Dirt driveway maintenace questions

[th3w01f]

Next on my list of things we know nothing about...... maintaining our 1/4 mile driveway.

It's dirt and appears to have a very light layer of what looks like crushed granite. With the snow finally melting, it's a freaking muddy mess. What do you do to keep your driveway maintained (we don't have a tractor yet) and is there a good company in the Castle Rock area for having new rock or ???? dropped along the driveway to help with the mud issues?

We know we're going to have to do some drainage work this spring but at the moment I'd just like to get something down on top of the dirt.

[Great-Kazoo]

Recycled asphalt. Raised up 6" with drainage taken in to account when done.

You should also start if not already in process of. Working up a budget for priorities of home & property maintenance. With a rainy day stash. I can tell you as a home owner you will dip in to that rainy day stash more than you like, or want to.

[68Charger]

I've got 3/4 mile of road I have to maintain, and had to build it originally on top of a mostly clay base, but it also has a steep hill- the "lay of the land" will determine your challenges.

First priority is planning the drainage- you need to ensure anywhere that you plan where the water will go everywhere- if there are places where it must cross the road, you either put in a culvert (sized for the water flow you expect... and there are nuances to properly installing them for best flow) or if that's not practical, a flat "wash" made of concrete will work if it rarely has water on it.

Your budget can very well determine what your material will be.
But you need something that binds together... I used crusher fines- at the time they were free (except for the cost to haul them)... hard to say what you have now, but if it doesn't bind together at all it will become mud. Old saying is "a bucket of mud plus a bucket of rock = a bucket of mud" the key is getting stuff that binds properly- you take a handful of it, squeeze it into a ball- if it stays together then it's good (at that moisture content) Whatever material you're looking at, ask for a sample and do the above test... just because they call it crusher fines, class5/6, etc doesn't mean it binds properly (one place around here is crushing river rock, and it's total shit for binding, too many round surfaces)

The crusher fines worked well for many years (it was put down around 2002), because it created a barrier that would make the water run off the road and drain away... but that was many years ago, and I'm looking at having to do something again. Eventually the binders washed out, and I'm left with gravel on top of clay in some areas. Also, on the hill it's too smooth for traction with more that just a little ice/snow- I'm going to re-do the hill in either class 5 (1.5" minus crushed), road base or recycled asphalt.

If you can afford the recycled asphalt, that is IDEAL- the bitumen in the asphalt is the binder. Absolute best is if they can put it down with proper equipment... but even putting it down in the heat of summer and grading it smooth will result in a very good surface compared to gravel/etc.

[Jamnanc]

If you have a friend with a truck, I can get you milled asphalt. It doesn't always work out based on distance from a job though. The trucking kills the price based on distance. Crushed concrete works great too if your county allows it. You can also contact pits and asphalt plants. There is a big recycle yard on Titan road down south ars is the company there.

[Jamnanc]

Post pics that show the grade. If you can make it drain across instead of down it will help a lot. Maybe crown it.

[gnihcraes]

crushed concrete works well, eventually packs down hard. Much like the asphalt.

Add some extra 3/4 minus granite gravel after a few years to top it off. Ours has lasted about 15 years now. I need to do something with it finally as it's getting a bit muddy in spots.

[Wulf202]

Start by fixing yours and any guests driving habits. Chew some ass and save yourself a washboard

[Bailey Guns]

DRAINAGE, DRAINAGE, DRAINAGE. Can't emphasize that enough. If you're drainage isn't good, anything you do is basically a waste of time. The second most important part is having the driveway properly crowned. Goes hand in hand with drainage.

My drive in Bailey was a PITA because it had never been properly maintained over the years before we bought the place. It was very long and cost prohibitive (for us, anyway) to hire someone to come in with equipment needed to properly crown the road and fix the drainage issues.

So, I did what I could. Every few years I'd hire a professional for a fixed amount (usually something like "how much time can I get for X dollars?"). They always did a good job but the first serious rain or runoff would immediately start to ruin it.

I did buy a DR Grader several years ago. It was pricey at about $1300 or so if I recall correctly. I was skeptical until I used it. DR gave me a 6 month, no risk trial. Said they would send someone to pack it up and ship it back if I wasn't happy and I could use it every day if I liked. Free shipping, too. So, I bought one. Needless to say, I didn't send it back. One of the scarifying teeth broke off after a year or so (two year warranty). I asked them to send me one planning to weld it onto the bracket that all the teeth were on. Two days later the entire assembly showed up...a part that cost several hundred dollars. I used it once but found the tooth from the old one. Welded it on and continued to use the old one keeping the new one for a spare. I used that thing several times a year for probably 8 years or so. I sold it for $600 when I recently moved. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you have the means to get one. After I bought that I never needed to hire anyone again so it really paid for itself.

