Before I get the rock.

[brian3180]

Last summer this area had a few high spots that I ripped out to prevent puddling. We have been getting lots of rain and this is what I have now. I’m getting a few loads of rock/road base this week or next. What should I do to prepare? Thanks. ATTACH]

 

[747driver]

First thing would be to find and make a way for the water to drain away from the road. Otherwise you will never get this to dry out. Get rid of that top layer of muddy soil. Then get some 3/4 inch stone and make a good base for the soft areas. You have to get down to a stable layer of soil, otherwise the new stone put down will just sink. Once packed down then lay down some smaller stone for the road.

 

[deezler]

Looks like you need a drainage ditch on the muddy side to me. Have a good box blade? Get to pullin! I would cut a ditch that follow the road a good ways out past each end of the muddy section. Hard to tell which way water would flow from your pics, but maybe you can tell in person (or use a level/transit). Then get any bad mud/muck off your road, and pull it all up into a nice crown BEFORE you get your stone delivered on top of it.

 

[fried1765]

Last summer this area had a few high spots that I ripped out to prevent puddling. We have been getting lots of rain and this is what I have now. I’m getting a few loads of rock/road base this week or next. What should I do to prepare? Thanks. View attachment 642835View attachment 642836ATTACH]

The THREE most important things about roadways/driveways are......DITCHES...DITCHES...DITCHES!

 

[CADplans]

Add logging ballast to the road,, before you add the gravel.
My logging guys hauled over 160 loads of logs over logging ballast,, during the wettest year on record.

I have a beautiful road there today,,,

 

[old and tired]

3" to 4" rock for base. I agree, get the muddy dirt out of there and cut a drain to the pond (if you can).

 

[EddieWalker]

Watch how the County and Highways build roads. First they build up the road with good clean clay. Usually red clay since it compacts so well and sheds water once compacted. Dig ditches so the water has somewhere to go. Ounce you have to road built up with dirt, add rock to the top of it. Where I'm at in East Texas, 4 inches is the minimum thickness for it to lock together. I've found that crushed concrete works a lot better then limestone or cliche.

 

[RNeumann]

Without road fabric about anything you import will end up pushing more mud up. Excavate the mud, fix the drainage, lay fabric 8-12” below finish road grade and import road base.

 

[Fallon]

Without road fabric about anything you import will end up pushing more mud up. Excavate the mud, fix the drainage, lay fabric 8-12” below finish road grade and import road base.

Add 5lbs of rock to 5lbs of mud & you get 10lbs of mud. You need to drain the water away so the base doesn't turn to mud & keep the rock from sinking in. The half of my driveway I put geotextile under is doing good. The rest isnt doing great, even after a couple loads of rock. I need to redo it with some geotextile & better ditching before I put in more rock.

Geotextile is beefier than landscape fabric you'll find at the big box stores. Looks like a blue tarp, only black & a looser water permeable weave.

 

[LouNY]

Without road fabric about anything you import will end up pushing more mud up. Excavate the mud, fix the drainage, lay fabric 8-12” below finish road grade and import road base.

Bingo, this is the way.
You could try and cheap out with just 4 to 6 inches over heavy duty fabric but more is better.

 

[Thomas]

Remove what mud you can good stone base than finish base with crown than ditch,spend little more save headaches in time.

 

[brian3180]

First thing would be to find and make a way for the water to drain away from the road. Otherwise you will never get this to dry out. Get rid of that top layer of muddy soil. Then get some 3/4 inch stone and make a good base for the soft areas. You have to get down to a stable layer of soil, otherwise the new stone put down will just sink. Once packed down then lay down some smaller stone for the road.

Is that mud reusable for something else if I let it dry out or do I just spread it along property? Thanks for your suggestion and response.

 

[brian3180]

Without road fabric about anything you import will end up pushing more mud up. Excavate the mud, fix the drainage, lay fabric 8-12 below finish road grade and import road base.

What should I use to lay over the fabric before the road base? Thanks!

 

[brian3180]

Watch how the County and Highways build roads. First they build up the road with good clean clay. Usually red clay since it compacts so well and sheds water once compacted. Dig ditches so the water has somewhere to go. Ounce you have to road built up with dirt, add rock to the top of it. Where I'm at in East Texas, 4 inches is the minimum thickness for it to lock together. I've found that crushed concrete works a lot better then limestone or cliche.

Would I need to rent a roller or compactor to compact the clay? Thanks for your reply.

 

[RNeumann]

What should I use to lay over the fabric before the road base? Thanks!

Whatever you can get that’s rock (no organics) and is cheap.

Everyone has different names for similar material. In my current area “road base” is typically called 3/4” minus- 3/4” rock down to fines. So you could start with 1 1/2” minus or 2” minus if it’s a bit cheaper. With the fabric, about any of those materials will pack in nicely.

I’ve heard other names like crusher run or class 2 base. All of these have a mix of fines and the larger rocks.

 

[Fallon]

Whatever you can get that’s rock (no organics) and is cheap.

Everyone has different names for similar material. In my current area “road base” is typically called 3/4” minus- 3/4” rock down to fines. So you could start with 1 1/2” minus or 2” minus if it’s a bit cheaper. With the fabric, about any of those materials will pack in nicely.

I’ve heard other names like crusher run or class 2 base. All of these have a mix of fines and the larger rocks.

I just used recycled concrete on mine. That's now more expensive than road base (a.k.a. crusher run or 3/4 minus) but functionally the same. Larger rock is more important if you have lots of heavy trucks pounding material into the ground. Standard roadbase should be fine for typical residential driveways if you get good fabric under there.

Dont use recycled asphalt. It's pretty small material, but clumps. Some spots may pack in hard (so you cant regrade it), but most will fall apart & move around never packing in. It doesnt have fines (dust & sand) to pack in around the bigger rocks & lock them in place.

 

[EddieWalker]

From the pictures, there is no reason to remove any dirt where those ruts are. When soil becomes saturated, it "pumps" water and it has to be removed, mixed with dry soil, or spread out to dry before it can be used. Your soil is in great shape, you just don't have enough of it. Clean fill dirt is running around $10 a yard delivered in my area of East Texas. Usually it's red clay, which compacts easily and it's very stable. Which means when it gets wet and freezes, it doesn't expand very much, and when it dries out, it doesn't contract very much. Just East of Dallas, they have soil that is very unstable and extremely difficult to build on. Be sure to know what type of soil you have and what you will be buying.

To compact soil commercially , you have to use a sheeps foot vibrating roller with the proper amount of moisture added. For farm projects, just spread it in layrs of a few inches and drive over it with the front tires of your tractor, with a full load in the bucket, will get you close enough. Do this until you have the road built up higher then the surrounding land so water runs off of it and away from your road.

Then add 4 inches or more of road base rock, or crushed concrete. If the soil is done properly, there is no need for fabric. Rock costs 4 to 5 times more then clean dirt. There is no reason to spend any more money on rock then you need to.

Again, watch how the County and City builds roads in your area. You will see that it's very simple, they just build up the dirt to where it needs to be, then lay gravel and pave over it. In a lot of cases, they don't even use gravel, especially on more rural roads. It's all about getting the dirt right.

 

[shooterdon]

Without road fabric about anything you import will end up pushing more mud up. Excavate the mud, fix the drainage, lay fabric 8-12 below finish road grade and import road base.

Doing it right, sounds expensive but is cheaper in the long run.