all about heavy construction equipment

all about heavy construction equipment

The Correct Installation Process For A New Home's Driveway

by Dan Adams

If your new home needs to have a gravel driveway installed, then it is important for you to understand the correct installation process. Graveling your home's new driveway using the proper procedure will result in the most stable and long-lasting driveway possible. Gravel that is not properly installed leads to dust, mud, and safety issues.

Here is some information to help you work with your contractor to achieve the best results for your new driveway:

Clean Crushed Rock vs. Crushed Rock Minus

The gravel used on driveways comes in two different types:

  1. clean crushed rock
  2. crushed rock minus

Clean crushed rock refers to gravel that does not contain any smaller rocks than the gravel's rating size. For example, one-inch clean crushed rock will only contain rocks that are at least one inch in size. 

Crushed rock minus is gravel that includes all of the smaller material from the rock crushing process, known as the "fines". The fines help the gravel to compact well and act as a natural grout on your driveway.

New Driveway Base Layer

For a brand new driveway, clean rock is generally used for the base layer. The clean rock has the advantages of allowing your driveway to drain and it helps to keep mud at bay. The clean rock will settle down into the soil and provide a nice anchor for your driveway.

New Driveway Secondary Layer

While your new home's driveway needs clean rock as its base layer, this type of rock does not compact well and is prone to a lot of undesirable movement as you drive on the driveway with your vehicles. To correct the movement problem, a secondary layer of crushed rock minus needs to be installed over the clean rock base layer. The fines of the secondary layer will serve as a natural grout for both the first and second layer of the driveway's surface.

Special Considerations for Shifting Soil Areas

If your new home's driveway is being installed over sandy or muddy soil, then your contractor may opt to put down a layer of larger rocks below the base layer. The larger rocks will provide extra drainage and stability for your driveway.

Conclusion

Now that you know the correct installation process for your new home's driveway, you can be assured that your driveway is installed properly and will last for many years to come. If you have additional questions about graveling your driveway, please speak with your contractor for more information. To find out more, speak with a business like McNabb Construction Ltd.


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About Me

all about heavy construction equipment

My 8-year old son absolutely loves everything about heavy construction equipment. As a school project, he was assigned to create a blog that includes as much information about heavy construction equipment as he could "dig up". We had such a great time working together that we decided to continue working on the blog to fill it with even more information about all sorts of heavy construction equipment. We have answered many questions about these machines and have provided a lot of useful information about how they run, what they can do and so much more about all of the different machines used in construction.