Gravel Driveway Maintenance

[The-AJ88]

My 420 ft gravel driveway needs some attention. I am having some of the larger base material (#1 and #2 limestone) come up to the surface. I would like to know what course of action is best to get my driveway back into shape and be noticeably smoother when driving on.

From my understanding, the driveway was built by digging away the organic material until a solid base was reached, base layer of #1 and #2 limestone was used, followed by some type of fines material to lock it in place, and finally topped with #57 limestone.

I live in Ohio so winter weather and snowplowing does come into play.

The driveway is 4 years old and has never had a box blade or land plane on it. I had a local excavation guy take a look at it to see if a box blade or land plane would be better to performance some maintenance on it. He said both would be a terrible idea because all it would do is bring more of the larger base material to the surface. He said once that base material comes up, it will never go back down.

He recommended using a large and heavy ride on vibratory roller that will break up and crush the larger material that came to the surface. Then, a blade of some type can be used to smooth it all out. Followed by another round of a ride on vibratory roller to compact it. He said I have plenty of stone on the driveway already and no new stone will be necessary.

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you have a different approach to this project?

Pictures are below to hopefully provide a better idea of the current driveway conditions.

 

[two_bit_score]

There are some great resources on TBN to help you with this and I'm sure someone will be along soon to offer advice.

 

[bigtiller]

That looks like clean limestone to me. It's a great start but without the fines, it will consolidate but it will not compact. You need the fines to lock it all together.

I would add 2" or more of crushed limestone 3/4" inch with all the fines.

 

[RustyA]

Like bigtiller says I don't see any rock dust that would make a compacted base for you. If it was my driveway I would get it really wet and shape it to prepare for a top coat of recycled concrete dust or better yet 3/4 crushed granite with lots of rock dust. Use a plate compactor and water to drive the fines down into your base. It's a great base to start with but it needs filler material to lock it together. Water, grading and compacting your base, then water grading and compacting your final top coat should make for a great driveway.

 

[paulsharvey]

As said, you need some fines in the material. Ideally (with material we use down here) you would scarify the material there, add fines, and regrade. I'm not saying you need to scarify, but with material we use, you need don't want the top to 'scab' on the bottom, so you break/scratch/scarify the top inch or so of the bottom, when adding more. Being that yours appears to be just gravel, that probably isn't necessary, as there is plenty of voids of the fines to work into, and bond the top to the bottom.

Although a vibratory roller or even a heavy plate compactor will work, I'm a big fan of a traffic roller (9 wheel rubber tired static roller), because they don't bridge over imperfections. I've never seen a traffic roller for rent... picture for reference if anyone isn't familiar with what a traffic roller is
View attachment 831343

 

[jyoutz]

That looks like clean limestone to me. It's a great start but without the fines, it will consolidate but it will not compact. You need the fines to lock it all together.

I would add 2" or more of crushed limestone 3/4" inch with all the fines.

Agree. Where I live, we put down something called road base. It’s a mix of various sized gravel and small rocks with a lot of crushed fine rocks. The fines are needed to lock the gravel in place.

 

[DKCDKC]

The mixture is key. I have a mile-long and hilly gravel drive. Put down some 1.5 & 2 inch stone - thin layer. Then an inch or two of half inch stuff, then what we call crusher run - a mixture of small gravel and dust. It has held up quite well now for over 20 years. I tend it with a box blade to eliminate ruts or wash-boarding bumps a few times a year - or after a major rain storm. I use a ratchet-rake for minor smoothing. Once or twice a year I use a back blade to pull gravel pushed to the edge back to the center and then box blade to smooth. I do have to buy 20 to 40 tons of new crusher run every third year or so.

 

[Rockbadchild]

One more with 3/4 inch minus, what you got there is pure stone on top of pure stone it will always do that, pure stone doesn't compact you need compaction, to achieve compaction you need fines ... What is happening on your driveway is by driving on it the small stone are pushing the bigger sone to the side and up.
It is always better to grade the existing material into place before adding new material. A compactor will not break these stone it might chip them but nothing more.

step 1- Grade the existing material, yes it will make a mess and bring some of the bigger stone up... but place the material the best you can to make a crown
Step 2- compact the bigger stone so they gets pounded down / sink in
Step 3- add 3/4 to dust material
step 4 grade, watered and compact.
Step 5 never touch it again because you wont need too.

 

[Streetcar]

Like bigtiller says I don't see any rock dust that would make a compacted base for you. If it was my driveway I would get it really wet and shape it to prepare for a top coat of recycled concrete dust or better yet 3/4 crushed granite with lots of rock dust. Use a plate compactor and water to drive the fines down into your base. It's a great base to start with but it needs filler material to lock it together. Water, grading and compacting your base, then water grading and compacting your final top coat should make for a great driveway.

Crushed granite is not common in Ohio. Op needs to top with 304, crusher run common Ohio designation. Rubber tired rollers are for rent at construction equipment sites but are typically 20 tons weight in ohio

 

[Thomas]

You got good base,I would add3"+ of what we call hard pack.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Guys on this site make me laughs when the rock type is specified to crush material for gravel road construction or maintenance ... although there is some minimal advantage between them its not concrete or asphalt we are using it for, so other then the color its composition is no factor for the application... get what is available and the most cost effective.

