alternative driveway ideas

landdweller · #1 04/26/11, 10:33 PM

We are looking to put ina driveway to our property. Gravel is $25-$30 a ton plus delivery. We wanted to know if anyone had alternative idea that is affordable? plank driveway? We have access to free 2x4s and some 2x6's. We thought about brick because we see alot for free on line, but we also thought of doing the quick creek route. any ideas or suggestions?

Jalopy · #2 04/26/11, 10:38 PM

If you are close to a coal powered electric plant it may be that you can get the cinders for free. Then you would just have to pay for delivery. It takes a great deal more to stabilize a driveway with cinders but usually the free price makes it easy to get the driveway started. It is an alternative method, not that I am recommending it as it seems to me that the cinders track so bad into your house.

Two Cents Worth · #3 04/26/11, 10:43 PM

With alternatives won't you still need to have a good base?

Wood=termites. Good bye house and buildings and fence and ??

I expect in the long run gravel would be the least expense for what you get.

Joshie · #4 04/26/11, 10:50 PM

Our place used to be strip mined. You do not want coal fines or cinders, I promise you.

Gravel drives are one of the most affordable types of driveways. You've got to consider water. Wood rots. Run off from cinders aren't likely to do your grass any good. You'll have to add more gravel within a couple of years but it does get better.

landdweller · #5 04/26/11, 10:58 PM

WE thought about using wood chips for a base cause we could get all of it we want for free and then putting some gravel on top of that. I dont think coal is an option I dont want to mess up the nice floors in our new cabin.lol Years ago there use to be a place to get free broken potter/ clay pots that have been all bustedu in small pieces but they have gone out of buisness. WE just wanted to see if anyone had any good ideas. We knew a guy who used roofing shingles all tore up for his driveway but we dont want it to look rutterfied.

wy_white_wolf · #6 04/26/11, 10:59 PM

Here we can get roto-mill for about $8-12 a yard. Unless your ground is pure clay it works pretty good.

jwal10 · #7 04/26/11, 11:08 PM

I plowed up the road bed and added rock in 2 strips. Put a 3' 6"x6" in the bed, against the tailgate before loading and spread the rock about 4" thick. Takes a lot less gravel. I would not recommend this if you have heavy traffic or heavy loads....James

Haven · #8 04/26/11, 11:09 PM

My drive is 1/2 mile long and I just had the entire thing re graveled deep. See if anyone can haul in the used gravel stuff from steel mills or mines. I totally forget what it is called, but the price is maybe 1/2 - 1/4 the price of limestone per ton, and it looks very nice.

Edit: I think it is called "tailings"

Beeman · #9 04/26/11, 11:14 PM

Big driverway? Little driveway? Flat driveway? steep driveway? A lot of snow? Small cars or big trucks? It all comes into play. Anything below concrete or paving is temporary and will require maintenance/replacement depending on the above questions. Gravel like everything else won't get cheaper and neither will the haul bill. You have to start with a good base, many times requires digging deeper and filling with larger rock. I saw one the other day that was broken brick, looked good but if no base it won't last long.

landdweller · #10 04/26/11, 11:41 PM

probubly about a good 75 yards. mostly flat. I can drive right on it now but get stuck in the mud. ITs bad clay. all we have now is a 2wd extended cab dodge. ITs not steep or hilly pretty fla witha little down slop towards where our cabin will be placed.

rambler · #11 04/27/11, 02:59 AM

I think gravel will be your best bet, cheapest in the long run.

You might want to spread some 3 inch rock - or likely much cheaper is crushed concrete of that size - first, let that pack for a month or so, then put gravel on top. The big rock will spread the weight better, stay firm on the clay better.

Having a good base (the crushed concrete/rock/) will save you _much_ repairs and expense over the years,if you plan to stay here. You will need less added gravel over the years.

As mentioned, anything short of deep poured concrete is a temp driveway, I'd not want to put down a lot of junk early on, and then try to add god stuff later to rescue it. You need the good stuff down first - gravel or small rock with gravel on top.

--->Paul

tiogacounty · #12 04/27/11, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haven

My drive is 1/2 mile long and I just had the entire thing re graveled deep. See if anyone can haul in the used gravel stuff from steel mills or mines. I totally forget what it is called, but the price is maybe 1/2 - 1/4 the price of limestone per ton, and it looks very nice.

Edit: I think it is called "tailings"

Why would you move a toxic waste dump to your home? There are zinc mills here that have extremely high levels of lead and other heavy metals in any gravel or tailings. The EPA requires this stuff to be mitigated, not sold cheaply. I have seen tailings from a steel mill that were flammable from decades of being soaked with oil and grease. The same goes for fools that let the road department drop of piles of roadside scrapings. That trash is so toxic that it kills fish, yet I know guys that beg for it.

tiogacounty · #13 04/27/11, 06:13 AM

Ask a local excavator if they are demolishing any existing driveways or have any other source for CLEAN safe material. Last year I had my excavator dump four loads of a paved driveway he removed from another project. It broke up nicely after it got tracked in with a small dozer, and it made a great base for a new driveway in heavy clay. If the clay is really bad when wet, you might want to go with a geo-fabric under a 3-4" rock base. There are certain conditions where rock base will continually migrate into the clay unless fabric is used.

Haven · #14 04/27/11, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiogacounty

Why would you move a toxic waste dump to your home? There are zinc mills here that have extremely high levels of lead and other heavy metals in any gravel or tailings. The EPA requires this stuff to be mitigated, not sold cheaply. I have seen tailings from a steel mill that were flammable from decades of being soaked with oil and grease. The same goes for fools that let the road department drop of piles of roadside scrapings. That trash is so toxic that it kills fish, yet I know guys that beg for it.

Everyone uses tailings around here since many drives are 1/4 mile to 3 miles long - I sure hope they aren't toxic. I tried a load of gravel from the local pit and they charged 300.00 for a pick up load that covered a tiny little patch. At that rate, it would cost 10k for my lane.

Not sure how people are buying them from the old mill if it is illegal to do so???

Beeman · #15 04/27/11, 08:13 AM

It sounds like grading will be an important factor. A downhill driveway heading towards a structure at the bottom will bring all of the water down towards it in heavy rains. If you build a good enough driveway it will be like a chute for the water, even gravel.

motdaugrnds · #16 04/27/11, 08:48 AM

First of all, you don't want to place your cabin at the end of a down slope unless you are preparing something as a deterent for water flow.

As for your drive, don't make the mistake we did. We placed tons upon tons of #57 rock and it slips and slides around so badly, we winded up with tire ruts before too long.

I think Rambler has given good advice in that, even though your drive is clay, you did say you were driving in mud. That tells me you need something to stabilize the mud before you even attempt to perfect a driveway. (We have hard clay as well and, yet, in about 5 yrs we winded up with a rather deep mud hole that I had to dig out, layer with textile and then add graduated sizes of rock.) So, if I had known what I know now about drives, I would dig the drive out at least 6-8 inches, put down some textile then the graduated form of rock and top it all off with "crushed" stone. (I would probably add about 3-4 inches of agricultural lime just prior to adding the crushed stone; but then I am noted for overkill.)

ronbre · #17 04/27/11, 09:55 AM

wow if the brick is ground contact grade brick that would be tremendously beautiful..I would do the brick..free is always better.

I sure wish I could get free brick !!

we have a dirt/gravel/clay driveway and it works out well for us..we also have a drive around area to other areas of our property that are all done in lawn, occasionally we have a spot we can't use when it is too wet, like right now where there is standing water, hubby actually got stuck in a mud area of our lawn and tore it all up this spring..so that has to be repaired when it dries off, if it ever does !! 2" yesterday of rain and 2" due today

**Cabin Fever** · #18 04/27/11, 10:43 AM

What makes you think you need to do anything? Our 800+ foot driveway is two tire tracks with a slight hump in the middle.

BTW, iron/taconite tailings are NOT toxic.

Scooby308 · #19 04/27/11, 10:50 AM

Around here, creek rock is the thing. Many that sale (and haul) it, have various grades. Use the larges for a base, get it packed in, and then go with a smaller grade. It is about half the price (or less if you have a creek) of blue rock.

snoozy · #20 04/27/11, 11:06 AM

At the price of gas these days, running around getting a batch of free bricks here, a load of free rubble there, is no longer free.