On Aug 30, 9:37*pm, "Micajah" wrote:
"Tony" wrote in message

...



On 8/30/2010 1:56 PM, Micajah wrote:

"Bob" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Was just wondering about this.

It is pretty well accepted, apparently, that a new asphalt driveway
for a residence should be laid over about 4" to 6" of gravel.
Never over soil directly.

Why ?

The hot, liquid, asphalt I would pretty much think makes the gravel
into one, solid, "clump" underneath (the asphalt).
So, it's hard to see that any improved drainage results.

Increased "stability" perhaps ? If so, how ?

So what does the gravel add as a benefit over just laying the asphalt
on top of well compacted soil ?

Thanks,
Bob

The folk responding about asphalt are right, so I won't duplicate their
effort. However, you might also be recalling the old Macadam road
technique with the modern version.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadam

In my home town, many of the streets were Macadam and they did very
well. Occasionally, the street department would employ a tractor with
wheel disk to turn up the streets, and then they'd be rolled smooth,
with a thick layer of asphalt then applied. The final touch was a new
coating of pea gravel to reduce tar pick-up by car tires. The streets
held up beautifully and the technique most likely would be considered,
"Green," in today's world.

Micajah

[...]

The hometown is a small farming community in central MO, but dates back well
before the War of Northern Aggression.

That's funny -- I thought it was the war to hold the Union together,
and secondarily
to free the slaves.

*[...]