"Trail" driveway: How do I improve it?

[JB4310]

What size is scrap rock?

Every local has different names for their materials, from the pictures it doesn't look to bad at all. I would go with what we call small process, it's a mixture of 3/4" and under. Spreads and compacts well usually used as the last layer of fill, just under asphalt or concrete.

21 tons will go nowhere though, I've got 100 tons in a 200 ft driveway/ parking area. Even if you just do a 1-2 inch skim you will need much more for such a long driveway.

JB

 

[dmccarty]

ABC, which is what is used as road base in NC, and what I used on our driveway, should be about 3,000 pounds per yard aka 27 cubic feet.

A dual axle dump truck in my area will haul 15-16,000 pounds. Usually they were about 15K. So 15K is 5 yards of ABC.

I always use 25 cubic feet per yard since the math is easier and you will not miss 2 cf of gravel.

If you put down 12 inches of gravel 12.5 feet wide, a yard is going to cover a whopping TWO linear feet of driveway. A five yard load of ABC gets you TEN linear feet.

If the you put down 6 inches of ABC then you get TWENTY linear feet per dump truck load.

If you have the gravel 3 inches deep then the same dump truck load goes FORTY feet.

Three inches of gravel is not going to last long before it is pushed down in the clay when it rains or snows. Unless one uses fabric. Once pushed down in the clay it can be box bladed back up to the surface which is what I have done for years on our private road.

I would assume your rock is going to be about 3,000 pounds per yard so 21 tons is 7 yards. So if you spread the rock 12 inches deep and 12.5 feet wide, you will get 14 linear feet of drive way done.

If the rock is six inches deep you will go 28 linear feet.

Three inches of rock will go 56 linear feet 12.5 feet wide.

Why 12.5 feet? That covers the fabric I used that was 12 feet wide and the math works out a bit easier with 25 cf per yard.

Later,
Dan

 

[JB4310]

ABC, which is what is used as road base
I would assume your rock is going to be about 3,000 pounds per yard so 21 tons is 7 yards. So if you spread the rock 12 inches deep and 12.5 feet wide, you will get 14 linear feet of drive way done.

If the rock is six inches deep you will go 28 linear feet.

Three inches of rock will go 56 linear feet 12.5 feet wide.
Later,
Dan

I think since he ripped up and mixed the material on the driveway now and it doesn't look bad, he may just need 2-4 inches.
I don't have anywhere on my gravel drive or parking areas that's more than 4-6 inches deep total. But I am higher than the surrounding topography.

We get it by the ton right from the quarry which is 4 miles away, pay almost nothing for delivery, and only like $18. a ton for premium stuff. but a triax dump load does not go far, I can spread it with my CUT in a few minutes.

JB.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Round River Rock is the very worse type of rock that you can use for a road. The goal of the rock is for it to lock together so that it doesn't move, and as it gets compacted, it locks together. Round and smooth rock will never do this. Eddie

Good explanation.:thumbsup:
larry

 

[beppington]

ABC, which is what is used ...

Dan ... Wow, that is GREAT! Thanks! I've been wondering how much volume I'd get from a 21-ton load. Depressing, though, to find out how little

I think I'm going to establish now that this prep work is temporary, mainly to get heavy traffic in & out without getting stuck during home construction.

So, if I use some parts of your math with mine, & say I spread the material at only 2" thick (since some of the trail seems OK as-is), & assuming the truck really holds 21 tons (42,000 lbs - Can that be???), by your math I'd get only 60 linear feet at 12.5' wide ... Meaning with my 600' driveway length & a paltry 2" thickness, it's gonna take ten $437 truck loads = $4,370 total ... for a pretty darn thin layer.

Wow, maybe I need to just buy a dump truck & do the hauling myself.

Ouch.

 

[beppington]

What size is scrap rock?

Scrap rock here is the remains of whatever bins of whatever material the distributor has had in recently, including granite, limerock, stones, sands, etc. So, the sizes vary from fines to some sizable stones. They mix it altogether & sell it at what I believe is a cheaper price than the various materials individually.

 

[dmccarty]

I think since he ripped up and mixed the material on the driveway now and it doesn't look bad, he may just need 2-4 inches.
I don't have anywhere on my gravel drive or parking areas that's more than 4-6 inches deep total. But I am higher than the surrounding topography.

We get it by the ton right from the quarry which is 4 miles away, pay almost nothing for delivery, and only like $18. a ton for premium stuff. but a triax dump load does not go far, I can spread it with my CUT in a few minutes.

JB.

I have heard people say one needs to spread the gravel 12 inches deep. I do not understand that advice unless you own a quarry and a dump truck.

Over the years I have paid $50-75 a hour for the truck. The difference being fuel prices. I cannot remember exactly what ABC cost me last time I bought but I think it was $200 for 15-16 tons AND the truck time. Maybe a bit less if the truck could make two runs in 90 minutes.

Most of my driveway and parking areas have gravel four inches thick with the problem area that might be 200 feet long were it is only 2-3 inches thick. The problem area needs another 4 inches to get the driveway above grade. Otherwise the amount of gravel is just fine.

But I used fabric. Without fabric I would have had to regrade the driveway multiple times since we built.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Dan ... Wow, that is GREAT! Thanks! I've been wondering how much volume I'd get from a 21-ton load. Depressing, though, to find out how little
...

You think you are depressed now, wait until they dump the load and you see how small the pile is for 21 tons.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Good explanation.:thumbsup:
larry

Eddie is right too.

You also need the smaller rock and fines to lock the stones. We have an area right off the house that was going to be a patio but we ended up not pouring the slab for various reasons. For now, we park in that area. The stone on the ground is 67 stone which is stone 1-2 inches in size but no fines/dust. This does NOT lock together. Tis better than round stone but it does not lock up like ABC which has the fines/dust.

Just parking on this stuff has moved the stone around. Stopping has rutted up the gravel as has backing up the truck. Parking on the ABC gravel is just fine but the 67 stone, which is fine less, is problematic.

For some reason, some people in FLA like to use small river rock for driveways. Given that this stuff has to be brought in from out of state it has to be expensive. It does look nice but it just ruts up. If there are no edgers used to keep the gravel in place, the small stones get pushed into the grass. Once in the grass, the stones make fine projectiles when mowing.

Later,
Dan

 

[JB4310]

Scrap rock here is the remains of whatever bins of whatever material the distributor has had in recently, including granite, limerock, stones, sands, etc. So, the sizes vary from fines to some sizable stones. They mix it altogether & sell it at what I believe is a cheaper price than the various materials individually.

You don't want to big of stone if you are only going 2 inch. I'd say the 3/4 process. (around here that means 3/4 and under down to dust for compacting) another thing I don't know if someone mentioned it, yet but the millings, when they grind the asphalt road surfaces, that stuff packs good and is usually cheaper. more and more people want it now so the price is going up, at one time they would give it away.

You are paying a premium where you are, I pay less than 200. for a full triax load, these are the big quarry trucks, around ~20 ton. plus this is processed Basalt trap rock, the highest quality material you can get. I guess it's all about location and distance traveled.

JB.