Good base material under asphalt?

[naturalgas]

I have a combination of 3/4 stone and crushed run about 5" in depth on top of 5" loam in front of my new garage, total area about 40x50. I will be putting hot top in a good portion of that area. Do I need to get the loam removed? And if so what would be a good base to use if I don't do the hot top for a year or so? I plan doing doing this with my BX25 tractor. I'm in the northeast, Ma. Thanks in advance for advice. Jim. This is the area in front of garage

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[goldmach1]

Garage looks great and yes the loam and any other unsuitable soil under the loam should be removed. If you know any local paving or excavating contractors, they would be able to help you with advise on how to do a proper base, if not maybe pay a small fee for a consultation.

 

[Bondo]

I have a combination of 3/4 stone and crushed run about 5" in depth on top of 5" loam in front of my new garage, total area about 40x50.

Ayuh,.... What are yer expected loads on this driveway,..??

Heavy loaded trucks, or just yer tractor, 'n what not,..??

Do ya have use for the loam under the stone there now,..??

Percentage wise, how much of the square footage is now stone covered, Vs: not,..??

 

[naturalgas]

Nothing real heavy, I do have a use for loam, half the area is stone the rest is stone and crushed run over loam


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[Bondo]

For loads like yer lookin' at, I'd think you could knock around the stone ya got, salvage the loam, then use the stone there as yer base,....

You'd be lookin' at 10" of crusher run when yer done,...
That oughta be strong enough, unless yer on a clay pool,...

10" over a geo-textile would be enough for fairly heavy traffic,...

Find a blacktopper you can make a deal with, 'n price it as after you knock around what's there to salvage the loam,...
In other words, 5" below finish grade, have the contractor fill, compact, 'n finish grade it,...
He could pound in yer lift, before he brings the stone up to finish stone grade,...

 

[naturalgas]

Thank you


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[theoldwizard1]

If you are going to put down 10" of stone you had better do it in at least 2 lifts, with compacting between the lifts and before asphalt.

 

[Rockaholic555]

Looks like enough material to make a good drainable base but its not close to compacted enough. Theoldwizard is right, 4"-5" lifts and compact them as good as you can.

 

[RAYJAY]

if the rock is straight gravel (2b ) it will never lock on compression, need to get rid of it

you need 6 inches of modified compressed at every 3 inches, we even added Portland to our modified tilling it in before compressing, let it set for one year and the black top company ask how we got our hill so hard,

the hill before that used to be soft and spongy every spring and before frost

 

[TonkaJoe]

Had mine redone 2 years ago now, I did the excavation and let the asphalt crew drop the aggregate and set it to grade. 4" of crusher run and 4" of HL3 asphalt.. that's a mix of residential and highway grade. 2 winters later and I have standing water in my driveway again and I'm beyond pissed off. NEVER EVER again will I pave a driveway.. I wasn't home when they laid the base or on the day they paved. They clearly didn't compact the driveway enough, and they really should have put a thicker base in with 2 lifts and compacted between both. Hopefully in a couple of years I'll be able to replace the driveway again.. I'd really like to go with RCC if I can find someone to do it in the area for a reasonable price... whatever you do make sure they do your driveway properly!!!

 

[machsnell]

Oldwizard is correct it looks loose now. This allows moisture to go through and settle into the loamy soil and the stone. No material will be solid when wet.

If you can get even some types of clay dry and sealed and then pave over where you dont have to worry about water infiltration you will be good.

Bad soil will produce bad results.

If it never seems solid to.you now then remove stone keeping as clean as you can even some dirt mixed in ok. This will be your new subgrade.

Cut out bad soil until.you hit something solid or to max depth of 15"?? Or so from your designed finish grade of drive.

You could put fabric down but grid is better or just install thendirty.stone you have cut out.of existing drive.

Install in 4 to 8 inch lifts depending.on the size of.your roller. I would suggest at least a 36 inch drum machine w vibratory. And if only 36 inch-ish drums then stick to 4 or 5 inch lifts.

Put.in your stone and get new as needed to bring you up to grade

Remember stone wants a little moisture to tighten up well. Not saturated but damp.

