Biggest Gravel Driveway Mistake People Make!
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- čas přidán 7. 05. 2023
- Welcome to Gravel Driveway Recovery, your go-to source for all things related to gravel driveway maintenance and improvement! In this insightful video short, we'll tackle one of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to their cherished gravel driveways.
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Good explanation of what NOT to do. What SHOULD be done?
Need tiny rocks/breeze on top of the bigger rock then compacting it all
Hahahah me too
@@BabashiSensei but clearly they have both so what went wrong exactly...
Did you even listen to the video?
@@otallonodude watch the video to the end. Watch it twice. Now a third time. Now take cornell notes on it. The quiz is this friday
The “fines” also filter to the bottom as well as get washed and blown away. Gravel driveways are just not, a no maintenance kind of solution that some people think they are.
In the country on a budget yes it's what we do. I just had mine done as well. He did the big rock base first then put 2AA on top of that. It need sand on top now I think he calls it fines
That’s why you install fabricate under it 😂🤣
@@oneofgodschildren3” then 1.5” and then your ca6 with fines. And don’t forget the fabric
Fines = small rock or gravel?? Would large gravel with a layer of crush and run on top work well? Does this help with weeds growing through?
A driveway with "fines" as you say is a messy driveway when it is dry and when wet. A dusty cloud when dry and a vehicle and garage mess when wet.
It's not that messy at all once it's packed, and it's a lot more desirable than gravel that moves and slips because it isn't packed with fines. For instance, try riding a motorcycle on gravel without fines.
May be a silly question but what are "fines"? A certain type of sand or concrete?
Crushed rock
Does that spread on top of the rocks or do the rocks s0read on top of fines?
You can get it mixed already. It's what crusher-run is.
Finer sized (smaller) crushed stone
Fines are what gov forces you to pay in addition to taxes when you have too much fun
Did a driveway with railroad ballast base followed by a mix 2 scoops 57 crusher run 1 scoop #4. 4 years later still no pot holes or defects.
Well done! Thank you for watching.
How did you mix it up?
@susanburns1089 the rock plant I got the rock from mixed it up in a pile with a wheel loader. Most rock places will if you ask them.
If you have a tractor and box blade, set the blades about 1 inch or so. Have them dump 57 then on top number 4. Run the box blade over it a few times and it should work itself in. If it's just moving the number 4 around set the box blades lower by 1/2 inch until it mixs.
This makes no sense if you buy 3/8 or 5/8 minus it has the fines in it and this happens no matter what
@@shawnlepine5788it does make sense. He has a mix of #4 and #57. Those don't come with fines.
When it comes to building a drive, everyone has their own opinion and everyone believes they are 100% right.
I still prefer loose gravel driveways ect, over time rocks break and creat their own fines and also sentiment from the surroundings.
Sentiment 🤣🤣
@@untitled6391 😂 woops!
Throw some dry concrete on top of the gravel lightly.... then you get a hard base.
2nd one looks better though
We have a steep driveway and used compacted angled stone with fines and all it did was dust up and become even more slick during dry summers. Put a heavy layer of compacted 3 and 4inch clean angular stones down and it worked so much better no more skidding up the hill, but maybe thats cause its steep. Seems that dusting up isn't an issue on regular driveways.
3-4 inch stones sound pretty big for driveways.
@@lauracampa1838 they worked fantastic! Just make sure to compact at 12k pound compaction rate so they lock together. It's a 13% slope and we tried everything else, finally listened to some logger's on a form. It's so nice to get up easily now. Worth all the work!
Some people don’t like the dust which makes washed stone good for a driveway.
This is what I tell any of my friends or neighbors when they are hauling in road base, is to make sure they work with it wet so the the super fines will stick to the larger gravel
Looking at doing a crushed rock driveway for my little cottage. I LOVE the way it sounds driving on it too. Thank you for this tip!
Thank you for your comment!
There should be thrown more fines over the loose rocks
This video is Pure Gold🔥
Thank you for watching!
Watch this to see us fix this very problem: czcams.com/users/shortsdCtOlVb5Sf0
My dad made this mistake with his driveway. I told him he needed to throw down some finely crushed gravel with the rocks. He didn’t listen for 10 years and now he’s had to get it redone (properly this time)😂
He says what not to do, but not what to do lol.
He said what to do. Watch again
I like my big crushed stone without the dust. Works really well.
Use S-Type mortar
If you go to the store what do tell them you need? What is the actual name of the stuff? Gravel sand? Paver sand? Crushed gravel?
Crusher or 'Crush and Run'
@@graveldrivewayrecovery Thank you so much for responding! This will help us out!
I get three quarter minus then sprinkle Portland over it.By next rainstorm it's packed in from driving over it.RlThe rain gives enough moisture to start the cure and I get a concrete driveway.
