My driveway is dirt, completely flat, and a total mud hole right now. Can anyone tell me how I can fix it myself? I assume I will need to build up the middle a little to help runoff and add some sort of gravel, recycled asphalt, or shale (my preference). Do I also have to dig drainage ditches, etc? I would prefer not to if I can get away with it. I know I should wait until things dry up. I'm willing to rent equipment (tamper, etc.) if I need to, and my tractor guy has a loader. I don't have any on my property, so I will have to buy whatever rock material I need for the job. What is the easiest/cheapest/most permanent way to ensure that I can drive my car into the driveway for the next 10 springs?
Any excavations (gas tank installs, swimming pools) going on in your area? What I'm getting at is, before you put down gravel or shale(how cool is that!), install a 4-6" clay base and crown it. Usually you can get the clay for free. Mi dos centavos. mc
If there is someone in your area who hauls large gravel/small rocks then have them double spread down the middle of the driveway. It will create a natural crown. I have a good-sized creek running through my farm. It is both a blessing and a curse in that it flushes out what is called chert locally. Basically a mix of small stones of a wide assortment of materials. I can get this chert (creek gravel) off of a bar. I have had it spread several times on my roads. As the heavy trucks travel on it, it pushes down into the soft spots. They are then fill again. I now have farm roads some people tell me are better than what some of the country roads were 50 years ago. Ken S. in WC TN
Before you put down gravel, put down filter fabric. It's like really heavy felt that goes down under the gravel and keeps the gravel from dissapearing into the mud. Where we used it, we haven't had to add any more gravel. It's not cheap initially, but it should save hundreds in gravel over the years.
There aren't any creeks on this farm, and I think clay would be hard to come by here in Maine, though I don't know that for a fact...we have plenty wherever I want to put a garden, but I've never heard of anyone around here using it commercially. So what I've gathered so far is I should cover the existing driveway with felt and then a double load of gravel to create the crown in the middle. Then I would put down the "finish" rock of my choice. Sounds doable to me...almost sounds, dare I say it, too easy?! fin
I have not used underlayment fabric, so can't comment there. On the gravel, basically you will wind up with two tire tracks and a hump in the middle. If you keep grading this hump to the sides, it will fill up the ruts. Repeat this a couple of times and it you should have a good base for all but heavy trucks. Ken S. in WC TN
I have used the geotextile cloth for livestock and tractor lanes and it works very well. You would want at least 6" of gravel over the top of the fabric. Here's an article that explains the concept: http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0304.html .
Fin, Call the nearest ready mix concrete plant and ask if they sell "washout" or if they have any crushed recycleable concrete for cheap. Many times these plants crush their reject/error mixed concrete and sell it for fill. It is cheap and works wonderfully for driveways. I had 300+ tons delivered and spred for $2700
Another product I used long ago was a ground up asphalt, concrete, and gravel mix. Once it packed down it didn't go anywhere.
Thanks, Jackpine, for providing the proper name for the fabric- and the link. I was in hurry when I posted and should have provided more info.
