cheap material to lay down and extend a driveway?

[breakdirt916]

What cheap material can I lay down so that I don't keep digging a deeper mud hole when I pull out of my driveway with my truck?

I was thinking stones, but they'd get stuck in my tread. So I was thinking slabs of concrete, but my guess is they're expensive, and (since pre-cut) wouldn't necessarily fit in the area I want to lay it down. So I was thinking about laying my own concrete, but it wouldn't necessarily be smooth.

Suggestions?

[capt1014]

Aggregate? Pea stone, things of that nature, relatively inexpensive buy the yard and will allow drainage.

[richw]

4 inches of rock dust compacted

[Josephd14]

Pea Stone sucks, I.E. gets stuck in shoes and tracked in house and car, that much stone dust will turn to quick sand and just wash down the driveway or onto the lawn, Concrete? I hope you are rich.. You best bet is to call up your local gravel pit and ask for some Sand, and some T-Base compacy both, and forget about it..

[13]

Cinderblocks. They won't get stuck in your shoes. Neither will ice, and it's damn near free!! MDF board. I have no idea. Sorry.

[mycirus]

I got some 1 1/2 inch stone for a pull out in my driveway. Doesnt get stuck in tires and works well. I got it for like 19 dollars a ton. Its cheap. Sucks to shovel out of an F 350 though.

Bruce

[RandyO]

stone will be your cheapest 3/4"-1½" would be ideal, the closer you get to 3/4" the easier it will be to shovel & rake level, but any smaller than 3/4 will get picked up in tread until it gets packed, but once it's packed that wouldn't be a problem

processed gravel (mix of sand & crushed stone up to 3/4" )would be a little more $ but would be easier to shovel & rake smooth, and would pack quicker

[Punjistick]

I don't know what it is called but my dad gets this stuff from a concrete company for our back driveway which is really muddy. I suspect it's just the crushed up pieces of cement that they jackhammer out of the cement trucks. Once it packs down and gets wets it turns into a really hard and relatively smooth surface. We have a dump truck and just buy it and dump it.

[JeffL]

Originally posted by Punjistick
I don't know what it is called but my dad gets this stuff from a concrete company for our back driveway which is really muddy. I suspect it's just the crushed up pieces of cement that they jackhammer out of the cement trucks. Once it packs down and gets wets it turns into a really hard and relatively smooth surface. We have a dump truck and just buy it and dump it.

TRG.

[xxdcmast]

craigslist my friend people are always giving away rocks, stones, dust, clean fill.

Probably get what you need right there.

[ZX-12R]

I've always been a fan of crushed blue stone. It packs down very nicely over time!

[burnham]

Graded base, some people call it starpack. Grade it so the water runs off, and rent a compactor.

[KB]

You could get a few guys and lift it up no??
KB

[JeffL]

Originally posted by rmbbikes
You could get a few guys and lift it up no??
KB

The deck is too high, they'll probably need a crane.

[breakdirt916]

So I took the tip to search craigslist, and now I'm certain I can get some fill for free.

The only issue is, which one?

Will this gravel serve my purpose well?

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/zip/233453914.html

[MnM]

yup that will work. I was going to leave my driveway with the same stuff but it would suk for shoveling/snowblowing in the winter. It will work for what you want it for.

[ancosta]

Apply at least 2-3" of 3/4" crushed stone and then a 1" top layer of stone dust.

Go pick up a 10" tamp and pack it down hard, then water it. It will settle even more. If you have a big area use a plate compactor, but sounds like you don't need that.

The crushed stone (when you say gravel ppl think of round stone) is a strong base, the stone dust or "fines" will reduce the stone's likelyhood of shifting. Crushed stones will lock together much better than a round or 'washed' stone.

You can also get something called ledgepack which is these 2 items mixed together.

[breakdirt916]

ok...so how about "crusher run" (which is crushed stone in a dense grade aggregate)?

The stuff I posted about before is gone, but I found a new place to get it from:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/zip/237090510.html

[RandyO]

Originally posted by Bhavesh
ok...so how about "crusher run" (which is crushed stone in a dense grade aggregate)?

The stuff I posted about before is gone, but I found a new place to get it from:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/zip/237090510.html

processed gravel, yes

[Tricky Mike]

Originally posted by Bhavesh

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/zip/237090510.html

WTF?
Did anyone else see this pic in the CL posting?

[breakdirt916]

Ok...it's done.

1. this mud hole developed as I parked and pulled away from it:



2. Thanks to craigslist, I got ~6-800lbs of "crusher run" (the run off material when stone is cut) for free.

Yes, that is a snow shovel.



3. The engine and transmission were doing just fine pulling that much weight. The brakes needed a little more huff to stop.

The rear suspension, however disagreed.



4&5. A friend came over, we dug up/hauled away 2-3" of surface dirt, shoveled out the crusher run, spread it, flattened it with a pailer, then drove over it 2-3 times with the truck.





I walked over it a few times, and it seemed well packed down.

I'm still unsure about whether or not I'll still be tracking dirt onto the driveway after it gets wet. I also hope it doesn't continue to depress and make another mudhole, so I'm going to keep watching it and add cinderblocks in the spring if need be.

6. Until then, I'll keep parking on it and hopefully packing it down.