FWY the differences between them,

1. Crushed Limestone:
   • Description: Crushed limestone is a popular choice for driveways.
   • Advantages: Limestone is often chosen for its light color, which can enhance the overall aesthetics. It compacts well, creating a sturdy surface.
   • Considerations: While durable, it may be more susceptible to scratching and wear compared to harder stones.
2. Crushed Granite:
   • Description: Crushed granite is a durable and aesthetically pleasing option for driveways.
   • Advantages: Granite is hard, which makes it resistant to wear and suitable for high-traffic areas. It offers a range of colors and a textured appearance.
   • Considerations: It may be more expensive than some other options.
3. Crushed Basalt:
   • Description: Basalt is an igneous rock commonly used in crushed form for driveways. It has a dark color and is known for its durability.
   • Advantages: Basalt is very hard and can withstand heavy use. It provides a sleek, modern appearance.
   • Considerations: Availability may vary by region, and it can be relatively more expensive.
4. Crushed Shell:
   • Description: Crushed shell driveways use crushed shells, often from clams or oysters, to create a unique and natural-looking surface.
   • Advantages: It has a distinctive appearance, is permeable, and can be environmentally friendly.
   • Considerations: It may not be as durable as some other options and may require more frequent replenishing.

 

[2manyrocks]

There seem to be some areas where the larger stones have piled up in loose piles. I think I'd rake or box blade them before adding a top layer of what we'd call crusher run that has a lot of fines in it. It would take a lot of material to cover those piles of loose, larger stones if you can't find a way of spreading them out or using them to fill holes somewhere.

Do you have a rake, box blade or dirt blade?

 

[scootr]

I would discourage the use of crushed concrete or recycled concrete aka road grindings. Sure it holds well but the dust is horrific !

 

[oosik]

My driveway is a mile long and crushed basalt. When it finally packed down - hard and durable as concrete. Likewise - it takes every bit of the weight of my HD Rhino 950 rear blade to alter the grade of the driveway surface.

Surface alterations are best done in the early spring when the surface is wet and as soft as its going to get.

 

[MadJack]

Put shoes on your plow... or you'll scrape the top layer into the ditch!
Here in Maine the top layer is usually granite crusher dust screened to 3/4". Packs like iron.

 

[DJ54]

The contractor is correct on the working it will only bring the large stone to the top. The vibratory roller would be a good idea too, only I'd top it off with limestone screenings (#9's to dust) readily available at all quarry's here, and least expensive in Ohio to lock the larger stone together. 1-1/2"-2" would be plenty for now. You'd want them pretty damp, but not totally wet to semi compact.

Depending on what you have to work with, reversing a 3 pt. blade to smooth it out, and work it in some if they tailgate it then if you wheel roll it, or use a loaded lawn roller just to semi compact and keep in place, it will work its way down into the stone and lock it together after rains, freeze/thaw cycles and driving on it. Just try to drive in different wheel tracks to compact driving on it after the initial compaction. You can top dress in a couple years with more screenings if they disappear into the stone. Once that gets stabilized, if you need to do a deeper top dress 2"- 3" of 67D/411 (seems not all quarry's use the same numbers here in Ohio) It's 3/4" limestone down to bug dust. Back blade to smooth it out and wheel roll or roll with loaded lawn roller. You'll also want this pretty damp, and it will compact very well.

I haul my own when needed and prefer to haul after a couple days of rain, so the material is pretty damp in the pile they load out of yet tailgates half decent. It compacts very well. The only downside is it will track in on a concrete floor if you park in a garage/carport whenever it rains, or snows. Choose your poison.

 

[John0829]

I would get what we here call "limesand", it is not dust but just a bit more granular like... a course sand. It's easy to work with and when it compacts it is very tight. It also maybe more readily available than some of the other options offered here since any quarry that supplies aggregate to asphalt plants should have it.

 

[gstrom99]

Maybe just a load of "screenings", which is just the fines, to fill and pack?

 

[Mike1955]

M

My 420 ft gravel driveway needs some attention. I am having some of the larger base material (#1 and #2 limestone) come up to the surface. I would like to know what course of action is best to get my driveway back into shape and be noticeably smoother when driving on.

From my understanding, the driveway was built by digging away the organic material until a solid base was reached, base layer of #1 and #2 limestone was used, followed by some type of fines material to lock it in place, and finally topped with #57 limestone.

I live in Ohio so winter weather and snowplowing does come into play.

The driveway is 4 years old and has never had a box blade or land plane on it. I had a local excavation guy take a look at it to see if a box blade or land plane would be better to performance some maintenance on it. He said both would be a terrible idea because all it would do is bring more of the larger base material to the surface. He said once that base material comes up, it will never go back down.

He recommended using a large and heavy ride on vibratory roller that will break up and crush the larger material that came to the surface. Then, a blade of some type can be used to smooth it all out. Followed by another round of a ride on vibratory roller to compact it. He said I have plenty of stone on the driveway already and no new stone will be necessary.

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you have a different approach to this project?

Pictures are below to hopefully provide a better idea of the current driveway conditions.

View attachment 831285


View attachment 831286


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View attachment 831288View attachment 831289


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View attachment 831291View attachment 831292

My thoughts are if you got the big rock on the bottom it will disappear if you don’t blade it. Can be a box blade, I prefer the other if it’s heavy enough. If kept bladed the rock will not go in the ground and you want the rock to drive on. The ground with old the rock. For maintaining, keep it bladed twice a year

 

[dodge man]

I got a box blade recently and used it on my second driveway and parking area and it did bring a lot of the bigger stuff up. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing if you’re going to add more gravel with fines on top, which I think is good advice like a lot of people are saying. If it’s already pretty even I wouldn’t blade it at all.

Im a retired land surveyor but my degree is in civil engineering and I did some material testing over the years. I don‘t think I ever saw any kind of roller break up larger stone into smaller pieces.