Driveway Installation

A stone driveway adds style and beauty to a front yard.

Installing a driveway is a project that will permanently alter the look and function of a yard. From choosing the paving material that falls within your budget and will complement your home to digging out the foundation, every step of the process requires attention to detail. Do-it-yourselfers with basic tools can expect to spend a few days building a driveway from start to finish.

Things You'll Need

• