# dirt driveway woes



## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

We have a long driveway (about 600 feet) and the last 100 feet slope down to a parking pad next to the house. The hill is fairly steep (probably 15' of vertical over 75' of horizontal), and the surface is clay/sand/gravel type of mixture. The stuff they surface unpaved roads with out here (we have a lot of those). 

This steep part gets a lot of rain rolling down it, especially this time of year, washing the clay out of the mix, and leaving us with piles of sand at the bottom of the hill (which gets tracked into the house), and deep ruts in the slope of the driveway. It'll cost about $1000 to get it filled, graded, etc and I don't know whether that will last 1 year, 2 years, probably not much more than that. 

What are our options? I'm sure we could have it paved, but that would probably cost $5-10K, and my wife doesn't think it would look natural (we're in the woods here). Are there other options? 

Could a driveway like that be done in cement? Are there other types of soft road surfaces that would be less likely to get washed away? 

I should mention that we get plenty of snow here, so it needs to be a surface that can withstand being plowed without breaking up.


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

I have seen stuff you can plant grass in.
http://www.terrafirmenterprises.com/
http://www.pavingexpert.com/grasspav.htm
http://www.countymaterials.com/f_products/landscaping/pp_grasspavers.shtml

And, yes, a drive can be done in concrete. Pavers is another option. Cobblestone look great too but would be way expensive compared to asphalt.


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## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

Thanks for the advice Brik, but you must live in a warmer climate! 

I don't think cobblestone, pavers, or grass would work, because the plow truck would pick them up and deposit them in our yard at the bottom of the hill. 

Maybe concrete is an option. I'll have to check it out with people around here. I don't see any concrete drives, and that might be because they crack and then plows pull them up. I don't know. Can you pour concrete on a slope like mine?

And that ecogrid looks interesting. If it can withstand plowing, then it could really help with compaction and wash-out problems. I've emailed them with some questions.

Thanks, Nate


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

Nah, I live in PA. We have our fair share of snow here. I have always had asphalt for my driveways. I do also see concrete here but not as much.

If the pavers are installed correctly you can plow snow off of them. The issues comes in when you have a bad install and one paver is heaved up and catches the plow blade. A properly installed paver drive will not have these issues.

Cobblestones? Well, I suspect you would have issues with them and plowing if you wanted to get really close. Probably no worse than a gravel drive.

The grass option? Well, I'm not suggesting just grass. Check on the links. I do believe these systems CAN be plowed!

See http://nemo.uconn.edu/successes/case_studies/west_farms_cs.htm


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