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New gravel driveway

madosta

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Sep 4, 2012
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807
Location
Michigan
I'm putting some 23A down for my driveway base and have removed the sod and most of the topsoil but I am not down to sand just yet. The house is newer construction and the ground is really sandy so I'm not sure I need to be on clean all sand or if my dirt with gravel in it is good enough.

Pics will help but I don't know if it matters a ton to remove all the dirt to just sand or not. Recommend fabric below the gravel?
 
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vekster

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Sep 26, 2013
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405
Location
Ontario, Canada
would defenatly put down some geo-textile.
then you get to keep all the gravel you pay for with out it sinking into the ground below.
i did my entire driveway and parking area with geo textile its well worth the money.
 

Zeke

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Aug 13, 2009
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17,176
Location
Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Is Geo Textile the best of this kind of product? Will it take the weight of vehicles driving on it constantly? I'd like to hear from some of our friends over in the UK as they seem to use a lot of gravel for drives and walks.
 

mtmgtz

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May 5, 2014
Messages
86
Is Geo Textile the best of this kind of product? Will it take the weight of vehicles driving on it constantly? I'd like to hear from some of our friends over in the UK as they seem to use a lot of gravel for drives and walks.

It's used under gravel roads all the time. I'm sure it will hold up just fine for a driveway.
 

Leaflessshadetree

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Aug 1, 2013
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Don't ask.
As far as I know you can't did deep enough at my place to get all sand. (My deepest holes have been about 8 ft and I didn't hit any.
I used 3-5" cracked rock for my base layer then put finer gravel over it. The large rock won't sink in after it's compacted.
 

mtmgtz

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May 5, 2014
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86
As far as I know you can't did deep enough at my place to get all sand. (My deepest holes have been about 8 ft and I didn't hit any.
I used 3-5" cracked rock for my base layer then put finer gravel over it. The large rock won't sink in after it's compacted.

Larger rock, like you said, works well as a base layer too.

The composition of land will vary a lot. I'm not sure if you're in the same state as the OP? Here in Illinois, depending on how far North or South you go, it's 2 feet+ of topsoil then lots of clay.
 

xtremek

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Apr 13, 2012
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Location
St. Johns, Mi
Larger rock, like you said, works well as a base layer too.

What they said! Dig out ALL the dirt. Put down a minimum layer of 3"-5" rock/busted concrete, a good 6"-8", then cover with your gravel. You MUST get all of the dirt out, otherwise you'll end up in the same boat I've been digging out of for the last 2 years, soft spots in the spring:willy_nil. See my post for the on going saga of my battle to reclaim a poorly made driveway. AndI would go with the fabric under the rocks.
 

Kevin54

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Jan 12, 2005
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Urbana, Ohio
You want to make sure you have a good base down. That is removing the sode, and going down about a foot. I'm not sure what 23A's are, but I've always called it "ballast" for a base. That is the stone that is between golf ball, and tennis ball size. You want that down while they are building your house if they are in the process right now. That way, the trucks can run in and out on it to pack it down tight.

If per chance that the house is completed, and this is a new drive that you are cutting in, go down about 8"-12". Forget the ballast, but put some geo-textile, weed guard, whatever one wants to call it, down. Then start putting some #58 Crushed stone down in layers.....wetting and running the plate compactor over it on each layer. The tighter you can get the stone the better. Also when you order the stone, ask if they can put some extra "fines" in with it, or extra stone dust. This will help with compaction. # 58 stone is roughly 5/8" in size. And make sure you use "crushed" stone and not creek run stone. Creek run will not compact and will roll on you every time you turn your steering wheel. Creek run is round stone, and crushed stone locks together.

Crushed Limestone is the ideal stone as it gives you the light gray color. But in some areas, and if you are lucky enough to have a brick manufacturer close, you can get crushed brick. It really looks nice. Or if you have a concrete block factory close, ask if they have crushed blocks. Those will really pack tight.

