Which Gravel for Drive?

[jimmyj]

We have not had any problems with tracking from the ashphalt. The first year some of the really fine "small stuff" washed to the sides of the dive or down the hill but it did not stick to our shoes or boots. We have used crushed concrete and limestone screenings before and they both track badly and also seem to have a residue that never goes away. It's like a filmy muck.

For sure the asphalt tracked a lot less than those products.

I have also used 3/4 crusher limestone and it really does not track at all. But like the earlier posts say, if you don't set up a base properly it'll just sink and you'll have to put more on every couple of years.

 

[PitbullMidwest]

If you have a coal burning electrical generator in your area they will usually give away the cinders free for the hauling. Cinder compacts very well and makes a road nearly as good as blacktop. Our local National Guard are combat engineers and they claim cinders are one of the best and most economical road building materials around.

Unfortunately our generator installed a high efficiency burner that leaves very little cinder as waste. We cindered all of our farm roads about 10 years ago and they've held up better then the ones with rock.

BTW, we're talking about the coal cinder, not the ash, so there is no concerns with tracking it inside on your shoes.

 

[copperhead1967]

Just a word of caution on using slag or cinders. make sure its from a legit source. A contractor in this area got a 100K fine from the DEP. He had hauled in loads of slag fill off a clearing job he had and dumped it in a valley he owned. Looked nice and level when he was done, but the old slag piles have some nasty stuff in them that the goverment gets awful excited about. There are several multimillion dollor clean up projects in the area from the old coke ovens.

 

[Page2]

Around here we use a lot of recycled materials. Ground recycled concrete would go down first to give a good base. Then follow up with a layer of recycled ashpalt, it is smaller and packs in great and holds it all together. Never heard of any problems with tracking. After driving on it, this forms a nice solid drive.