Adding gravel to existing driveway?

[Sytes]

Researching the, "how to..." add crushed, pea, decomposed granite, other(?) to our existing driveway.
I've not done such before and hope youthful, "measure once - cut 16x's" is a head-knocker of the past.

Spring is peaking and I want to get this rolling before mud becomes a heavy factor. Our driveway has been decent and for the most part, we simply want to improve the surface.

Is it as simple as it appears? Have x tons of y rock delivered. Take tracked skid steer and move rock. Rough smooth out, track over and over gravel to compress...?

I don't think we need a roller if the tracked skid will press and of course with anything, I can spend a ton too much of $ or not enough... It's that point where I don't make a problem driveway.

I'm thinking pea gravel as our horses frogs (hoof area) are not a fan of crushed 3/4 rock though looking at all pros / cons.

Any big aspects overlooked? Thoughts? Trying to not get OCD with the project though want to avoid the snake that's bit many times in the past...

While I'm on it, having x tons on sand-gravel brought in for the horse corral, paddock area. If you have any tips on this, I'm open to all.

Thanks.

 

[Dave N]

Pea gravel won't pack, it always moves around like giant sand grains. I wouldn't use it on any driveway.

 

[mtmuley]

3/4 minus road base. mtmuley

 

[BrentD]

Since you mentioned horses, I'll chime in.

Pea gravel is lousy for a driveway and horses are not much helped by it though they do like to pee in it. in fact, Pea Gravel should be called Pee gravel instead. You can just about train them like cats to use a litter box with pea gravel wherever you want them to pee.

Crushed limestone with fines is pretty hard to beat for a driveway. It packs down over time and becomes smooth and nearly concrete like. Occasional maintenance to cut down the crown is about all that is needed. But it needs a good base.

I use 1" with fines for our drive and in parts of our horse paddocks where it keeps them out of the mud. I prefer 1/4" with fines in with the horses because it packs more smoothly and makes it easier to pick up manure as needed. Our horses are barefoot and the gravel really helps keep their frogs and hooves in great shape. As the drive and paddocks have built up pretty good bases of 2" and 1" over the last 15 yrs, I'll be using more of the 1/4" to top dress.

As for spreading and compacting. If the truck drive is worth a damn, he should be able to spread it very evenly on the drive. If you need to touch up around the garage or barn, then a rake might be all that is needed. When I do have to move gravel, I do the spreading with a grading blade on a small tractor. Reversing the blade so it is dragged backwards often works well to float it over the gravel and even it out.

 

[300stw]

ask gravel companies if they have any reject 3/4 road base, lot of times it gets contaminated with dirt or doesnt meet spec, can be lot cheaper, over here i get all they can put on a belly dump for 300.00 delivered , thats a real bargain in this corner of the state

 

[dcopas78]

34s and 57s, unwashed, is what I use most of the time. Around here I like to to use geotextile under the gravel to keep it from sinking and from weeds growing up through it. It can be expensive to do, but you'll never need to add any more gravel unless water would wash it out.

 

[sschultz]

We used crushed concrete from roads that are demo'ed at our range makes for a solid road bed

 

[MTGomer]

The DOT let my parents have some of the milled off interstate surface that they had piled up at the exit.
It has been great. And it was free. If you can find some and figure out who to talk to about it, it’s a good way to go.
Just used a loaded log truck on a hot day to pack it down but i imagine a skidseer would work okay too.

 

[WapitiBob]

State Spec, it's unwashed and compacts very well.

Washed gravel will never compact.

 

[npaden]

My current favorite driveway material is "cement waste". The stuff they wash out of the cement trucks when they get back to the yard after deliveries. It builds up after a while and then they clean it up and sell it, usually pretty cheap.

It has lots of fines and packs really well and after a few rains it sets up really well.

 

[Nick87]

3/4 minus road base. mtmuley

This.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

My current favorite driveway material is "cement waste". The stuff they wash out of the cement trucks when they get back to the yard after deliveries. It builds up after a while and then they clean it up and sell it, usually pretty cheap.

It has lots of fines and packs really well and after a few rains it sets up really well.

I owned a concrete plant for 8 years. I used the washout under all the non-spec slabs I poured. It graded easy and when you wet it and hit it with a vibraplate it would set up nice and hard.

