paulsharvey
Elite Member
You kinda already know the reason, it's dry. You have to have something cohesive to prevent wash boarding. Depedning on the driving surface (sand, dirt, clay, base rock, gravel), you May be able to add something that will bind it together better, but in the end, moisture is needed for almost anything to bind together. To help avoid making it worse, drive slow, in different tracks, will help.
To temporarily remove, they can be graded out; BUT, grading will loosen and remove more moisture, making it come back soon, and worse
paulsharvey
Elite Member
They do make spray on polymer binders, but I have no experience with them. Old timers will say spray with motor oil and diesel, but I wouldn't, not that I'm an environmental guy, but that's a step too far for me. Calcium Chloride based dust suppressants draw moisture from humidity to keepndust down, but I would think this would be worse than road sale for rust?
paulsharvey
Elite Member
Depending on your base driving surface, adding some clay into the material May help, with sand, or graded aggregate. If the base is a "road base, limerock, crusher run. millings, ect" type material, and depending on your budget ,and length of the drive, once it's regraded, and you get some moisture and compaction, you can look at having the driveway primed and sanded. It's not terrible expensive, IF, there is a contractor in the area. The next step up from that would be having it chip sealed.
gengine
Platinum Member
Generally speed and traction are factors of creating the washboard. I don't know anything about your driveway, as far as length, grade, etc. Using a blade to "cut the highs and fill the lows" won't get rid of the underlying issue, the loose material you cut off the top will fill the lows, but won't stay there until it is locked in.. To solve it, you have to cut deep, almost to the base layer, wet it down, grade, and compact, so the full depth of your road base "locks" together. Figure out the cause first. Speed makes a traction issue where a wheel spins a little occasionally, making a divot and a hill. The more it is done, then you develop consecutive divots and hills when the wheel spins on the loose hills causing wheel spin, then the wheel digs into the packed divot piling up loose material behind it. Grade is the same way, the constant grab-spin-grab-spin of the wheel making the washboard. The biggest thing I have found beside speed and grade, is private driveways are built with "reject" road base, meaning the material doesn't meet county/state/federal spec for road construction for any number of reasons, mostly rock to dirt ratios, so they sell the reject material for private driveways. Too much 3/4" rock to fines, too much fine material to rock ratio, etc. There is a balance. Our reject road base here has a lot of sand. Ever try to compact sand? Doesn't work. To tell if it is good stuff without the fancy scientific tools, is to grab a good sample, not just the stuff on top, but get in there, rocks down to the fines, get it moist, (not sloppy saturated), make a ball out of it, and squeeze the heck out of a ball, like your making a snowball. Once you have a ball, press your thumb into it. If it immediately cracks and breaks apart, there is not enough binders (fine material) to glue it together, or there is not enough fractured rock to "lock" it together. Look at your sample. Too much rock from the bigger 3/4" on down, won't lock together. If the bigger rock is all round rock, there is nothing to lock it together. For example, rub two eggs together...the round surfaces don't "lock". Too much sand will have the same effect. Too much fine "dirt" and your sample will smear, meaning there is not enough rock to lock it together. Your sample should crack and smear at the same time, to have a good sample. As far as what you have already in place, consider having it mag sprayed. Your material may be less than par, but the mag spray will hold it together, plus keeps the weeds/dust down.
gengine
Platinum Member
I replied mag spray, which is Magnesium Chloride. Calcium chloride will have the same result, very effective, but keep the vehicles clean (garden hose) with both for the first week + until it really soaks into the dirt. I don't know anything about Polymer binders to share any knowledge.
bmaverick
Super Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2013
- Messages
- 5,624
- Location
- Beloit-WI
- Tractor
- Yanmar YM2610 ■YANMAR GURU■ EXTRAORDINAIRE
Got a box blade with rippers? Or a ripper bar? Then come back over it after several ripper passes with a straight blade at an angle.
On the Kubota forum, this guy laid down iron grates and then filled the gravel over it.
More solutions are like this. Mainly a flexible chain-link fence on the ground. It follows curves and can track well down or up slopes.
If you can not afford the grids to lay under the gravel, others have added a layer of black cinders. Once you drive for a few months with the cinders, a resin can be added over the top. This will make the cinders tightly strong like a 2-inch layer of concrete.
Cinder pre-resin,
This is after the resin is applied.
paulsharvey
Elite Member
Gengine, is 100% right and describes it very well.
If you give us some pictures of what you are working with, we probably can get you pointed in the right direction.
Also, rough measurements would help, because what is a legit option for a 200 lf drive may not be for a 5000lf drive.
If you give us some pictures of what you are working with, we probably can get you pointed in the right direction.
Also, rough measurements would help, because what is a legit option for a 200 lf drive may not be for a 5000lf drive.
Thanks for the replies. The lane is over 1500 feet, about 10 feet wide. Mostly there for 20 plus years. Took out all the top soil and probably 6 to 8 inches of 3/4 hard gravel. I do have a box blade with rippers and a heavy duty commercial chain type drag.
The drag is easy to use, the box blade is a bit of a pain to remove my heavy duty mower and then have to reattach it.
My cousin has a very good lane leveling tool. He used it once before with good results. I may have him do it again when we get some moisture. May just use the drag until then.
The drag is easy to use, the box blade is a bit of a pain to remove my heavy duty mower and then have to reattach it.
My cousin has a very good lane leveling tool. He used it once before with good results. I may have him do it again when we get some moisture. May just use the drag until then.
paulsharvey
Elite Member
Don't go ripping it all up with zero moisture, you will make things worse. You probably need to get some fines into that 3/4" gravel. Washed rock really doesn't bond into a single cohesive base. This could be done by adding some screenings, sand clay, or "brick pavers base". Those would need need worked into the gravel, with moisture.
I have never priced the spray on gravel binders, but at 15,000 sq ft/1670 sq yards, I would think they would be cost prohibited