Reclaiming Old Gravel Driveway

[CausticUrbanCoast]

With others on this, if this is temporary, why worry about it? Use paint as suggested or some landscaping ties to border it and start using it.

If you start digging it up you create soft spot issues when it starts raining/snowmelt. If you really want to dig it up I would recommend waiting until spring so the ground can harden and packdown during summer.

If you are in a deep freezing area and dig it up now you will likely have frost heaves to deal with later or while plowing snow.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

We are using it now. It's getting more established. Main reason I want to improve it... I enjoy working outside and like to have things looking nice. I'm a little concerned that the vehicles will be all muddy once winter gets here if the muck stays on top.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

If that is the case, get a load of pitrun or bark mulch (if it's cheaper in your area) and drop on top. Rake it out and call it done for this year.

Edit: if you use a snowblower, bark mulch might not be the best choice.

 

[Goz63]

I agree with roundup or you can go to TSC and get the vegetation killer for a sprayer. We use that on fence rows every year to keep trimming down. After that scarfiers with box blade. You might need a little top dress with gravel but it will look nice for the 2-3 you are looking for. Later just grade it up and move it by a barn or something.

 

[skipmarcy]

Everyone wants to tear-up gravel that has been settled and packed - why? So you can deal with doing it all over again later ? Add some material, smooth it out with whatever you use, drive on it !! I haven't used the scarifiers in my boxblade in 20 years !!

 

[oosik]

You have a base that's packed down good and tight. Leave it alone. Want to do more. Add a layer of pit run or sawdust. Start messing with the base layer - you will have a big mess to deal with.

You could easily turn a simple project into a major event.

 

[bigtiller]

When you get the new house built, the driveway and parking area may change a little. I wouldn't spend a dime on this temporary drive, just drive on it. When the house is finished, then you can play with the old driveway...if you have to.

 

[dirttoys]

Respectfully disagree with several above.

If I didn't want to add gravel, I wouldn't kill the grass. If you don't travel it much, and don't want to put 5-8 inches of rock and fines on it, leave it as is. The grass is much better than dirt when wet.

Best,

ed

 

[Randy Gann]

How deep is the layer of “yard” on top of the packed gravel? Grass can actually grow in good packed gravel. My drive gets grass in it during the summer. If this is the case just spray a weed killer to kill the grass. You can run a box blade over it if desired to redistribute the gravel.
If the gravel is more than 1 or 2 inches below a layer of dirt, once winter gets here and the ground stays wet you could have problems with mud. This is a totally different situation and will require more work to resolve. Remove the top layer of dirt and replace with geo fabric and gravel as mentioned by others.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I think it's only a couple inches of material on top of the gravel at most. I will probably do just a little test area that looks like it has a lighter coverage and see how it goes.