 

[teamhoyt]

3/4 minus road base. mtmuley

^ this. I understand you wanting to resurface soon, if you do so be prepared to degrade your road again after the frost comes out if that is an issue where you live, if you already have a good base going 2 or 3" more should do fine.

 

[gwhunter]

Crushed limestone with fines is pretty hard to beat for a driveway. It packs down over time and becomes smooth and nearly concrete like. Occasional maintenance to cut down the crown is about all that is needed. But it needs a good base.

This is what I have found to work best.

 

[Sytes]

Thanks everyone for your info.

What occurs from a frost thaw if a layer was added to the drive?

What is meant by, "minus road base". That a ground up base I would put down first then the 3/4" is spread over?

I'll look into the limestone as well. That okay as a top coat? Versus a new drive build?

Pea gravel is out. Thanks.

Concrete leftovers sounds good though not sure if they would deliver such. Something to look into.

Good info for the horse area. I'll go that route... 1/4" w/ fines.

State spec is basically 3/4" highway base material?

Thanks again all.

 

[Nutrioso]

The “minus” refers to the gradation of the rock. 3/4 minus means all the rock that will fall through a screen with 3/4” holes. That combination of more coarse and finer material means the base will compact better and have fewer air voids than a single sized material like pea gravel. If you use crushed concrete you get a similat effect.

Many states have specific gradations specified for their base materials. So much 3/4, so much half, so much sand sizes, etc. That works great but is often more expensive to produce than just 3/4 minus, which is just whatever happens to fall through the 3/4 screen.

Base can be made out of any stone pretty much, and what type of stone is readily available depends on local geology. Limestone, granite, basalt and other hard materials can all make base rock, so go with whatever is local.

 

[BrentD]

Base can be made out of any stone pretty much, and what type of stone is readily available depends on local geology. Limestone, granite, basalt and other hard materials can all make base rock, so go with whatever is local.

But it should be large in my experience. 2" or better. Drive on it for a while then add the smaller stuff. My soil is somewhat bottomless, so this important. Road fabric would also be a great idea in many situations.

 

[buckbull]

We always used grade 8 on the farm which is 1" minus. Trucks can dump just in the tire tracks if need be.

 

[Bambistew]

I'd wait till the frost comes out of the ground, and wouldn't do anything to it if the top layer is unfrozen and its still frozen below. What happens is you squish out the thawed layer, and get minimal compaction.

What type of soils do you have under your current road? Is it gravely/sandy, or does it get muddy? This would predicate the need or use for geotextile. Geotextile adds a bit of strength to the section, but it mostly just keeps the the fines from migrating. I would add at least 8" over fabric, and maybe as little as 6" if you have a decent base to begin with. It doesn't hurt to use geotextile, but it may not be needed either. Make sure its non-woven, and used for separation/stabilization vs. drainage.

Doubtful a skidsteer will get you the compaction you're looking for, especially if you have any turns in the road, may have to run over it 4-8 times. If you have any turns, it will chew it up. Depending on how long your driveway is, you might get by with a small walk behind compactor, either plate style or small double drum walk behind roller no more than 6" (depth of lift) at a time. Compaction and proper drainage is key to longevity of a surface.

I'd go with the "D1" or "Type A" (not sure what they call it there) DOT spec for surface course is, which is 1" minus usually as mentioned above. Watch the lower end of the "fines" in the gradation of the gravel, especially the No. 200. Nothing higher than 6-8% passing. If its higher, it won't perform well in freeze thaw conditions.

The the (recycled asphalt) RAP, Gommer mentioned results in a very nice finished surface. There is usually enough oil left in it to get a decent compaction on a hot day. I've speced a number of low turnover type parking lots with it, and it holds up quite well, through freeze thaw cycles. Make sure the base is preped well, and spread 3-4" down.

If you're just looking for cheap, forget everything I said. Order some D1 and spread it out, run over it with a skidsteer and call it good. haha.

 

[LuketheDog]

I've had really good results using crushed recycled asphalt for my parent's driveway. It compacts nicely like road base and is really cheap (at least where they live). I use my dad's old John Deere with a box scraper to spread it and the truck/trailer to compact. Requires a little touch-up every 3 years or so.