Gravel drive for car access

Glenn · 2005-05-26T08:53:32+00:00

Hello all,We have a long term renovation project in the French alps, vehicular accessis via a 30 metre long grass covered "drive way" which slopes gently upwardsto a height of about 1 metre over the length of the drive. In anything otherthan dry weather, car access is entertaining to say the least. The localcouncil has a dump of gravel not far from us, and it seems to me that onenight we could easily "acquire" enough gravel to lay two lengths of gravelto aid vehicular access. My question is, should we dig out two parallel andshallow "ditches" to take the gravel (and if so, how deep should they be?),or just lay the gravel straight on to the grass and bed it in by driving acar over it?Many thanks,Glenn

May 26, 2005 22 Replies

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Rick 21 years ago

Having thought of this a little, it occours to me your drive may be like my longer (1/3 of a mile) drive. When I got the house, it was muddy, and we needed 4x4 to get up the drive. A day with an excavator, and we scraped off the mud to reveal that some hundred or so years ago, there was a solid rough stone track. With no extra treatment the track can be driven along in all mut heavy snow or sheet ice.

In my case the mud washes off the fields onto the track, so new stone would soon get filled with new mud. We remove the worst of the new mud with the leaves once a year.

Rick

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The Natural Philosopher 21 years ago

No usual about it at all.

It is whatever the manufactures decide to make it.

Whether yuou have better traction reversing or going forwards depends on which wheels are driven, and the surface conditions at the front and back. as whell as where you attach the tow rope..

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The Natural Philosopher 21 years ago

One thing I have discovered, is that solid stone and mud is bad, but mud on gravel washes to the bottom. In practice mud on solid needs a yearly clean. Mud on gravel will go for many years before it 'fills up' and needs more gravel..

A lot depends on preference and what equipment you have to hand.

If you can pressure wash, solid is great.

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