My gravel driveway is 400 feet long and downhill the whole way from the road to the house. I have become an expert at maintaining a gravel driveway over the 12 years we have lived here.
I bet! Thanks for sharing!
What do you do to keep it in tact!? Thanks!!
@uri3961 first thing I did was remove the landscaping timbers they had along the edge of the driveway, it wasnt along the whole length but along parts of the driveway, The water couldn't get off and would run down the middle like a river because previous owner didnt maintain it with a crown in the center and I think they were trying to keep the gravel from washing off toward the edges. I also quit using crushed limestone gravel, it just washed out to bad and I started using what we call county gravel around here, not sure of the technical name for it but it is brownish red smooth river rock with fines and clay in it and it's not dusty like the limestone. I keep it crowned in the center and in the curves I keep it high on one side. Main thing is to shed the water off to the sides or it will run down the driveway like a river. But the best thing I did was stop using the limestone it just washed out to easy but the county gravel I use I usually only have to grade it 3 or 4 times a year and it holds up great. With the limestone it needed work after nearly every time it rained. This county gravel has alot of moisture in it when they bring it and when you get graded out and packed in it sets up hard. Limestone may be ok for a drive on flat ground, but not for me on mine thats all downhill. Took me about 2 years and around $4k worth of gravel to get it built up like I wanted, mostly because the previous owner just didn't maintain worth a damn, but once I got it like I wanted it it's been pretty easy maintenance since then.
What kind of gravel mix do you have?
I just moved to a house with a long gravel driveway like yours on a hill and it was perfect until it started snowing this winter. After a few snowstorms and plowing the snow the gravel is all messed up. What do you do after a snowstorm to keep the gravel driveway in good condition?
good info thanks
Tip: Don’t use a landscaping rake, it unevenly distributes the material and you can get this.
OK, well what do I use in place of a landscaping rake? Because I have to smooth out 20 tons of Gravel thank you.
Ive got really sandy road, what is best material to make it firmer
The 2 most important things to having a gravel drive that holds up it 1. A good base, get all that topsoil off and start with #2 crush and go up. 2 dont drve like and idiot! You go fast and it will throw all the gravel off the top, dont accelerate hard and dig holes. Having a dust blend is essential to hold it all together but i also like to put a thin layer on top without dust because if it rains it turns that dust to mud. If you dont drive like an idiot that loose stone will stay on your driveway
We usually place a nice layer of crushed/recycled concrete over our gravel.
well you can use used tires ,, you dig out the dirt as deep as the tire is thick, you also cut out the sidewalls of the tire, you nail the tires together then you dump any kind of gravel down, the tires get filled in and keeps the gravel in place and will never ever get a rut or pot hole, the you will never get water build up because the water will seep down through the gravel..
Sounds exciting! Thanks for watching!
P.S. it more than likely would take say 4 to 8 tires on the area you showed..put 4 tires down with the center of the pot hole being the center of the 4 tires then expand out from there as big as you need to fix the area...all the best...
That's an interesting idea. It would take a lot of tires to do an entire driveway (roughly a 1000 to do a 500' driveway?) but I'm sure you could come up with them. You could even charge people say half of what they normally pay to dispose of them at a tire store. If I tried this I might only cut the bead out of the top of the tire so the bottom would help keep the gravel from pushing into the ground. I would also want all the tires to be the same "thickness" so the top of the tires would all be the same. A very interesting idea.
@@benvoeller8946 maybe, here"s another part, a bit more work though, depending on how deep you want the driveway or walk way, you can cut the tire in half /down the center of the tire that way you get 2 pieces of the tire out of 1 tire, granted it wont be as deep but would only need half of your 1000 tires....but even with the 1000 tires you talk about, never having to worry about pot holes, or ruts ever again is priceless, also if you use the whole tire, you will be able to drive ANYTHING over it..JUST MY EXTRA 2 CENTS... LOLOL....P,S, if you want , you can also use railroad ties for curb on the outside of the tires, nail the railroad ties down with 1/2 inch rebar...say 2 1/2 feet to 3 feet long,,, nail 3 in each railroad tie to make sure it stays in place....again JUST MY EXTRA 2 CENTS.....LOLOL yes keep all the tires the same size for sure, telling potential customers that and how long it would last with a guarantee or how ever many years you want,,
Who the f has time for that? Faster just to drag the driveway top once a year
I have tuscan fines to use between my pavers but there is an excess amount of dust. if i shake off the excess dust first, will this be ok?
