Asphalt Driveway

codrus wrote: I used to work somewhere that they did the street entrances to the parking lots with pavers. They put them in, it looked nice at first but six months later the cars driving over it had ripped a couple of dozen bricks out and it looked a mess. So they redid it, and again it got ripped up. They repeated this a few times, then gave up and just asphalted the whole thing. Now, they probably get a whole lot more traffic than your average driveway, but...

They probably just put it down like you would at home, and that's not right for a high traffic drive. They would have hated to see the bill to do it right! The streets in my work area are very high traffic (hockey arena, concert venues, restaurants) and are brick, and they did it this way: gravel, concrete, asphalt, then brick. Every time they do major utility work it's like building the pyramids all over again.

My driveway right now is all gravel (57's I believe) and looked really nice when we bought the place 4+ years ago. Now the grass and weeds are creeping in on the sides and popping up all over. I've tried nuking with RoundUp but that only lasts a couple of months and still leaves the dead dried stuff around once it's done.

So, not to hijack but, does anyone have any tips for care and feeding of a gravel driveway?

<--- Grew up with asphalt driveways in the 'burbs.

In reply to fastEddie:

I have a 450' gravel driveway. I used to do the same thing as you and had pretty much the same results. I have a tractor and can regrade it any time I want, but that doesn't last forever either. I finally gave up and just let it be what it is. So I end up with two gravel paths where the tires go. It's not my ideal, but after 15 years of trying different things, it seems to be the best solution.

A lot of the complaints about asphalt here sound like bad base work - including drainage concerns. There's a lot more to making a proper road than just laying down black stuff, and the harsher the environment is the more you have to do. I know my Colorado father-in-law who grew up crushing road base for interstates was really impressed with how Ontario lays down a road.

Gravel does have a bunch of advantages, although it's a pain in the patootie to shovel snow off.

Eddie, you could try skimming some of that gravel off, laying down some fabric and putting down a top layer of road base. We did that near our place and it didn't stop the weeds completely, but it's helped quite a bit. I think we used recycled crushed concrete, which actually sets up after it's been wet. I'd have to check with Janel, my job was to run the shovel.

I need to reclaim my gravel driveway from weeds. I'm thinking one of the big propane torches that just hook up to a 20Lb tank.

In reply to SEADave:

Hey Washington!

Thank you for your thoughts. It has been gravel for the past 5 years and I really don't like the dust it creates in the few days we have sun. And I think the house would be more sellable down the road. And! I would love to have 750 of asphalt that is all mine!!

In reply to kairijohanne: Do you know if they pave canoes?

Many years ago I had a dirt drive way. It was short and maybe some gravel. The city, while paving the street with asphalt decided to pave my dirt drive way with left overs. It has never been sealed or any other repair and still serves it's purpose.

Our county airport is paved with asphalt along with aprons etc.

We do get some temperature extremes.

Here's my 2 cents: concrete for any parking/working on areas. Asphalt for the rest.

I think asphalt winds up cheaper because it tends to be put down thinner. For highways and runways concrete is competitive because they quote the same depth for each. The small outfits around here usually quote 1.5 to 2 inches of asphalt which is half the depth of a decent concrete slab and so half the price. And of course if you aren't out there with your tape measure you will wind up with 1.25 inches.

Nice! A double zombie-canoe thread.

And just as an aside, the concrete used in runways is far stronger and thicker than the puny 3,500 psi mix that driveways and roads are poured with. Back when I tested such things, I would routinely see 15,000 psi samples.

Planes are heavy and landing forces will tear up weak materials.

Wow, and in the driveway thread!

Gearheadotaku wrote: Pour concrete for the last 30' or so by the garage for a work surface and anywhere you park long term (like a trailer etc). Asphalt the rest for a big cost savings. I personally don't like sealcoat. Slippery when wet and always has to be redone. I've had better luck leaving it bare.

Concrete for parking areas, asphalt for the drivway. That's what I'd do.

I started this thread. I don't think pavers on a 750' long driveway would be in the budget:-)

Canoes deleted

I know it's a zombie thread....but having just read the whole thing....Bader field is not a good example of good asphalt. We raced there this year, and it tore up quite easily. I'm sure it hasn't been maintained it a long while.