Locking stone on steep drive

[theboman]

That "fines" stuff is for the birds. I gets in your shoes, tires and it's a constant problem inside the vehicles you drive because of it sticking to shoes. Then if it washes in the yard... Overrated in my book.

 

[Darren]

The first time I put stone on the road my daughter and I shoveled three or four dump truck loads off the back of the truck and spread the stuff by hand. We used the truck (26,000 GVW) to pack the stone. The surface worked great until we had a hard rain.

By the second good rain most of the stone was off the road into the ravine where it blocked a culvert. After that when I had the chance, I walked up and down the road during heavy rains and watched the water flow. The water didn't leave the road until it was 3/4 of the way to the bottom. By that time, it was cutting a channel diagonally across the road in part through rock.

Until the water problem was fixed, buying stone and putting it on the road was just throwing money away.

 

[TonyC]

Well I finally can say something I've never had the nerve to say on this board...I am an expert at this!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif My driveway is 800 ft and steep. I did the research and followed the experts advice. I started with a foot of used broken brick. Lots of big crevices for other stone to pack into. Then a thick layer of what we call crush and run..driveway stone with fines in it put down damp from the quarry. All of this was packed with a big dozer. Also very important (as has been said before in this thread) drainage. A large ditch running down the upper side with 18" pipe at several points to drain it to the down side. This lasted a good while and was nice but every year and a half or so it started to break down. Scrape all I want, the only thing that would get it back into shape was a dozer and several tandem loads of stone. Most of the time I just cussed the ruts and the dust. I suffered it for 15 years. Now $13,000 later it is black topped. I'm afraid a lot of the posts you've read are correct...there's no keeping it in good shape. My biggest mistake was wasting thousands on stone and dozers over the years. If at all possible, don't make that mistake..bite the bullet and get it done right. It's been two years for me and I still smile every time I drive up it!/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[djradz]

Rob, haven't heard of using cement, but whatever you do, short of blacktopping, has to include at least 1 to 3 inches of crushed rock as the top layer. Typically it's cheaper, and fortuneately better, to buy the rock with the fines from the crushing process included. To me the fines aren't what makes the difference in how it holds up, they sharp edges do that, but the do help a little to make the drive slightly more firm. The difference between crushed and not-crushed makes all the difference in the world. The crushed doesn't move unless you make it. Also, it gives much better traction. Typically the best size for a drive is 3/4 to 1" size.

 

[yaouk]

I have used crushed concrete. At about 25mm size (about 1'') it has jagged edges and locks together very well. It also is about half the price of normal gravel.
Please don't laugh at my method but I rut the track as badly as I can, then fill in the ruts with the crushed concrete. The ruts act as form work holding the aggregate in place. Crude, but it works.

 

[cj7]

Is anyone using stablization fabric under their stone. The intent is so that stone is not swallowed up by the soils under it. It sounds like for the original post, he needs to control the water. Even if he paves.

 

[zip]

I HAVE SOME STEEP PARTS TO MY DRIVE. i USED GROUND UP ASPHALT HEAVILY COMPACTED WITH VIBE ROLLER IN SUMMERTIME HEAT, IT IS ABOUT LIKE PAVED SURFACE AND WATER DOES NOT PENETRATE LOOSEN OR WASH AWAY! i HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT ! IF YOU CAN GET IT ? SOMETIMES IT IS LESS THAN GRAVEL SOMETIMES SAME OR LITTLE MORE DEPENDS ON SUPPLY AND DEMAND!

 

[BTI]

You could always Chip & Seal it. It's not as cheap as plain gravel but it's cheaper than blacktop. It's sort of like blacktopping spread out over a couple of years. It needs to be done again every couple of years until it reaches the desired thickness. It will end up like blacktop if done correctly.
BTI

 

[Kodiak]

cj7:
I did a 3' high, x 40' rock wall at my parents house last month. By stacking two man rip rap. I used geo textile fabric under and behind it to limit the settling and keep the topsoil backfill from washing through it.

 

[yaouk]

I have looked into geo-fabrics and the newer geo-grids. From what the engineers tell me, the design purpose is to stop the soil particles coming up from underneath and separating the aggregate. They can get expensive for a 250 metre (800')driveway. Maybe good water control would be more cost effective. Especially on low traffic roads.