Also the more you run a vibratory roller or a wheeled tractor/bobcat/ truck over problematic soil the worse it will become. Dirt will start to pump and become increasingly unstable as moisture comes to surface. Think floating concrete.

If it starts to pump stop.rolling or at least using vibratory and only static roll.

Best to do this in the dry.time of the year.

But if you have to do pick it as dry as possible and start cutting and dont get caught in the middle of it by rain

If dirt is wet when you cut to subgrade then tooth it up and let dirt dry before you cover it.



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[ms fowler]

3" inch lifts compacted to modified standards? Are you kidding? Interstate Highways are not built to that spec. How fast are you driving on the driveway? How heavy will the axles loads be? Lots of good roads were built to the old standard compaction ( ASTM D698 or ASSHTO T99) specs. At your presumed loads, and speeds, Std compaction should be all you need.
Also remember that asphalt is "flexible" pavement; not rigid ( like concrete).

You should probably remove the loam. Flop half of the stone on top of the other half and remove the underlying loam, then flop the stone back onto the area where you removed the loam, and remove the rest of the loam. Place the stone (geofabric would be cheap insurance) and grade, roll it. Add crushed stone ( CR6 or even RC6) , grade and roll/compact. Place asphalt, 4" should be plenty.

 

[justanengineer]

Skip the asphalt and have a concrete pad poured outside the shop door. Asphalt doesnt have the pressure capability of concrete and on a hot day you'll find jack stands, motorcycle kickstands, pallet jacks, and engine hoists will sink in. If you park an occasional-use toy on it you'll also find vehicle tires sink in, my Firebird left plenty of 1/2" deep x 10" wide dents in the asphalt of my Indiana driveway bc I only drove it once/month the last year I owned it. That drive was road-mix asphalt over concrete btw and had a concrete pad directly in front of the garage, unfortunately it was only one car deep. My next driveway will have at least a two-deep pad in front of the garage.

 

[mechanic217]

Unless your stuck on asphalt you might want to look at reprocessed concrete if its available in your area, makes a nice low maintenance surface for low speeds and can be put down by you or any excavation contractor.

 

[naturalgas]

All good advice I'm taking in. Thanks guys. I would like to have concrete the width of the garage door rundown about thirty feet but I don't think it would hold up well in my climate and too costly right now. I still have the interior to do including elec , lights, insulation, walls ,heat, lights and a lift. That is why I want a good base for now to finish in a year or so. My plan is to bring it up to grade for now then remove some when ready for final topping . I realize the downfall with hot top in the heat of summer. The reprocessed concrete mentioned sounds like a good alternative but I've never heard of it being used or available in my area. I am going to do the right side of building and back with ground up reprocessed asphalt.


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[brownbagg]

we use red sand clay then a foot of compacted limestone

 

[dbabicky]

Just go concrete or wait until you can afford it. Don't mess around with asphalt. The **** *****. Too much up-keep. Pour concrete and never look back. Just my .02

 

[Bondo]

The reprocessed concrete mentioned sounds like a good alternative but I've never heard of it being used or available in my area. I am going to do the right side of building and back with ground up reprocessed asphalt.

Ayuh,... The recycled concrete looks, 'n acts like crushed stone,....

It compacts pretty well, but don't nuclear test well,...
The air entrained concrete fools the nuclear test unit, can't get compaction numbers,....

As for the asphalt millin's,... Put it in at 'bout 4", 'n pound the 'ell outa it,....(on a solid stone base of course)
It compacts Great, 'n a few hot sunny weeks, ya got a great driveway, 'n a great base layer for binder or top later,....

 

[ms fowler]

I wouldn't be too afraid of asphalt. There are MILLIONS of miles of asphalt roads that hold up to very heavy useage.
True, you would want to put a base under a concentrated load like a jack or jack stand on a hot sunny day, and for really long term storage, but for normal driveway use it is fine. If asphalt gets depressions from parking a car on it, I would have to suspect either the base, the asphalt product or the installation. You do see that sometimes on larger parking lots, but it is usually confined to a couple of spaces in a small area; not the entire parking lot.