What driveway material would you use?

[dstig1]

They might add Portland cement where you buy it but for the rest of us I wouldn't count on it. Crusher run I've bought does not have Portland cement in it, just rock dust or "fines" as they call them and all sizes up through about 1.5". Portland cement has to be manufactured in a kiln, just being "fine" rock dust isn't the same thing at all.
Crusher run is a generic term, if you ask for crusher run at the Vulcan quarry I use they smirk at you...their "professional" term is ABC- Aggregate Base Course and there are several other terms used throughout the country

They call it "Class 5 fill" around here. ~3/4" Crushed limestone with fines.

 

[inveresk]

Many counties publish guides to private road construction. Check with yours. Here are two links to the type of guide that might be available in your locality.

http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8262.pdf
http://www.dfr.state.nc.us/publications/laymans_guide_to_access_road.pdf

Talk to local contractors. They'll usually be happy to share information on best practice and cost of materials.

I'm a fan of geotextile. Used correctly it can save money by reducing the amount of materials. Here's a link to a guide by one manufacturer, Typar. You might also want to check out Nilex or talk to their local office. They'll provide a model spec for your soil conditions if you brief them and they'll give you a quote for the geotextile, delivered.

http://www.typargeotextiles.com/PDFs/TG-OverviewBro.pdf.

Have a chat with your local building inspection office. They're usually a good source of information.

In short, do your homework and tap into sources of local expertise and knowledge. It'll help ensure that you construct your drive right first time and minimize maintenance time and expense.

And good luck in developing your new property.

 

[beppington]

I am curious about the "crushed concrete" mentioned- an outfit here is selling that stuff way cheaper than "new" crushed stone..wondered where the concrete came from and how they get the steel reinforcing out of it, or do they?

Just old concrete from various sources. I understand they use a giant magnet to try to remove the metal from it, but not positive about that.

 

[beppington]

I appreciate all the replies & info!

I notice nobody suggested the pavement (aka blacktop) option I listed. Why not?

 

[dcyrilc]

I appreciate all the replies & info!

I notice nobody suggested the pavement (aka blacktop) option I listed. Why not?

Nothing wrong with crushed asphalt. Once I'm ready, I'll be using somewhere around 10,000 yards of it. I have an in with one of the local asphalt companies and have free access to grindings any time they are working in my area. Will probably be starting next summer.


Also, go back and look at post #9.

Around here the gravel companies grade by dimension, so the bottom rock is 2-1/2" and the surface rock is "3/4minus".

My neighbor did the roads in his commercial nursery with recycled roadway asphalt. He spread it down with his dump truck and then rented a roller unit to compact it. The sun did the rest. It has held up to some serious traffic for years now.

They are always tearing up roads around here so the stuff is readily available, I am told.

 

[crazyal]

Is this "crusher run" the same as "bank run?" If so, I've had very poor results with it during heavy rains. It's almost as bad as mud.

Bank run is gravel that a stream pushed into a bank. It's normally round stones of all sizes and is good for fill but not so much for a road. Crusher run is gravel that has been sent through a rock crusher and has had other types of dirt added to it. because the stones are fractured rock they interlock together. the bank run being round stones act more like marbles and want to roll.

Around here I wouldn't even think about putting anything down without using fabric. Maybe some larger rock to fill in the low spots and muddy areas and some fines to smooth it out then fabric topped with crusher run. If you can afford it you'll want at least 6" of fill on top of the fabric otherwise you'll have to be real careful if you want to use a box blade on it. It's even possible to just wait for the muddy spots to dry out and put the fabric down and crusher on top of it. Just make sure water doesn't stand on the road but sheds off.

 

[lilranch2001]

Actually fines are Portland cement and yes other small bits that fall into the larger material and lock it all together..If you go that route , when you order the crusher run , the smaller grave, I think it is #57 but it has been some time now, be sure and ask them if it is wet ..It goes down and packs really good if it is a wet mixture to start with. I forgot to mention you could put down a fabric on the road after the top soil has been removed and before your first load of the larger stones..It is a weed block fabric and it keeps the larger gravel from sinking so far down in the clay and by the way that is why you remove the top soil since if you don't all of your gravel will be embedded into the soil and you have a mess and a lot of wasted money.

I have never heard of portland added to limestone, I think what you are seeing is very fine crushed limestone, leftover from the crushing process and added to the small -1" fractions

 

[Skyco]

Crusher run is gravel that has been sent through a rock crusher and has had other types of dirt added to it. .

Not around here, no dirt is added to "crusher run". And really it isn't made from gravel here either..but it might be a regional thing.
The quarry blasts huge chunks of granite out of the pit and trucks them up to the crusher...this is a huge noisy contraption with a wobbling cone inside a cone...the rock gets crushed between the two cones. The "crusher run" is run out a conveyer to a huge pile right next to it where they load the trucks with giant loaders...
I always feel a little strange going in there with my little 5 ton capacity dump trailer and lining up with the 18 wheeler dump trucks:ashamed: Then the loader operator scoops up just a cornerful for my 5 tons...that scoop must hold 25 tons or more!

 

[skipmarcy]

They might add Portland cement where you buy it but for the rest of us I wouldn't count on it. Crusher run I've bought does not have Portland cement in it, just rock dust or "fines" as they call them and all sizes up through about 1.5". Portland cement has to be manufactured in a kiln, just being "fine" rock dust isn't the same thing at all.
Crusher run is a generic term, if you ask for crusher run at the Vulcan quarry I use they smirk at you...their "professional" term is ABC- Aggregate Base Course and there are several other terms used throughout the country


I am curious about the "crushed concrete" mentioned- an outfit here is selling that stuff way cheaper than "new" crushed stone..wondered where the concrete came from and how they get the steel reinforcing out of it, or do they?

I bought & sold the crushed concrete for awhile when working with my tractor in Florida a few years back. They were tearing-up the slab on a big K-Mart store and they had this huge machine there that crushed it. It did use magnets to grab the metal as the concrete ran by on conveyors - it slung the metal out in one pile and the concrete in another big pile. The "gravel" it made was excellent for driveways etc. but had one flaw - the machine didn't get 100% of the metal out - not ideal for a driveway !! The few I did with it had to be walked and metal picked up.

 

[Kendrick]

my friend used to work in this field. I asked about my dirt road the first thing he said you HAVE to do is deal with drianage. if it doesnt drain right your rock just sinks in to the mud. I still have a dirt road I have put 2 water bars in and when it rains i only have a fiew puddles that give me problems 1500' of drive

Since I got the water bars in the neighbors water that was draining in on my low spot no longer sticks around to make it a mud wreseling pit. and the down flow from the hil is out in to the yard. I have a 8-10' open trench from the first water bar to 2 4" pipes that drain the water to the creek. every rain or 2 I have to dig out a wheel barro's worth of sand/gravel that gets washed off my neighbors drive. I have been putting that in the puddles as well as ditching where neccessary to re route the rain watter off the hill/mountain to the prescribed creek/drainage ducts. those 3 things have made that road pretty dang solid in 2 years or less. the fines I get off the neighbors runoff have mixed with the surface soil to make it close to concrete.... it still gets mushy enough to see tire tracks but thats about it. heh plus the water bars work for keeping the delivery people's speed down to where it should be for a dirt road. if not you hear language that a sailer would admire right after the noises no suspention system should make :laughing: