Maybe you could get a couple of "No Parking" signs from Home Depot and stick 'em out there. People are so annoying.
No. Folks put down the really fine gravel called "crush & run." When you repeatedly drive over it, it forms a nice base to lay asphalt on top of. I'd ask the gravel company to verify this, but I'm sure I'm right.
Now that you mention it, I remember my parents had a driveway of crusher run gravel put in when they first moved here. It was kind of pretty because we have a lot of mica here in Georgia and it sparkled. The only thing they didn't like was you tracked sand from it into the house. They later got it paved by a man who lived right up the road. That man has since retired and closed his business. Yes, that would be better than big gravel. Maybe good enough forever. I never thought of that. A friend from work used to live 2 blocks from me. In the late 80s he got his driveway paved one summer, and it was easy to arrange to have mine done at the same time, so I did. He was not happy with his. Called them gypsy pavers (door-to-door soliciting without a home office, often scam artists). I thought they did a good job on my driveway, but mine had a good base. It looked like the widow who used to own my house must have known someone who did concrete work and dumped any leftover in piles and made her a driveway. It was ugly but solid.
I had a neighbor put down crusher run. He was a plumber and had a large fully-loaded commercial van that he ran over it every day. Every once in a while he would get another load delivered and would drive it into the ground. Then he had it paved over. I've had mine done a couple of times with larger gravel. The grass grows though it to the extent it's basically a lawn again with gravel scattered through it. I put down Round Up once, but really don't like poisoning the food chain, and the grass comes back eventually. So I live with it.
I had a neighbor put down crusher run. He was a plumber and had a large fully-loaded commercial van that he ran over it every day. Every once in a while he would get another load delivered and would drive it into the ground. Then he had it paved over. I've had mine done a couple of times with larger gravel. The grass grows though it to the extent it's basically a lawn again with gravel scattered through it. I put down Round Up once, but really don't like poisoning the food chain, and the grass comes back eventually. So I live with it.[/QUOTE] The farm driveway is crushed limestone but the underlayment is various sizes of stone and sand. Sometimes we get 'potholes' that need to be filled in from someone peeling out or going to fast when it is wet. The drive is too long for me to afford to get blacktopped.
The farm driveway is crushed limestone but the underlayment is various sizes of stone and sand. Sometimes we get 'potholes' that need to be filled in from someone peeling out or going to fast when it is wet. The drive is too long for me to afford to get blacktopped.[/QUOTE] I bought a used box blade for gravel driveway repair. It works great. Maybe you can find someone who has got one you can borrow.
I bought a used box blade for gravel driveway repair. It works great. Maybe you can find someone who has got one you can borrow.[/QUOTE] That is what I use, @John Brunner, but I hear these work even better, but I don't have one.
That is what I use, @John Brunner, but I hear these work even better, but I don't have one.[/QUOTE] That's pretty slick. I could really use that for our right-of-way. We get out there every year with our chain saws and pole saws to keep things cut back. I grabbed this installation tip from their website: Hydraulic Installation Using the Bucket Tilt Remotes How to utilize the front end loaders tilt function to hydraulically power the Samurai. This can be useful if your tractor does not have a 3rd function valve. Pretty slick.
@Don Alaska: That looks like a nice toy, if you did driveways all the time. What could you use to pack it? Would you rent a soil compactor, like one of those things that vibrates, or would you need something with a roller? Or is there some simpler way? Like just drive back and forth on it?
I don't know too much about it @Nancy Hart other than I have watched several videos about them and people I have watched have nothing but praise for them as far as driveway maintenance goes. The only downside is that they don't move material like a box blade does, but they leave a much more even surface. There is also a laser-guided box blade system, but that is really only for professional use. Looks really cool though, as the laser makes the blade create a perfect grade automatically. Perhaps you would have to roll the driveway or compact it in some way, but that is not usually mentioned. What they do say is that people shouldn't keep adding materrial to the driveway unless you need to physically raise the surface, as added material can compound problems that already exist.
I've watched several videos too. Some seem to go overboard in ground preparation, digging out all the topsoil and fill back first. Some don't do enough, just throw the gravel down on the grass. They all say to make sure and round it up higher in the middle so it doesn't puddle. That makes sense.
When my driveway was redone they took up all the topsoil and ran the skid loader on it over and over and over. Perhaps it delayed the grass coming back, but it did not prevent it. Mother Nature finds a way.
I forgot to add...when you watch videos of folks using the box blade to refresh their driveways, they always angle the thing down to the right as they drive up one side and then back down the other. This keeps a mild "peak" in the middle for--as you said, Nancy--the water to drain off.
(9/30/22) Friday It seems like just when I get in a tailspin about all the projects I'd like to do, that aren't getting done, something always happens to get things rolling. GC (General Contractor who did the roof and fence work) called at 3 pm to ask if he could take his son fishing in the pond. I would probably have put off calling him for weeks about doing this driveway, wondering if I should try someone who specializes in driveways instead. He has his own skid steer (bobcat). And he is good about doing whatever you ask. I think it will work out fine. It's not like this will be set in stone (concrete). The only thing I'm not sure about is the fabric underlay. Is that really necessary? He's coming out next week to take a serious look. I'll see what he says. I've thought out most everything to the end, with backup plans. So I think this project is going to roll sometime soon.
@Don Alaska I just reread our comments. We were ships in the night on that grader video you linked. The first video I saw did not make any sense in the context of the conversation but I went with it anyway...I now realized I watched an ad that preceded your vid. The ad was for one of these: It's a hydraulic sickle bar (actually it's a big hedge trimmer) that mounts to the front end loader. It's on a pivot/swivel, and can be driven from the existing front end loader hydraulics if there's no accessory port (temporarily replaces the bucket roll hoses and uses that control.) You retain the ability to raise and lower the bucket. You can set it vertically as you see above so you drive down your right-of-way and cut the intruding branches, or set it horizontally and use it as a hay scythe or a standard hedge trimmer at whatever height you raise the bucket.