Driveway construction

[Pat]

tinkerer, I almost forgot... If there is shale available in your area, you can use that for the top layer(s). It may cost a bit more than crushed limestone but it makes a much better pavement. I was put wise to this by my GC and tried it. I was a bit taken aback when the first loads were delivered and the chunks were the size of my fist and some much larger. They rapidly broke down with little pieces falling in the cracks between larger pieces and so on. Now it is all quite fine and solid, nearly as good as black top paving. It withstands rain well and is nearly water proof from falling rain and snow. Of course stability in the presence of water requires the surface of the shale to be at least a couple inches above the surounding grade. Stability when wet, i.e. resistance to rutting when quite wet requires good solid underpining such as you are trying to achieve with geotextile and riprap. I have tight red clay under minie and it only gets a tad soft in a few places when it is wet for a long time. I have some geotextile to put down when I get aroung to repairing/improving a couple areas.

I have both crushed gravel drives and the shale (in front of the new house) and can attest to the superior looks and function of the shale. Near here they used a lot of shale on some county roads. Looked like they were paving with boulders at first but it breaks down super fast to a tightly compacted layer. They then put a layer of "chat" on it and oiled it. Made a good and quite cost effective improvement over the typical gravel over dirt rural road.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[EddieWalker]

Up north is allot different than down here in the south.

I have red clay. Lots of it. when it's wet, there is no way to get through it, but when it's dry, it's hard as granite.

I've learned that the trick to building an all weather road in clay is to build it up at least a foot above the surrounding land and crowning it. The dirt will shed the water to the sides and stay hard packed if water has a way to run off of it!!!

Dirt is cheap and easy to work with.

Once that is done, they I just put down four inches of base rock. Here, it's crushed limestone that is about an inch in size down to fine powder. This is important because it will lock to gether when compacted.

Rip Rap is just large chunkcs of rock or concrete. No fines and too many voids to allow good compaction.

The fabric is good and it seems to be used allot in the northern climates, but it's extremely rare around here. Don't rely on the fabric to keep your driveway solid. You have to build it up to keep the water off of the road.

If you can, find a road crew for the state, county or city. Ask them how they build roads, what material they use and what there specifications are. You can also contact the county and ask what they require in a road if it's built by a private contractor.

If you can avoid the neighbor, do so. I would never, ever want a shared driveway or easement. If not today, it's just a matter of time until it becomes a huge nightmare.

Good luck,
Eddie

[BlueRidge]

<font color="blue"> If you can avoid the neighbor, do so. I would never, ever want a shared driveway or easement. If not today, it's just a matter of time until it becomes a huge nightmare. </font color>

Agreed! Your current neighbor may be wonderful, but you never know about the NEXT one.