Oil and Stone Driveway - Comments Please

[jambx]

Ok, so here it is - I am in need of a new Driveway. Its circular with two large square'ish areas that lie directly in front of five (5) "carriage house style garage doors - it is a total of 5000 square feet of area and it is presently of asphalt.

Since my house is a old Cape Cod (Cottage look) I was initially thinking of pulling it up and using gravel / stone but I have received nothing but negative comments on the maintenance and upkeep let alone the practicality (ie plowing during the winter yada, yada, yada).

So that has lead me to Oil and Stone. I spoke to a few folks and this appears to be a very good compromise but I was also informed that it does not hold up well when a vehicle at rest turns its tires when rest - especially during extreme heat (the base moves).

http://www.stonedriveway.com/

I have received the prices of using Asphalt and its laughable not to mention it isnt the look I was looking to achieve.

Does anyone have any good / bad or ugly things they want to say about the Oil and Stone type of driveway material?

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

~jim

 

[magicheater]

It will raise your taxes similar to concrete and you have to seal it every so many years. Why not go with pavers to keep the theme of your house?

 

[jambx]

It will raise your taxes similar to concrete and you have to seal it every so many years. Why not go with pavers to keep the theme of your house?

I really do love the paver idea. In fact I did a 1000 sq ft patio a few years ago however I would assume the cost would be through the roof (as I know what it cost me for 1000 sq ft and I installed them myself) :confused2:

I guess I am looking for that comprimise between a certain look and cost.

Stone is classic but I can see where is could be a major PIA especailly since I was not going to use a boarder (ie block etc) which would help keep the stone in the drive and not on the lawn.

 

[Haoleguy]

Jim - I've come across this same oil-stone driveway company website before and they do not provide much info on the process and whether this is a porous surface? From an eco-friendly standpoint, using a porous surface that allows for rainwater filtration through the soil layers will reduce runoff into storm drains. Have you thought of using pavers at lawn, road, & garage interfaces so that you can still use stone and not worry as much about stone loss?.....Gary

 

[magicheater]

Have you considered "soilcrete"?

 

[Diamondpilot]

I am wonder why the cost it through the roof. I am getting my drive done this week. Its 4,800 sq ft and they just did the concrete stoop today in front of the barn, about 600 sq ft. That cost just at $1500 for materials and labor. I dug it out and backfilled. They will be back in 1 week to put down 3" of asphalt on the rest, about 4,250 sq ft. They are doing everything including grading, 2" of 5D heavy base, and 1" of 12 finish asphalt for $7500.

Total of $9,000 for $4,800 sq ft of drive.

Chris

 

[MarkV]

During hot weather when the oil is more liquid will it track into the house on shoes? I don't know, just wondering if anyone does.

MarkV

 

[tsteahr]

Ok, so here it is - I am in need of a new Driveway. Its circular with two large square'ish areas that lie directly in front of five (5) "carriage house style garage doors - it is a total of 5000 square feet of area and it is presently of asphalt.

Since my house is a old Cape Cod (Cottage look) I was initially thinking of pulling it up and using gravel / stone but I have received nothing but negative comments on the maintenance and upkeep let alone the practicality (ie plowing during the winter yada, yada, yada).

So that has lead me to Oil and Stone. I spoke to a few folks and this appears to be a very good compromise but I was also informed that it does not hold up well when a vehicle at rest turns its tires when rest - especially during extreme heat (the base moves).

Stone Driveways Of New England

I have received the prices of using Asphalt and its laughable not to mention it isn't the look I was looking to achieve.

Does anyone have any good / bad or ugly things they want to say about the Oil and Stone type of driveway material?

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

~jim

Jim, I see you are in CT. As I'm sure you know, chip & seal road surfacing is very common in CT on secondary roads. It is generally applied on top of existing asphalt. I'm not sure it is something I would do for a driveway. At least it seems to be a big mess when the town applies it to a road. It seems only a small portion of the stone penetrates the asphalt base and most of the stone stays on top until the town street sweeper comes by and picks up the remainder of what is left on top (or it eventually gets thrown off to the road into the weeds). But since it is oil and stone on top of a asphalt base, there is no issue with the base material moving when turning stationary vehicle tires.

However, there is a similar alternative that is more appropriate for a residential driveway. It is recycled (ground up) asphalt with a layer of oil then a top coat of pea stone, then rolled with a steam roller to press most of the stone into the base. I had this type of drive installed at my first house in CT. It can be plowed if you raise the plow skids a bit. There is a loose layer of stone on top, but it is not as deep as a freshly chip sealed road. I found the cost to be about 1/2 of traditional asphalt paving (this was about 14 years ago when the process was fairly new). Where there is some loose stone on top there is no problem with turning tires. There was no problem with tracking oil. The top cost was a small pee stone so that had a tendency to get carried around a bit.

Overall the drive was easier to deal with than a gravel drive but not as convenient as a asphalt drive. If you fell down you would skin a knee pretty bad - much worse than a gravel drive. It was not pleasant to kneel on or crawl under the car. I don't think it would be the best choice if you have young kids for that reason.

The house I had it installed at was in a rural, farm area and a asphalt drive did not look rite. This recycled asphalt drive was the right look. But from a practical standpoint, I prefer a regular paved drive.

For those that don't live in new england: In this area brick pavers are not a option for any significant length of driveway. A drive that would cost say $6k to asphalt would cost $50-70k for pavers. Only for the very wealthy.

 

[dodge man]

Around here it's called oil and chip. If EVERY THING goes perfect, it would work out great for a driveway. If you are starting out with a perfect rock base, being smooth and level, and they put down the perfect amount of oil, the perfect amount of chips, you would be happy with it. The problem is it rarely works perfect. It ends up rutted and low in places, in other places there will be too much oil, and it will bleed when it gets hot out. The first time you put it down, you may want to do it twice(two layers) or it won't hold up very well.

It's not a bad choice, I would take it over gravel, but its not as good as asphalt or concrete.

 

[gwjd]

if you asphalt is still sound and looks bad the cip and seal thing is great saves the rip out cost to

if its wavy and ruted you need major repair