Resurfacing Gravel Drive

woodsinfall · Mar 22, 2005

I'm one of three off of a shared gravel drive. The first two houses are about 1/4 mile in from the road and I am another 1/4 mile into some woods. We are trying to determine the best surface to use. After 3 years of patching pot holes in the gravel, we've decided to try something more permanent. We are considering "chip and oil. The company that would put it in suggested that the not take it all the way to our concrete pads at the garage as it would track oil/tar onto it and would not look good. He suggest either asphalt the final run to each garage, or, simply leave it the current rock. We feel comfortable with that. My question: one neighbor is concerned that the main chip and oil road will "bubble' during the summer and that it will get all over our cars. Does anyone have experience with this sort of road ... good? bad? maintenence? Are there any other suggestions on surface type?

Thanks, Jeff\.

Bob_Skurka · Mar 22, 2005

We had a road like that in our neighborhood for several years and I never really noticed any bubbling or oil leaching but it could be a climate thing? We are in northern Indiana, USDA zone 5, summers swelter with temps in the low 90's and humidity in the 90% range, winters get to -10 on a regular basis. The big problem we had was the road didn't hold up to construction traffic and as someone built a new house the road in front of their land would crumble from the constant beating the trucks gave it. Where the road held up, it was a good road. We eventually paved the whole thing with asphalt.

beenthere · Mar 22, 2005

I would expect the 'chip and oil' to develop pot holes over time, same as the gravel. I'd think finding the way to stir up, mix, smooth, and pack the gravel would be the way to go, as that technique will be needed for the chip and oil too (I think).
Around here, laying down re-cycled asphalt is becomming more popular. It may end up similar to the 'chip and oil' but a neighbor put in about 1/2 mile of it last fall. So far, so good, but is developing washboard and potholes.

woodsinfall · Mar 22, 2005

We are in the same zone (Central Illinois). We're fortunate that there will be no more homes in our area (surrounded by farmland in trust, and the zoning to convert farmland is nearly impossible now). The contractor told us that with the limited use (a few UPS and a garbage truck) it should hold up well. We really got a tremendouls amount of potholes this winter (it was quite damp). I don't doubt that eventually we will need to do some repair if we go with chip and oil, but hopefully nowhere near the amount we do each year with the gravel. Recycled asphalt was suggested by the neighbor in question. When I built our extension to the house 3 years ago we put that down, but I found that it got mushy ... it might have been a problem with the base or something else, but I was not satisfied and had a gravel road placed on top.

Highbeam · Mar 22, 2005

We have a lot of the chip seal (chip and tar) roads out here in WA. They are cheap to put in, offer good traction, cheap to resurface, and work real well. Not as good of a ride as asphalt but very nice.

I have never seen one built from scratch but have seen many resurfaced. They spray down the tar and then spread out the chip. There is plenty of loose chip swept aside after a good bit of time has passed. The tar gets soft during the 100 degree days where you might be able to hear the sound of it sticking to your tires but it never flings up onto the truck. It sounds like you are driving through honey. In the winter it is as hard as asphalt but not brittle. It will crack but doesn't seem to spall out.

kokopelli2 · Mar 22, 2005

tell your nieghbor to slow down...its a drive way not a road. tar and chip can be nice, but with 3 families and friends will probably have to reseurface it every 2 years or so....after about 10-12 years you wil lhave a great bed for asphalt though.

deereman63 · Mar 22, 2005

As this was my first year struggling with plowing and a gravel road I managed to do some fairly horrendous things to the surface. A particularly damaging implement was the back blade. The tool that saved me was the box blade. It rejuvenates the surface and fills the holes really well. Being able to roll the surface afterwards would be nice.
The other dimension that gets ignored are the kerbs on a road. This holds the surface together and stops the edges breaking down. You have a long drive so not quite sure how you could go about finding the right kerb. If you could get hold of railway ties I think that would work if they were set in the ground.

fenneran · Mar 24, 2005

I put down re-ground asphalt about 5 years ago on our 1/2 mile, hilly drive. I have to re-surface this year as it has all sunk into the mud, but we had a good five years out of it, so I can't complain. I'm thinking of going back to gravel, though, simply for a more even surface. The chipped asphalt is pretty uneven. Just my $.02

-Frank

Moon · Mar 24, 2005

My dad had that done on his drive about 8 years ago. It's just now needing resurfaced. It held up very well for the first 5 years and has slowly deteriated since then. They guy who did it has moved from the area ...and dad has passed on since then. I would like to have ours done sometime but have no idea how much it costs. I have a 400' drive. Anyone want to take a guess at what it might cost. Ballpark figures.

Thanks;
Moon of Ohio