Hey everyone! We have a dirt driveway that's about 12-50 feet long, and it's been developing some potholes lately. I'm exploring the idea of switching it to a gravel driveway. The proper method seems to involve excavating the area, setting a sub-base, possibly laying a weed barrier, and then spreading and leveling the gravel—which sounds like a major project to me! Renting equipment and the time commitment seem a bit daunting.
On the flip side, we need some gravel for another project, so I was thinking of just having the delivery truck drop an extra 7-8 tons of gravel on the driveway and spreading it ourselves. This plan would run around $500—much cheaper and less effort than the 'right' way, which could cost us a couple thousand.
I get that doing it properly would probably last longer, but I'm curious about what issues I might face if I go the cheaper route. How quickly do you think it might fall apart? Will the gravel sink into the dirt more rapidly, and can I expect to run into bigger problems if I try to upgrade it later on? Also, we live at a high elevation in Colorado where the ground is really hard. Does that make a difference in how long the cheap fix would hold up?
Thanks for any advice you can share!
1 Answer
If you go the cheaper route, definitely consider using geotextile fabric instead of just skipping it entirely. It acts like a barrier to keep the gravel from sinking into the dirt below. You won't need to dig everything out, but utilizing the geotextile can help extend the life of the gravel, reducing the amount of maintenance you'll have to do down the line. Make sure you do a little research on it—I found that non-woven options work best. I’ve learned this from experience after repeatedly having to add more gravel without any fabric.
Thanks for the tip! I hadn't thought about adding the fabric, but I think that could work. How often were you topping up gravel before you added the fabric? I’m wondering if I could manage just a wheelbarrow or two each year instead of a bulk delivery.