Hi! Seems like you are a pro in compaction.i wanna hand and plate compacte a foundation base dirt footing that i will trest the dirt with sand and small rock like in your video.did you recommend crush stone dust or just anwashed sand that one used for concrete mix ? And then i will send concrete footing in it !maybe an advice 😊thx
Any ideas for gravel road instead of driveway, we are towards the top of a small hill and get wash out bad and pot holes. The foundation is very uneven too, do we need a higher fines/lg rocks ratio? Do we need to add more clay dirt to even out the foundation or does that matter
So show us the right way! What you described can be noticed by us all. Show us how that works in installation!
Thank you for your feedback! We have over 50 videos, and growing, showing how we put it all together. Please take a look at our channel.
Now tell us the rest - that the difference is merely the compaction from your car wheels vs the area in the middle that isn't compacted.
Your demonstration show that the fines are present under the loose stone, but it hasn't been packed down.
That’s why I prefer the recycled concrete ca6 with fines.
Good lord...I can't believe I missed this. Thanks
Hope you enjoyed it!
Is it possible to seal this ?
Biggest mistake people make with gravel driveways is making a video of rocks and pointing to it. 😏
He pointed out gravel with and without fines and showed the difference. The video was fine.
Interesting info!
Thank you for watching!
What fines do you recommend? Using drainage rock for a gravel drive
Im buying an implement for my tractor that decompacts the gravel back up to the surface, as though it was freshly laid down. Gravel is different from roadbase.
I didn’t need to know this, but thank you none the less.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
Let's not forget. A base is a mix of big and little gravel.. then you put some clean on top so your feet don't track the fines ans so you don't get standing water which creates pot holes
Alot of rock and roll
So are you saying you need to mix the two when you put them down?
Rock first. Then fines. Then compact.
Don't get clear crushed stone.
@@Yodrop Thanks!
@@graveldrivewayrecoveryI’ve read some people say crusher run first 3-4” thick compact it then gravel. Which one is it?
So are you saying that you should not use something like a Land plane to regrade your driveway because it brings up the rock ?
Biggest mistake is putting over 50mm of stone on top should be mot compacted then 50mm of stone/gravel grids to stop moving and mess
what's your opinion on mechanical concrete using waste tires to hold the stone together
Here in the south a 610 stone has fines and a 57 stone has no fines. Nit sure if its the same everywhere.
What’s the fines ?
So you recommend what
Fines as in Item #4 base compacted then 3/4”Angular shaped gravel for minimum movement over that . Bingo
Thanks for watching!
Should u mix big rocks with fines also in landscape beds to prevent them from washing away/moving?
yes, works the same way.
He should be fined for not explaining what the hell "fines" are
It's not the customer it's the driveway contractor. Min concrete thickness should be 6 in concrete. Plus add fines
What is a fine?
The lose rock isn’t compacted down like the first spot
I’m doing this tomorrow to my big potholes.
What's a fines?
What's your take on geotextile fabric? My next build is on very fast draining sand on the top of a dry hill. Not worried about draining. But I am worried about the stone being pressed into the dirt and disappearing over time. Fabric prevents that, right?
Yes Sir
Id just lay the gravel and let it pack hard for a couple years. Save the money you'd have spent on fabric and have another lift of gravel put on instead. On a hill washout is a bigger concern than packing hard. In fact packing hard is kinda what you want in order to have a good solid road base.
Problem is to make it stay. You need to put a border on either side so it doesn’t get washed away because it probably had fines which is just smaller sand or whatever and it got washed away and that’s why the other rocks are loose because there are no borders on either side of the driveway.
mechanical concrete could do that. using waste tires to confine the lateral movement of stone
Thanks John McAdams!
Background singing anurids ❤️
I read thru comments but I gotta play: what is a fines, seriously needed to know. Also about how much should one pay to install a rock driveway w fines on a hill on an average size lot?
Crushed rock. The cost varies greatly, depending on your location.
How do you get to learn this?
I lucked into this vid no lie, but have seen tons of gravel pits (even a DIY project from some people I lived with) but have never even heard of the gravel that stays together
It is my business. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Is that a mixture that made with “fines” and larger rock or how does that work?
Crusher or crush and run. It is technically called roadbase.
So, there are fines but there are not fines. The big rocks are moving because of the lack of fines but there are fines and they've been washed away leaving just fines but the fines have bedded together!
Well thats just a fine explanation...
So you put the fines first is what your saying???
What about ground asphalt I’ve heard it stays together nice
There is a lot of debate about millings.
What do you reccomend for a 12’x50’ building. I was thinking 6” of crushed concrete washout. Building will be laid on 4x6 post as supports
I work on gravel driveways. I have no idea. But thanks for watching!
Make sure you compact it good first underneath and that'll probably work fine.
What are you talking about, that driveway clearly has fines, but the fines have all settled below in a wet mud. Obviously something else is the problem here.
is the pure sand or with cement?
