 | Home > Off Topic > Gravel driveway maintenance |
 
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1852  
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Hey folks,
This is very loosely LR related...... the Defender and P38 drive on this.... We have this driveway to the back of the house. When we moved in it looked much the same, though it was smaller pea-sized gravel. About 15-16 years ago or thereabouts, we lifted what was left/what we could of the pea-gravel and took 20 tonnes of larger gravel chips and spread them around. Maybe 20-30mm chips. Looked great to begin with, but over the years, and when a young family gets in the way of maintenance its got worn down, and the chips have got either mashed into the ground, or disappeared in the treads of the AT tyres! The substrate/soil underneath is clay-based. So now we're wondering how to tackle this. Weedkill and a further 20/30 tonnes of gravel is the easy answer, though we do plan to put a couple of drainage channels in too - running from house to forest. But just wondering if there's any accumulated knowledge here that I could benefit from - any dos and donts - or if a periodic 'dump' of new gravel is just the way it goes? Any and all advice gratefully received, thanks.  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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26th Jan 2021 7:51pm |
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| grafty99 Member Since: 15 Aug 2012 Location: North Devon Posts: 4795  
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We have lots of unsealed gravel tracks (probably few miles in total) and have found the best way of maintaining them is to scrape the top off with a digger and grading bucket, weed kill and then top up.
We have in the last few years changed from gravel to road planings, which is basically shredded tarmac. The beauty is that if you lay it on a firm base and roll/compact it then it knits back together to form a very stable and durable surface. Also the beauty of them is that they're recycled and usually transport costs are low if you time it correctly with local roadworks and they take the top layer off and bring it straight to you which saves them time and driving hours and so the cost savings get passed on! In areas of very high traffic where the hot summer sun has done its work some of it has actually returned to a fully sealed tarmac like road  2002 90 Td5 Station Wagon
1990 Vogue SE Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Td5 90 Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic50767.html Tdi 110 Thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic69562.html RRC Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic54492.html Instagram http://www.instagram.com/george_grafton |
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26th Jan 2021 8:09pm |
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| Stacey007 Member Since: 25 Sep 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3797
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Hello
Our front drive looked very similar, different bits of concrete, some grass, some soil area where we removed a raised brick boarder, a miss match of all sorts, I just put down a weed membrane all over the place and then had many bags of 20mm pebbles delivered. so before... Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge during.. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge After Click image to enlarge Ours has been like this for over 4 years now, get the occasional weed coming through (and only now) as the cars are not driving on it as much not being used  It looks 100% better, good for security also as you cannot move quietly on it.
OOh and since then I have seen the light and now have more Landrovers (3 in total) but these two I have a picture of on the drive 
Click image to enlarge |
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26th Jan 2021 8:19pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1852
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Thanks guys,
I kind of thought that to do it properly we'd need a machine and a membrane; scrape; base; membrane; and then new gravel but I suppose I was hoping there might be a shortcut. It's far too big an area to do by hand, and I don't have easy access to a digger or even the experience to use it. It puts the job into the realms of getting someone else to do it. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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26th Jan 2021 8:29pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2698 
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Mini digger hire is cheap and they’re dead easy to use. Just don’t dig up any power cables or drains/pipes!
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26th Jan 2021 8:34pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1852
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Aye, to be fair to myself I did hire and use one when I put power between the house and the garage - digging a 600mm deep trench in this ground would have been too much. I only hit the garage once with the bucket.....
The posts in my last pic used to be a 'play area'. Each of the posts are down about 750mm to a metre. I did that by hand, and there wasn't an easy inch in it - but I was about 17 years younger! That's by way of saying it's heavy ground, and i think I'd need a 'bigger' mini-digger! I suppose all this is confirming that I need to set time and budget to one side to do it properly. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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26th Jan 2021 8:57pm |
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| jst Member Since: 14 Jan 2008 Location: Taunton Posts: 8166 
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so its lasted 15 odd years? just put another 20/30T down.
