Material for affordable driveway? Base rock, wood chips, gravel/seal?

7 years ago

Hello,

Any suggestions for a makeshift driveway? This is leading to a separate garage that doesn't get used every day but semi-regularly. We had 3/4" base rock before which worked well enough and after 10+ years has largely disappeared.

It's a bit too muddy when wet and I'd like to put something down to help with traction. Concrete or asphalt is out of the budget for the time being. Is base rock the best option for this? Anyone use free wood chips? How about these products where you pour sealer on top of gravel, do they work well at all?

Thanks for any advice. If there's a better forum for this please let me know.

Featured Answer

User

7 years ago

AB3 gravel.You can get it from a sand and gravel company by the ton/truck load. It is the least expensive decent alternative and also will help the base when you put in a more solid driveway.

Do NOT use wood chips. I will guarantee you will have a swamp if you use wood chips.

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Comments (9)

klem1
7 years ago
"Any suggestions for a makeshift driveway? "

You bet,either build it as all weather at the onset or plan using it only during drought conditions. Without going into reasons why it's true,once a crappy drive is in place,you are faced with either going back to square one and doing it right or buying recycled asphalt for topping it from now on. Meanwhile here's your homework assignment. Go over to Soil.compost and mulch to see how well wood chips retain moisture. Is that really a good strategy when it come's to a driveway?
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dftush, That does sound heartbreaking. As a general rule, be assertive in looking out for your own interests when it comes to dealing with your neighbor or anyone else. Also, explain the reason WHY you do or don't want contractors, neighbors, and others to do things or not do things a certain way. It's possible your neighbor thought you felt guilty about him plowing because you weren't paying him and had no idea you were proud of your driveway and that the plowing would cause significant damage. Of course it's also possible that he's just one of those people who "doesn't get it" because his brain is wired a different way and he doesn't have a sense about when he is causing damage, and will do things even when told not to. Get an estimate for the repair of your driveway and ask your neighbor to pay for it. Don't accept any offers for him to fix it himself. (Basically he can't be trusted to do it properly, no matter how much of a nice guy he may be.) If he will not pay, ask the company whose truck he drove to pay for it. The company may not have to pay out of pocket if they have insurance for damage caused by plowing. If they will not, gather your evidence (it will be helpful if you took before and after photos) and take both your neighbor and the company that owns the truck to small claims court. For use in dealing with the police or court system in the future, write him letter and send it certified mail informing him you do not want him to plow your driveway and if he does, you will consider it trespassing and report it to the police. Mail a copy to the company that owns the truck as well. Keep the a record of sending the letter, including the delivery confirmation receipts for your records. If he STILL doesn't take the hint, you might consider putting a locked gate at the end of your driveway, or parking a car across the end of the driveway when it snows.
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geoffrey_b
7 years ago
What you need is a good base. I would excavate 6 - 8" - and compact 4" of class 5 limestone, the a couple of inches of gravel.
klem1
7 years ago
" excavate 6 - 8" - and compact 4" of class 5 limestone, the a couple of inches of gravel."

That's exactly the kind of advice you can expect from an engineer / comp sci guy -that has been an independent consultant for many years. In addition to removing all the base rock that has been in place and compacted for 10 years, the drive is now lower than surrounding grade so that it stand's in water when it rains. I rest my case.
geoffrey_b
7 years ago
klem1 - are you OK? Who said about making the drive lower? None of us have been to the site - it's just an opinion.
Renee Texas
7 years ago
gravel, just expect to add to it now and then.
klem1
7 years ago
This old has been from a different era is just fine thank you and can still do elementary math. 4 inches of limestone + 2 inches of gravel = 6 inches total going back into the 6 to 8 inch trench you just dug leave's drive up to 2 inches lower than where you began. Only an engineer / comp sci guy -that has been an independent consultant for many years would charge a fee to go on site to figure that out and that's a fact. Let's talk about reasons for removing all the rock that has been there 10 years,might it have rotted and become unsuitable? I feel these questions should be answered since everyone agree's except the one holding himself out as an engineer / comp sci guy -that has been an independent consultant for many years.
Vith
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Tar and chip driveway is economical. After about a year, sweep up loose stones and your good.
PRO
Novel Remodeling
7 years ago
Gravel and Sealing is the most affordable way to do a driveway in my opinion. depending on where you are, the prices change. In California, It can get costly for stones, or pavers, but gravel driveways are relatively affordable.

Material for affordable driveway? Base rock, wood chips, gravel/seal?

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klem1

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