New Gravel Driveway

[Victory Pete]

My driveway has been a mess for years. It was basically made out of the excavated material from digging my foundation. The excavator pulled a fast one on me, it turned out it was silt and clay, it looked nice after he put it down but that first spring was a disaster. Well I have been pulling it off for years with a york rake and boxblade. I have finally just laid down 90 yards of processed gravel. I was wondering what can I top dress this with to give it a smoother surface?

 

[Kyle241]

What size is the gravel you put down? We top driveways up my way with 5/8's less which when driven over packs down real nice.

 

[tkappeler]

Looks great. I am in a similar situation (crushed concrete for now) and will want to hear others suggestions also.

 

[Victory Pete]

The gravel is called "-3/4", I have about 6"-12" of it in some areas.

 

[Victory Pete]

Looks great. I am in a similar situation (crushed concrete for now) and will want to hear others suggestions also.

Do you have any pictures of the crushed concrete?

 

[tkappeler]

Do you have any pictures of the crushed concrete?

Here are some pics of the concrete but do not want to hijack the thread. The paper clip in the third picture is 1.5" for size comparison.

 

[dave1949]

A thin topping of very fine material called "crusher dust" around here would make it very smooth. It's a bit pricey but goes a long way spread out.

I would drive on it and let it pack and settle, then regrade before doing anything else.

 

[BethelHntr]

We use a 5/8 minus as a topper up here which is a gravel no bigger than 5/8 mixed with fines (smaller rock and sand) Those fines help with compaction. It makes a real nice road.

 

[trihounds]

"Stone dust" is used here as a topper as well. Pieces are fine - 1/8" or less, generally. Packs nicely though needs regrading every so often. It might be a good idea for you to use your driveway and pack it down then add the stone dust next summer.

 

[dave1949]

We use a 5/8 minus as a topper up here which is a gravel no bigger than 5/8 mixed with fines (smaller rock and sand) Those fines help with compaction. It makes a real nice road.

I use 1" minus for topping, it settles in and packs tight. Anything that stays loose on top in snow country, half of it will be off in the grass by spring time. There are prettier toppings, but just not very practical where snow plowing is involved.

 

[EddieWalker]

The gravel is called "-3/4", I have about 6"-12" of it in some areas.

Looks great!!!
Did you water it real good? If you don't get enough water onto it, you will have to deal with mush after the first rain. Then once it dries out, it will lock together and be solid after that. What I've found is that you really have to use a lot of water if you are doing it yourself, or just wait for the rain and deal with it then.

Eddie

 

[Victory Pete]

Looks great!!!
Did you water it real good? If you don't get enough water onto it, you will have to deal with mush after the first rain. Then once it dries out, it will lock together and be solid after that. What I've found is that you really have to use a lot of water if you are doing it yourself, or just wait for the rain and deal with it then.

Eddie

It rained while I was spreading and has been overnight. I have 2 more loads coming today and the rain has been spotty. It seems to be real tight now, almost feels like cement when you walk on it.

 

[Oliver1655]

What you have is appropriate. Drive back & forth on it to pack it down. Next summer after is has settled/packed down you can regrade as needed. Just knock the high spots down & fill in the low ones. Try not to do more grading than necessary or else you will find yourself starting over. Then if you feel you need any more gravel, dress it using 1/2" with fines. You just have to be patient while it settles.

 

[Victory Pete]

Complete

Total of 126 yards of -3/4. Thanks for all the help. I am looking forward to regrading in the spring with some stone dust to smooth out the stones. Time to give the Mule and myself a break.