I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago
and it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road
which is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I
am also considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's
available here on the island. Any gravel from off island gets
expensive because of the ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody
want to weigh in? Tell me what kind or size of gravel I should be
getting? In the new road there is one spot which is especially soft in
the rainy season. Which is pretty long here just north of Seattle. I
am of two minds on how to fix this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp
gravel and then add more as time goes by if the road keeps getting pot
holes from the gravel sinking. Second would be to fire up the backhoe
and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep, then fill the hole to about a foot
from the top with rocks that I have collected from my property, top
off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All the rocks I have are rounded so
they may shift over time but I can still add more gravel until they
are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of gravel left over just for
spot filling.
Eric

On Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:07:59 -0800, etpm wrote:

I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago and
it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road which
is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I am also
considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's available here
on the island. Any gravel from off island gets expensive because of the
ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody want to weigh in? Tell me
what kind or size of gravel I should be getting? In the new road there
is one spot which is especially soft in the rainy season. Which is
pretty long here just north of Seattle. I am of two minds on how to fix
this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp gravel and then add more as time
goes by if the road keeps getting pot holes from the gravel sinking.
Second would be to fire up the backhoe and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep,
then fill the hole to about a foot from the top with rocks that I have
collected from my property, top off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All
the rocks I have are rounded so they may shift over time but I can still
add more gravel until they are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of
gravel left over just for spot filling.
Eric

Is there a spring there? Is the driveway ditched, or otherwise close to
good drainage? Mebbe that much effort could be better spent putting tile
under the thing into a drain line to keep out the water that's making it
soft?

I'm very much guessing here -- road building is not my forte.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

wrote:
I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago
and it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road
which is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I
am also considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's
available here on the island. Any gravel from off island gets
expensive because of the ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody
want to weigh in? Tell me what kind or size of gravel I should be
getting? In the new road there is one spot which is especially soft in
the rainy season. Which is pretty long here just north of Seattle. I
am of two minds on how to fix this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp
gravel and then add more as time goes by if the road keeps getting pot
holes from the gravel sinking. Second would be to fire up the backhoe
and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep, then fill the hole to about a foot
from the top with rocks that I have collected from my property, top
off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All the rocks I have are rounded so
they may shift over time but I can still add more gravel until they
are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of gravel left over just for
spot filling.
Eric

I would dig out the area to below frost level. Then add some landscape
fabric and fill to within a foot of the surface with 2". Now for the
last layer you will want something like crush and run, then mix some
portland cement in with that. Mix it well and level it, then wet it down
very well.

--
Steve W.

wrote in message ...
I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago
and it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road
which is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I
am also considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's
available here on the island. Any gravel from off island gets
expensive because of the ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody
want to weigh in? Tell me what kind or size of gravel I should be
getting? In the new road there is one spot which is especially soft in
the rainy season. Which is pretty long here just north of Seattle. I
am of two minds on how to fix this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp
gravel and then add more as time goes by if the road keeps getting pot
holes from the gravel sinking. Second would be to fire up the backhoe
and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep, then fill the hole to about a foot
from the top with rocks that I have collected from my property, top
off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All the rocks I have are rounded so
they may shift over time but I can still add more gravel until they
are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of gravel left over just for
spot filling.

If you have excessive silt content then its best to first put in a lift of fairly large aggregate with no fines, sometimes called large drain rock..as they settle, the space between them will become occupied with the silt from underneath.

On top of that, you want an intermediate layer, down here we usually use what's often referred to as "rejects" or "track rock"...it's typically 1-1/4 minus which means it also has fines.

Finally, you want crushed rock, for smooth ride I suggest 5/8 minus, an inch or more thick.

Potholes form because the road surface is flat, so make sure you have a crown instead, such that water will run off, keeping any fines or clay from becoming plastic....

Also, where the road is built along a hill side, it's imperative to have a definite ditch on the uphill side, in order to keep water from forming a gullue that runs down the center of the roadway, and if the road runs through a "cut" (hillside extending upward on BOTH sides), then there must be a ditch on BOTH sides, otherwise you'll have a freaking lake any time there's a hard rain.

Best way to look at it is, take dirt from where you want the water to go, and place it where you don;t want the water to go, then top it off with progressively finer aggregate, finishing it off with a crown in the center--much easier said than done though, especially if you're in an area where it rains quite a bit during the winter months.

On Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:07:59 -0800, wrote:

I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago
and it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road
which is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I
am also considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's
available here on the island. Any gravel from off island gets
expensive because of the ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody
want to weigh in? Tell me what kind or size of gravel I should be
getting? In the new road there is one spot which is especially soft in
the rainy season. Which is pretty long here just north of Seattle. I
am of two minds on how to fix this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp
gravel and then add more as time goes by if the road keeps getting pot
holes from the gravel sinking. Second would be to fire up the backhoe
and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep, then fill the hole to about a foot
from the top with rocks that I have collected from my property, top
off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All the rocks I have are rounded so
they may shift over time but I can still add more gravel until they
are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of gravel left over just for
spot filling.

I prefer these materials in this order:

1 - Shale = stays flattest, sinks in less than gravel
(disclaimer: I haven't worked with it yet, except on a repair basis)

2 - DG (decomposed granite) = smoothest of the 3

3 - 3/4-minus gravel = best for hilly drives with much rain.

We don't get much snow here so I have no idea how any of those three
react with snow and ice on top. Your best bet is to talk to the sales
critters at the trucking places which offer the materials. You may
have to talk to one from each type of material. All 3 are separate
companies here in GP. All are about $150-200 per 10yd dump,
delivered. Less in larger quantities, but the pony trailers aren't as
good at smoothly dumping the rock on the ground so it doesn't have to
be messed with by the owner.



--
We are always the same age inside.
-- Gertrude Stein