Pea stone/gravel for a parking pad

[Robert Green]

That site has lots of great and expensive ideas for really doing up a driveway. Too bad I am looking to do this on the cheap. (-:

[Robert Green]

This "adventure" just started last Friday with a citation notice. Some idjit neighbor complained about the kid next door's SafeLite van being parked too long in front of "his" house - the complainer is a freaking squatter from what I know, allowed to live in the foreclosed property by the bank until it is sold - and the code enforcers came out and wrote citations as far as their eyes could see. I was but one of many.

I believe the intent is roughly the same as when parents say to unruly kids in the backseat on a long drive: "Don't make me come back there, you'll ALL regret it!" We're all regretting it.

I've never had a problem with mud or drainage. The soil here has a very high clay content and the stones that didn't get snow-shoveled or raked away are deeply imbedded in the dirt. The problem is that grass grew up between the gaps and caught the attention of parking

I'm working out all those calculations and talking to neighbors who have fallen down the same rabbit hole. There's actually still enough pea stone embedded in the dirt that it probably satisfies the code. The problem is that we've had a remarkable growing season and the grass has become lush and is growing up through the pea stone that's left. I used Roundup today to kill all the grass, hoping that may be enough to get "the man" off my back.

But I know that paving or concrete are the real solutions. Unfortunately they are also the "real expensive" solutions. I want to save my pennies so I can eat when the Chinese economy collapses and drags the whole world into another bottomless financial pit.

[Robert Green]

Thanks.

However, having read through all the comments, I come away with the feeling that the pea gravel cart is pulling the driveway horse (block that metaphor!).>

Groan! (-;

I'm reluctant to DIY concrete. I've not had exceptionally good experience with it.

[Robert Green]

Unfortunately this jurisdiction has a history of retaliation. The day after I submitted a property tax appeal I got cited for three niggling offenses as a way of saying "we don't like people who question our judgement."

[Robert Green]

news:ksolqi$3gv$1@dont-

material: Pea gravel is too fine

is to call a local stone

area you need to

That's two votes for crushed stone!

[Robert Green]

I'm still in the requirements analysis mode because anything I do has to pass muster with the local authorities. I really want to spend as little as possible if only because this is being forced on me from out of the blue. Call it stubborness.

Will do.

[Robert Green]

Yep, I suspect you're correct. I feel I woke up last week in a Soviet gulag. "Go there, do this, sit down, shut up!"

[WW]

Unfortunately this jurisdiction has a history of retaliation. The day after I submitted a property tax appeal I got cited for three niggling offenses as a way of saying "we don't like people who question our judgement."

[WW]

The local government insists that no cars or vehicles be parked on unpaved ground. I'm planning to put pea stone down and wonder what sort of preparation is required.

When my neighbor did this, they just dumped a LOT of the stone on the ground and spread it out. As you can imagine, stones went everywhere and the area was impossible to walk through because you would sink into the stones. The stones got onto the lawn from snow shoveling and banged up the lawnmower blades and occasionally sent missiles flying through the air. I'd like to avoid that, if possible, although it may just come with the territory.

Am I correct in assuming that pea stones are roundish, cream and white roundish colored stones about 3/8" in diameter while pea gravel has more ragged edges? Does anyone have pricing information for their area so I can compare the quotes I get from the several places I will be calling in the next few hours? I realize location makes a big cost difference but I am just looking for gross data points.

How much would it/should it take to create a "pad" for a minivan?

The precise wording of the ordinance says that as long as the wheels are on stone, brick or gravel, they can be just runners that the tires sit on and the whole area need not be covered in building material. I think that would look tacky, but it might be easier to control the pea stone by digging two parallel trenches, lining them with a layer of sand and then filling the trench with the stone.

Thanks in advance for your input,

[Robert Green]

More demons to bedevil me! Fortunately, this is just replacing what has worn away over the years, so I would hope I am covered. Still, when the code enforcers are on a roll, they can dream up citations no average homeowner would ever dream of.

My wife thinks I may have already pissed them off by filing a "notice of appeal" but it was just meant to make sure they knew I had been made aware of the "deficiency" and gave me time to correct it. That and I've been spooked by a recent Supremes ruling that says if you don't specifically invoke your rights, you can lose them like the right to remain silent.

That reminds me to print out a wallet card to hand to cops that says: "I am invoking my right to remain silent, any questions you have for me can be submitted to my attorney in writing for consideration" with his business info on the reverse. If I survive the beating, I should be covered. (-:

Sadly, my landscaper of nearly 10 years, Al, one of the best workers I've ever hired, died suddenly at age 56 of liver failure. So I've got a new guy who's clearly nowhere near as experienced so I thought I would turn this task over to him to see how well he does with specs in hand. Part of the horrible process of getting old is learning to turn over tasks like this to people you pay to do them. All the small contractors seem to need work and I want to spend down my savings just in time to die broke. (-: So it's a perfect match.