i looked at digging all ours up and putting a membrane down and then more chipping, decided it wasnt worth the effort. 12years ago i put down 40T and other than grading some of it about every 3 years it pretty much all there. Will need some more in a few years time. Cheers James 110 2010 XS Utility 130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper 90 2010 Hardtop 90 M57 1988 Hardtop |
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26th Jan 2021 9:12pm |
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| s55shh Member Since: 30 Dec 2019 Location: staffs Posts: 195
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Beware of using road planings from an unknown source. Older road surfacing used coal tar which, when its planed out, is a contaminated waste. You could look at some kind of stabilisation mats that are usually recycled black plastic and stop the gravel creep, but personally, I'd just get it topped up and repeat in another few years.
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26th Jan 2021 9:23pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1852
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TBH James, that was Plan A - as close as I can estimate it's 17 years since it was put down. Just as you say it's the thought of the hassle of digging it up, putting the chips to one side, laying a base and a membrane etc etc that's off-putting.
To get rid of the weeds is there a prefered tool to lift them, or would a good dose of weedkiller do the job? Edit - yeah, road planings - I've seen it used in the sort of situations Grafty mentioned, and look OK, but I don't really fancy it for the back of the house. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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26th Jan 2021 9:25pm |
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| C&M Member Since: 28 Aug 2020 Location: Hampshire Posts: 185
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On a previous house I started off with basic gravel but after only a couple of years noticed that it was getting crushed in the areas the cars both drove and sat.
I changed this to Newbury stone as its much harder and more flinty if that makes sense. it moves but harder wearing I topped it up twice in 20 years with about 10 tons each time but the overall cost over this period was under a grand I'm sure. weeds - flame thrower gets rid of them pretty quick. safer for the dogs than weed killer IMO Defender D250 HSE Dender 110 XS - sadly gone VW Polo VW Caravelle - Gen 6 |
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27th Jan 2021 8:09am |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1852
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The stone we used before - and will likely use again - is from the local quarry about 5 or 6 miles away. What you get depends on which area they're working in at the time. I'm pretty sure the cars aren't literally crushing it, just that the weight is driving it down into the ground underneath. But presumably that has to stop somewhere!
Weedkiller - we don't have dogs or cats to worry about or even small children these days. The nearest we get is the badgers on the grass, or the red squirrels which occasionally run in to bury a peanut! It's not so much that the weeds themselves need burnt just that I'd like to try and kill off the roots to minimise what might grow through any new gravel. Does anyone have any good weedkiller recommendations? I did read that a 'salt and vinegar' mixture (honestly, don't laugh) was effective. Some said it was bad because it sterilised the soil for years - but under a driveway that's exactly what I'm looking for. Anyone used this successfully? Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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27th Jan 2021 10:04am |
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| htb2 Member Since: 02 Nov 2018 Location: Carmarthenshire Posts: 537 
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Lad near us did his driveway with plannings liberally sprinkled with red diesel to soften, then wacker plate down, very environmentally friendly. Oh there was an open ditch at the bottom of drive to catch run off....
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27th Jan 2021 12:40pm |
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| ickle Member Since: 22 Jul 2010 Location: South Vendee Posts: 1822  
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^^^ a Polish friend of mine swears by diesel as a weedkiller - lasts for years!
Salt is good, stops the osmosis as the ground has a higher salt content than the plant. Size of chipping is important, we used to refer to anything around 10mm as kitty litter for good reason. All of the readily available weedkillers were watered down or banned a few years ago - roundup and sodium chlorate (?) etc you need either a friendly farmer or someone with a poisons licence to get proper stuff these days. HTH Keith |
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27th Jan 2021 12:50pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2698
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Glyphosate is pretty hard to beat, you can buy the proper RoundUp online rather than the watered-down rubbish you get in Homebase and the like. ProActive 360 is the trade name for the general purpose stuff and it will kill pretty much anything green. Bear this in mind when applying in terms of wind drift and drying time (and avoid spraying when rain is forecast). Don’t for example walk across the weedy surface while it’s wet and then cross your lawn, else you will get footprints of dead grass
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27th Jan 2021 12:53pm |
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