Great recommendations here but if you could swing it Jamie’s option sounds the best.
Gravel for Driveways
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
I use 73s on mine. Bigger stone so I wouldn't suggest if your girls like to ride bikes or scooters. They don't roll well on the bigger stuff. If you didn't like it you could easily top dress again with 57s and it would act as another layer.
Not to sidetrack this thread, but this is worth noting: I've found different areas of the country use different numbers. Be sure your 57's are the same as the next guy recommending 57's. In this area, 57's are larger and generally used to backfill along a foundation. They don't pack together well but allow water to drain very well. 411's are a mix of fines and larger rocks which pack really well. Our 57's sort of roll around and are easily pushed into the lawn when plowing. If you drive over a section of 57's they often move and squirt out from under tires. They are easily dislodged if you need to throttle up a bit to pull a trailer or heavier load. 411's you don't pick up a lot when plowing. The plow will scrape over the top of them if the ground is frozen. They pack really tight. On the flip side, they can also pack tight enough that water just runs off easily. On hard rains you can get a river flowing alongside them in the yard.
That said, just be sure if you get a suggestion of 57's from 3 different parts of the state or country, they could have 3 different sizes and consistencies. I think I learned that on a TOO thread discussing driveways.
That said, just be sure if you get a suggestion of 57's from 3 different parts of the state or country, they could have 3 different sizes and consistencies. I think I learned that on a TOO thread discussing driveways.
57s is synonymous with "driveway gravel" around here. The crush-and-run look is the result of two shitty loads of soft 57s. I had a load put on last year that you couldn't find a stone bigger than a nickel at this point. The stuff was pure garbage, so I know where I won't be buying it from next.
You could save a ton of $$$ with this approach. Just got to get it compacted right off the bat.
Ours held up pretty good until Duke power replaced the towers on the power line and the contractor tore it all to hell and replaced it all with 57’s…
They’ve been back twice now repairing what they halveassed
How much is concrete a yard down that way? I wouldn't pay to have it put in but with all the guys on this site there's got to be more than one that knows how to lay it. Then the boy friends will have to park in the street lol.
O come on Jess… it’s a little funny.When all the boys and their shit cars an trucks leaking oil start coming around to date your daughters, the dust will settle down. Until then, broadcast your dirty oil changes like a rainbow in the stone.
In my experience, with my 1/4 mile, 100
Year old driveway, we’ve tried almost everything mentioned here but chipped asphalt. The killers are speed drivers making a puddle into a bad pothole (UPS, FedX and kids) and winter snow plowing. Some county roads have success with a brine solution.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
All true on my 1350’. Wife is probably the worst curse at 20 mph.
The price you pay to live in solitude….All true on my 1350’. Wife is probably the worst curse at 20 mph.
Solitude? Not if His wife is there too.
Disclaimer: I don't know his wife. It's a joke. Not a reflection of her.
To bounce off the stone size talk, the type of stone makes a huge difference, down here granite is what most people use, but it varies in durability depending on which quarry it comes from.
Up here (limestone quarries) 57's and 411's are essentially the same size... Difference is 411's contain the dust (57's + #10's) and the 57's do not. Same thing with 34's and 304's... 34's are a mix of #3's and #4's, while the 304's are a mixture of #3's and dust (#10's).
If you need some moderate compaction to create a good base, get the mix containing the dust/fines. If you already have a good solid base, get the aggregate without the dust/fines.
If you need some moderate compaction to create a good base, get the mix containing the dust/fines. If you already have a good solid base, get the aggregate without the dust/fines.