We have a place to get crushed limestone, but they also carry a white crushed limestone. The white looks nice the first year, and packs down SUPER tight, but the dust in it goes everywhere. It sticks to your tires, to your shoes, you get it in your vehicles from it sticking to your shoes, and anywhere else you walk. A few years back they were selling the heck out of it around here because it was different looking, but since then, everyone has went back to the light gray all due to it being cleaner than the white.

One other thing....I don't know how you feel about chemicals, but you can use a good all vegetation killer before you put down any stone. Dig your sod and dirt out first. Then if you use a weed guard, before putting it down, spray where the drive is going with a good all vegetation killer. NOT Roundup. If you have a Farm Store around, get a vegetation killer that the farmers use, or you can get some Pramitol and mix it with some diesel fuel, spray things with it, and it will sterilize the ground sprayed for up to two years. Then go ahead with all of your weed guard and stone


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volleyball

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Aug 29, 2011
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Location
NY, not NYC
Can you sell the topsoil for near or even more than fill material will cost you? If so, dig it all out. For most places, a 1' is deep enough. See what fill material is popular in your area. Check with town/state hiway depts. to see. Some places it is crushed concrete, some stone, some other material. A good geotextile, not weed block will go a long way, even running it up the side of the hole. Don't skimp on width if your ground gets soft part of the year plus if you drive in a different track, you won't rut as easily. Too many people don't go over 8' in width. That fails the quickest.
 
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TommyK

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Mar 29, 2011
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546
Location
CT
Is Geo Textile the best of this kind of product? Will it take the weight of vehicles driving on it constantly? I'd like to hear from some of our friends over in the UK as they seem to use a lot of gravel for drives and walks.

"Geo-Textile fabric" covers a wide range of fabrics both woven and non-woven that are designed to do very specific jobs. In this case you want a "separation" fabric.
 

finn

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Mar 27, 2005
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16,335
Location
The UP, God's country
This is sort of a local issue: what you need depends on the soil and drainage issues and conditions in your local area.

Check with the local pit and they can probably tell you what is a popular, and successful driveway material in your area.
 

432bullet

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Dec 2, 2012
Messages
70
In southwest Mo we put down creek gravel, then drive on it for a while to push it in and compact it, Then we start with compaction rock ( crushed lime stone) It saves a lot of money using the creek gravel.
 
OP
M

madosta

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Sep 4, 2012
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807
Location
Michigan
The limestone guy said I had it good enough for a driveway but to scrape out down to sand if I was putting in concrete.

It's down. I just need to find some 3pt attachment that will do a good final grade like a york rake or something!
 

plow

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Feb 12, 2013
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Location
Louisiana
I just degrassed then put down SB24/5" thick. It looks like **** now. Wish I had put down something to keep it in place. Next step is asphalt$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 

thickhead

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Apr 4, 2014
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817
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Connecticut
See if your local producer will sell you RAP for the surface over crushed stone to lock everything together.

RAP : recycled (or reclaimed) asphalt product.
 

lynnbilodeau

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Jun 4, 2013
Messages
813
Location
Oklahoma
The limestone guy said I had it good enough for a driveway but to scrape out down to sand if I was putting in concrete.

It's down. I just need to find some 3pt attachment that will do a good final grade like a york rake or something!

I strongly disagree with "the limestone guy".

You need just as good a base under a gravel drive as you do under concrete... unless you want it to settle and get very uneven.

We dug ours out with a tractor and box blade. I had lots of sandy loam. I removed it all down to rock and clay. Brought in about 12 yards of crappy fill soil that compacted very well. We got our fabric from US fabric. Fortunately they had a distributor 90 miles up the interstate from us. Got all I needed, with a little left over for under 600 delivered. The stuff is amazing, and adds tremendous stability.

Pics attached.

Four years later it still looks great and we just used recycled concrete. Spread it with the same box blade at a different rake (tilted up in front).
 

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