usually takes me a few passes to bring the gravel that the rain migrated to the bottom of the steep sections back up the hill. The angled blades on the GS help move the gravel from the edges to the center of the drive.

Does your driveway have fabric under it? Do you live in an area where you get a fair amount of frost? If you have fabric then you need to make sure there's enough gravel on top of it. Otherwise the attachment may pull it up, that will make your driveway worse. The ripping teeth will really damage it. Frost can push rocks to the surface, the rippers will pull them out and make for a nicer drive.

 

[adjusterr]

If you want an inexpensive tool to grade driveways, remove grass and under brush, prepare soil etc, Google Ratchet Rake and watch the videos. I have had one for over two years and it works great. My driveway is 2/10 mile and I can level the washouts in less than 30 min. As needed, I add stone but I use "Crusher run" which contains stone of all sizes, including stone dust. Once you tailgate and level the stone using the Ratchet Rake, the first rain washes the stone dust down into the spaces between larger rocks where it compacts. I would recommend you not dig up the driveway and destroy the hard base already in place. The Ratchet Rake loosens the top two inches and distributes the loosened stones into the existing ruts. Good luck.

 

[Bartcephus]

Ok.... First the decision should be on which tractor to get... not on whether to get one or not. Tractors are like pocket knives, everyone should have at least one! At one time or another you will need a pocket knife even if it is just to clean the speck of whatever it is that gets under your fingernails. Same with a tractor, you will need it so you can get that dirt under your nails and use the pocket knife.

Second. Get the tractor and fix the driveway... your way... if it doesn't work just keep trying and trying again and again. Ain't one cowboy that never fell off a horse. Just climb up in that saddle and go at it again. It ain't rocket science, its dirt and rocks, and no you don't need a degree in geology to fix a driveway.

Third. (Is there really a need for a third?) It has been my experience that common sense is not that common. So let me recommend that you use your un-common sense and be careful and aware of your surroundings as you gain experience. You and your GF will love driving around on your Big [Green, Blue, Red or whatever color] Tractor you get.


Best Regards,

Bart

 

[Gary Fowler]

Sounds like a lot of work. I imagine it will do the trick, but you may want to try ditching if you haven't already... Works pretty good here in the Virginia mountains. For a slight slope in a warm climate, I would also consider ground asphalt. It may cost no more - or less - than regular stone and really resist rutting. The secret is to lay it down now like regular stone, then roll it good. You Arkansas summer will make it into a rough pavement that should last.

My other trick here is water breaks directing the water to the side. I use ditches to carry the water off. I also put larger stones in the ditches at intervals to prevent the water from gaining the speed to do damage.

The problem with the dirt where I live is that it washes gullies and just keeps on washing. I would need a truck load of gravel to line a ditch and then have to cross it with my lawnmower. I think with the catch basin with grating on top and the underground pipe to carry the water to the bottom of the hill, I can make my problem a one time fix and forget it. I think a catch basin on top to gather it and 90 ell on the pipe at the bottome, then a drum in the ground on top of the 90 ell filled with varying size rocks to diffuse the water thrust to minimal so no more washing at the bottom will work in my case. Might work in the OP's case also.