I just took a picture of the driveway, printed it out and marked up where and what I want and asked him to work up a quote. So begins "War and Peas-tone."

[Robert Green]

This is the part of the project where so much information arrives that it stops dead in the water to explore all the avenues that have opened up.

Am I correct in assuming that "nest" means to interlock somehow to resist unwanted spreading?

[bob haller]

crushed concrete, old concrete that is crushed works awesome, it compacts to near concrete like surface and stays where its put......

Just rake it out by hand in case there are any bits of wire in it.. what i had delivered was very clean

I did this a couple years ago so my GFs sons vehilcle would never block anyone in, we execvated by hand a few inches below grade

[Robert Green]

The irony is that after 20 years of parking on the old (now mostly gone) pea stone the ground where the van sits is pretty damn firm. I suspect this project will be a learning experience that follows the rule "There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over."

[harryagain]

Any rounded gravel is of very limited use on the surface as it just rolls about and displaces. It canbe dangerous to walk on esp for old people. It is used in drainage work and for back filling trenches where it is essential that no settlement takes place.

Any loose material used on driveways is just a cheap job and will look like shit in a few year with weeds and algea. It also settles and puddle form.

[Robert Green]

to near concrete like surface and stays where its put......

had delivered was very clean

anyone in, we execvated by hand a few inches below grade

That's three votes for crushed concrete. It looks like pea stone was a bad first choice.

[Robert Green]

The poor guy was forced to smoke so much crack by the FBI trying to frame him that his mind turned to mush. Or so the local legend goes. I was a fairly newly-minted reporter for the now defunct Washington Star when Barry was catapulted to fame over the Hanafi Muslim incident:

Sounds like not much has changed in the world.

At the time my "beat" was Embassy Row so I was attending dinner parties at least twice a week and that's where I learned that Barry's Ebonic speech was something he could turn on and off at will. He used it mostly to appeal to his homeys. Since then, I learned that more than a few politicians adjust their speech to fit their audience. His wife used to bomb around the city in her little Mercedes convertible with "EFFI 1" vanity plates and total immunity from the cops. She nearly blew me off the road doing what must have been 90mph on the stretch of US 50 that runs through DC.

What's not to like about Barry? He finally got a mass-transit system for DC: the worst, pork-laden Metro system in the world, staffed by every hack to whom he owed a favor. They got involved in some reciprocal tax-writeoff deal with Spain(!) that went very sour in the crash. The resulting (massive) lack of funds for maintenance and new rail cars led to a horrific crash (that nearly killed a friend):

So what's not to like about Marion? He provided wonderful, nearly zero-work jobs for so many of his friends! Is that not the job of a good leader? (-: (At least it would be funny if it weren't so damn sad.) If you really want to laugh/cry, look up "DC metro escalator problems." It confirms that Metro is the worst-run organization around.

Well, perhaps except for the WSSC (water authority) whose graft, corruption and mis-management caused legendary water main breaks so as the one requiring residents in tony Bethesda to be evacuated by helicopter. A ruptured 80" main can provide a whole lotta water in very little time. Residents said the main exploded like a bomb and the resulting crater did look exactly like a bomb hit. WSSC claimed when it moved to its palatial new HQ paid for with a surcharge on the area's water bills, it somehow lost all the maintenance records for the water mains and couldn't tell which mains needed inspection. It was the Keystone Cops meets the Water Authority - and the people lose, big-time.

One good thing about DC - their outright ban on handguns led to the Heller decision ended such draconian gun control. Lots of people left DC because they couldn't even have a handgun in the home although very many of them did. (-:

[Robert Green]

I am putting off contacting my local town idiots until I've got all the information about options in hand. The van's on the street, so as long as I am willing to leave it there, it's not a time-critical process. I've been told I can leave it on the driveway from 5PM to 8AM because the code enforcement slime doesn't slither around outside of normal business hours.

"We're from the government and we're here to help you. Now drop your pants and bend over!"

[Robert Green]

Was this it?

[dadiOH]

"Robert Green" wrote

I like your way with words :)

Ditto

[dadiOH]

"Robert Green" wrote in message news:ksqkao$t4t$ [e-mail]

It works very well but he edges still need to be constrained. Easy to do, leave the last 3-4" of the excavation perimeter open and fill it with crushed concrete into which you have mixed cement and water. Once filled, bevel the top outside edge a bit .