Crushed rock. Thanks for watching!
It all sinks down and stays put regardless after a month or two
If only the aggregate knew that!
Lol, not if your driveway happens to be on a hill...
@rebeccagaines9083 My last 3 loads I got were practically all 1.5" minus and practically no fines. Not sure what happened, I think it was all at the bottom, but I've been waiting for it to rain for the last 3 months so I can mix all together better with the box blade. It's too dry right now.
I got about 30 loads of fines and about twenty five loads of quarter inch what are average weights about 20,000 + in the yard
Hell no the grass and weeds grow in that stuff. Keep em loose so you can stir the gravel up with a rake or tiller
We live in an area that gets around 55 inches of rain. Loose gravel washes away. We also live in a hilly area. Loose gravel spins and digs under tires. Regarding your concerns about vegetation: Salt is your friend.
57's on mine with underlayment. No weeds/grass. No salt needed. I guess im doing it wrong
@@fivestar8337 Sounds like you have what you want!
Just buy grout and pour it on top of your gravel,its cheaper than buying concrete
How can I fix this…steep up hill drive way….newly done but rocks shifting everywhere. Thank you much!
You need crush
@@graveldrivewayrecovery Thank you yeah I’m thinking something like that may work…I’m new to all this by the way but much respect and seems like fun work!
Looks good for making puddles
What are fines? Lol
Fine gravel, smaller gravel
Like sand, the water washes it away when it splashes or runs off the road
Just add a bit of mortar to it.
I sprinkled a bunch of concrete powder on my gravel driveway and lightly sprayed it with a hose afterward. It's not a permanent solution by any means but it's a lot better than it was
Thanks for watching!
I’m fines with it! 😂 See what I did there? 😊
Amen❤
I presume gravel grids also solve this problem?
In my area that isnt the problem. Where i kive we have 18 inches of top soil with like 6 feet of red clay under that. So i bring the gravek in and within 2 or 3 years the grlund just swallows the gravel up
Put woven geotextile fabric down and then put gravel on top. You won't have that problem anymore.
Happened to me! There were not enough fines. Could i just add stone dust on top of the areas that are loose?
You can get screens.
@@graveldrivewayrecovery You gotta elaborate more on your terms for us rookies
33C
Your treble is too high😮
Plus a rain storm moves the loose rock downhill , creating an unattractive landscape , Great video .
Which should be placed first?
The rock, then fines on top.
Is weed barrier not recommended for a big gravel parking area? I’m thinking it’s not a good idea if heavy trucks? Thanks I’m advance.
Traffic grade geofabric can be useful for heavy trucks. It will help against pumping when the ground is wet.
FINE !!!
I get it
what is a fine?
Crushed rock
So could I just buy a truck loads of "fines", spread it and run a compactor to stop my driveway from rutting out?
Ruts happen because the water gets trapped on the driveway.
What are fines?
Crushed rock
@@graveldrivewayrecovery is it also called FINE SAND aggregates? good day!
what the heck is a "fine?"
Crushed rock
That’s not what it is called in the business…. (Might be in the south, everything is messed in south). They are call MINUS.
Rock size plus minus.
1/2 inch minus
Has 1/2 inch rock and the “fines” lol
Thanks for your feedback!
Dense grade
Hi
I have but weed membrane down then I put hardcore on top then I put weed membrane on top of the hardcore then a put 20mm pebbles gravel have I done it wrong. I think I did because the gravel is moving like crazy
We call that 57 around here. You need to add crushed gravel to your 57 and it will stabilize. 57 works as a base, but it is not stable without crushed gravel holding it together, like you see in the video.
@@graveldrivewayrecovery do you think by remove the weed membrane will help. i have compacted hardcore under
@@Hassan-nu3rp I misread your original question to say 2mm which is close to what we call pea gravel. But what you described is 57. I corrected my answer.
I would leave the fabric and add crushed gravel. It will 100% fix your problem.
Doesnt explain what fines are doesnt say how to
Well what is fines?
Fines are a powder/sand like substance.
@@graveldrivewayrecoveryou mean like dry concrete mix?
No it is crushed rock
@@graveldrivewayrecoverycan I use normal sand instead?
It won't compact like crush.
But that awful, sludgey, pudding style looks terrible! No water can penetrate meaning massive run off that increases flood risk, aesthetically displeasing and no lovely crunching sound of tyres coming up the driveway.
I prefer the raw gravel myself, contain it with decent edging and give it a quick rake every now & then.
The rain can penetrate, refilling the aquifer & you're not just dumping your run off onto someone else's land. It's better for the environment, more neighbourly and visually much nicer.
Splodgey mess fail!