Brick Driveway?

[Madame]

I'm buying property and need a driveway. Any reason I couldn't just put bricks down? Doesn't have to be fancy, does have to be cheap.

[Junkmanme]

Bricks aren't cheap, unless of course you have a bunch of them just laying around. LABOR INTENSIVE WORK ! They should, at least, be installed over sand which sits on top of gravel. GENERALLY, you'll find asphalt or concrete to be cheaper.

[SteveD(TX)]

Originally Posted by Junkmanme

Bricks aren't cheap, unless of course you have a bunch of them just laying around. LABOR INTENSIVE WORK ! They should, at least, be installed over sand which sits on top of gravel. GENERALLY, you'll find asphalt or concrete to be cheaper.

I agree, bricks are very expensive paving materials, and you must start out with a level and well drained surface. Gravel, sand, etc. like junk said. There are lots of inexpensive ways to build a driveway using various materials; brick isn't one of them unless you just happen to have several thousand on hand.

[bugstabber]

Is your driveway long? That would be a mess to clean snow from, at least with a tractor loader.

[Madame]

Originally Posted by SteveD(TX)

I agree, bricks are very expensive paving materials, and you must start out with a level and well drained surface. Gravel, sand, etc. like junk said. There are lots of inexpensive ways to build a driveway using various materials; brick isn't one of them unless you just happen to have several thousand on hand.

I'm open to suggestions. What cheap ways? I have time in the summer, but not much money.

[RedneckPete]

Talk to a local paving company. They may be willing to dump their old asphalt they rip up in the lane way. You may even be able to get them to level it and put a skim of gravel over top to finish the driveway surface. A couple of bottles dropped off now and then goes a long ways in this department.

Pete

[agmantoo]

Recycled concrete that has been through a crusher is mighty fine driveway material. I bought 500 tons at $5/ton. Road is holding up fantastically.

[caberjim]

Not sure how it is around you, but I can get used bricks pretty easily on Freecycle. If you were patient, you could gather some, build some, gather more, build more...... and so on. I have read that the three-hole bricks make excellent driveways. Solids yet allow grass to grow thru for good drainage and erosion control. I may have to think about doing this myself.

[Belly Acre]

When we lived in New England we had a brick walkway. Looked fantastic, but in the winter it is not recommended to put salt on brick and it was the slickest surface to walk over. I wouldn't recommend even a brick walkway say nothing about a driveway!

[fantasymaker]

NEVER SET BRICK ON SAND!!!! yes all the advice is to do it to get a level surface to work on but over time the sand seeps out and just burrys the brick .

The key to a good driveway is drainage and load spreading so good ditches and /or plastic tile drainage. Build it up from the general ground level if ya can and alighn it along the top of a ridge if ya can, if you use rock use at least fist size rock as a base course you want about a foot thickness here . Then something finer that will pack hard as a topper.

[Hoop]

I can't imagine a worse material for a driveway in Wisconsin than bricks. Frost heave will push it in all sorts of directions. Snowplowing will scatter it. And bricks are WAAAY more expensive than gravel.

Your driveway needs may be as simple as a few loads of gravel costing only a few hundred dollars or an expensive undertaking that will exceed $100 per foot of driveway. (Yes, I've seen people drop $30,000 on a 300' driveway across a swamp) Without knowing soil types, drainage and type of vegetation, its only a guess.

[TxGypsy]

Having grown up in a town where we have brick streets....I can honestly say....don't do it! Everybody oohs and aahs over the picturesque brick streets. Yeah they look nice, but you get even a little moisture on them and you have no traction. When you apply your brakes they just lock up and you go sliding. Wet leaves on bricks are absolutely the worst! The city spends a fortune (not to mention all the inconvenience to traffic) ripping up the streets from time to time and releveling everything then relaying the bricks.

I normally use roadbase topped with gravel. Slag is good stuff if you live near a foundry....pretty cheap most of the time too.

[DalRaidan]

I have done a few miles of pavers for roads and driveways, it is not cheap for labor or brick. If you are able to scrounge enough brick You need to get good pack sand as base, pack it, screed it level, edge with concrete(this keeps the sand from washing out) and then sweep fine sand in the joints.

I don't know about Wisconsin's frost heaves or sliping on the surfaces but boy do they look good.

Jason

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

NEVER SET BRICK ON SAND!!!! yes all the advice is to do it to get a level surface to work on but over time the sand seeps out and just burrys the brick .

The key to a good driveway is drainage and load spreading so good ditches and /or plastic tile drainage. Build it up from the general ground level if ya can and alighn it along the top of a ridge if ya can, if you use rock use at least fist size rock as a base course you want about a foot thickness here . Then something finer that will pack hard as a topper.

i agree i am mostly seeing it on crished lime stone now but i have seen it on up to 1 inch of sand any more and they settle to much

since the wacker compacters have made leveling and compressing crushed lime stone the choice for under brick but there is a diffeance between pavers and building brick

besides paveres are nearly all concrete now and not realy brick at all


but for a cheap but good drive a 1 1/2 inch road stone 6 inches deep with a 3/4 gravel over about 4 inches deep makes a good drive here in wi

but that realy isn't that cheap either

so drive in the mud and through free wood chips in where it is bad thats cheap but don't expect the the fuel oil delivery guy to deliver unless the ground is frozen or it has been dry for some time.or any other delivery for that matter.

[e.alleg]

Is there a driveway of some kind there already? If so get a 20 ton load of 1" rock and spread it 4-6" think and see what happens, shouldn't be more than $300 delivered and they will spread it with the chains on their tailgate so all you have to do is spread it a bit and pack it down with your car. I prefer a grass driveway myself, easy to maintain with the lawnmower.

[Country Gent]

That is what I was wondering , what is there already.I tell you if it is just dirt now you must ditch and drain it first.You know culverts across wet areas, and then I would go with large stones or gravel(orange size) and then compact , let settle, then thumb size stuff, compact settle then crusher run gravel packed. It will be there forever.It scrapes snow really well, and if drive is steep better traction.Hope this helps, C.G.

[fantasymaker]

Originally Posted by e.alleg

Is there a driveway of some kind there already? If so get a 20 ton load of 1" rock and spread it 4-6" think and see what happens, shouldn't be more than $300 delivered and they will spread it with the chains on their tailgate so all you have to do is spread it a bit and pack it down with your car. I prefer a grass driveway myself, easy to maintain with the lawnmower.

This must be an ilastration of how important it is to taylor your info to where you are talking about while this is probably sound advise in that location where I live it would be a total waste of money.
1 inch rock disappears into our clay and 20 tons would only do about 40 feet @ 6inches thick and it takes a foot here to stay stable on the other hand 20 tons would run around $200 here so that would helpout some.

[Madame]

Thanks for all the feedback, folks.
There is no driveway, though I can use the neighbors for awhile.
Sounds like brick isn't the best idea, so I'll read up on some of the other suggestions. Thanks for all your help!

[pixelphotograph]

we did what they call locally here crush and run its gravel with sandy particles in it. Doesnt hold for crap in a heavy rain. creates nice little gulleys which turn in deep gorges over time and needs to be rescraped alot.
We just got crushed up asphalt the black stuff they make roads out of and parking lots. Greaat stuff had two VERY Heavy rains and not even a look of washing plus it seems to pack down and is harder.

[MELOC]

crusher run makes a nice driveway if you don't have drainage issues. it packs down really well and holds tight. that said, i had flood issues last year and i got the affore mentioned gullies. that was my fault as i had ditch problems i left slide.