Need Some Advise With my Driveway

[Ray Z]

My driveway has turned to that brown smelly stuff. Potholes, erosion, and just poor drainage have left it to a point where I can't ignore it anymore. I've got  about 3/8 of a mile from the street to the house. It's all gravel. I had 3 loads spread on it a couple of years ago but it needs grading before I can do that again. I've been getting a bunch of junk mail about a DR Power grader. Has anyone had any experience with that? Anything better?

[Ugly]

I don't know about a grader but I have found a guy that delivers the stone and grades it with his skid steer. He cleans drain channels and does a fantastic job. If you're near Jefferson City I can send you his #

My drive was mush soup after the last snow melt, I didn't have a good stone base and it made for one heck of a mess. Edited April 2, 2015 by Still Ugly

[Sam1]

Why not DIY with something like this?  Could even weld a few inches of rebar spikes on it to dig in if wanted and it would cost a fraction of that DR thing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be7VdPP8XCA

[Ray Z]

I don't have the equipment to put that together.

[Sam1]

If not, I would check on renting one as well.  Not sure how much those DR things are, but I would guess at least $1000 just from the amount of advertising they do.

[raildog]

Were are you located Ray?

[Ray Z]

Tellico Plains About an hour 'n some  South of Knoxville

Edited April 3, 2015 by Ray Z

[raildog]

If you were closer to Murfreesboro i have a drag made out of a piece of railroad steel you could use

[Wyldk2]

Northern tool has similar driveway graders a lotcheaperthan the DR power grader. I kept getting those flyers in the mail and put a stop to it when I moved. No gravel here, just Concrete. But i'm not 3/8 of a mile from the road either.

 

I'd look into the ones from Northern Tool, especially if you don't have the means to build your own.

[Ray Z]

Thanks for the heads up Wyldk2. It looks like everything they have has to be pulled behind a tractor. I'm selling mine.

[gregintenn]

Have a truck drive who knows how to spread gavel with his truck bring some "crusher run" from the local rock quarry. You can fix some minor errors with a shovel and rake. As you drive on this, and as it rains, the dust in the crusher run gravel causes it to compact and get really hard. It makes a much better driveway than the 3/4" rock a lot of people use.

 

If you are having drainage problems with your long driveway, you really need access to a tractor and box scraper. Honestly, maintaining your own place out in the country takes a bit of money.

[maroonandwhite]

Have a truck drive who knows how to spread gavel with his truck bring some "crusher run" from the local rock quarry. You can fix some minor errors with a shovel and rake. As you drive on this, and as it rains, the dust in the crusher run gravel causes it to compact and get really hard. It makes a much better driveway than the 3/4" rock a lot of people use.

 

If you are having drainage problems with your long driveway, you really need access to a tractor and box scraper. Honestly, maintaining your own place out in the country takes a bit of money.

I'll second this. Crush run or whatever they call it is good stuff. It's not the cheapest but once it set's up after being driven on it's solid. I will say that if it is poured too thick you will tend to leave ruts in it when driving on it which are hard to get out without equipment.

[Mike.357]

i feel your pain on the gravel driveway.   Mine is in bad shape in a couple of spots from all the snow this year.  There is no easy fix.