The DR Grader was outstanding at smoothing the drive and filling in holes. The only downside to it is it's strictly for smoothing...it can't crown or cut drainage. Though after getting the hang of using it you can learn how to move material to the center of the drive for a half-assed crowning job.

[Irving]

Start by fixing yours and any guests driving habits. Chew some ass and save yourself a washboard


THIS...

Every so often I have to yell at the UPS, Fedex and trash truck drivers. Not very often, but sometimes. Most traffic on my private drive is from UPS. I know most of what gets torn up is from him. I guess that is the bad part of having everything delivered from internet purchases.

Exactly what driving habits are the bad ones? I've heard arguments about keeping speed down to avoid washboarding, but all the roads on the way out to CRC are regularly traveled highway speeds and they are in pretty great condition. I don't know how often they are maintained though.

[Great-Kazoo]

Exactly what driving habits are the bad ones? I've heard arguments about keeping speed down to avoid washboarding, but all the roads on the way out to CRC are regularly traveled highway speeds and they are in pretty great condition. I don't know how often they are maintained though.

Either DP gleeped it from MJ. Or mother someone took it from DP.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-prevent-washboard-on-your-gravel-road-or-driveway-zbcz1404.aspx

http://blog.drpower.com/prevent-washboard-on-gravel-driveway-road/

How can you prevent washboard? You can prevent washboard from forming on your gravel or dirt road by following one simple rule: don’t drive too fast! Studies have shown that any traffic going over about 3 mph is going to cause washboard eventually, but if you stay under 20 mph, it will form very slowly. So the key to prevent washboard (for the most part) is to stay under 20 mph

[Wulf202]

Also deceleration and acceleration that causes the gravel to shift under your tires. Most of your washboards form at areas of acceleration first inmho

[68Charger]

Study in Alaska (lots of dirt roads) proved that driving habits can only delay washboard on roads lacking proper binding agents...

It's a myth that you can prevent them by driving differently, short of a strict 3mph limit.

Do you find that asphalt washboards? The key is the material, and having good binders to keep the material from separating.
My road properly prepared did NOT washboard for over a decade, it was only when material lost the binders and there was loose gravel did it happen... And I frequently drove 30+ on it. The stress I grew up on was dirt, but they periodically sprayed it with tar (bitumen, actually).

Only place it ever washboarded was where the coating wore off.

[Bailey Guns]

Small washboard bumps have even been known to form on steel railroad tracks after prolonged use.

Holy crap! I had no idea that happened.

[TRnCO]

I would go crushed asphalt, that's what we use, and avoid crushed/recycled concrete because of the metal that comes with it and the flat tires that show up too, along with the fact it doesn't bind together as well as crushed asphalt.
Not all crushed asphalt is equal, some have more binder in it then other. We had 5 loads hauled in this past summer, and the driver brought one load from a different place and it was obvious to him, and us, that it was very dry, and because of that, it's not holding together very well, and once it starts to fall apart, washboards are soon to follow.

[th3w01f]

I've been traveling so slow to get pictures up. Here are a couple showing the grade. We have a guy coming out for a quote on Monday but I'm open to hearing more suggestions.

From the main driveway looking down, I think we could use a small ditch along the road leading down the hill. There are culverts run under the two driveways to the house in the distance and they're working fine.

63789


Same place looking towards the main road, water melting from the front is being funneled down the driveway. I'm not sure if there's enough water for a culvert under the road but definitely looks like it could use something in the grassy area to help store excess water when it rains or the snow melts. Everything more than 2" deep is still frozen solid which isn't helping the drainage.
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[Great-Kazoo]

How far you plan on upgrading? Have you talked to the house below you to see if they're interested in upgrading, extending the improvements out more.

[Jamnanc]

How far you plan on upgrading? Have you talked to the house below you to see if they're interested in upgrading, extending the improvements out more.

This.
Culvert pipe is relatively cheap, but I can't tell from the pics where it would drain to. My first impression is that you need to re establish the ditch on the upstream side of the road. From there, you could put a culvert in picture2 and reestablish that ditch to the left as well.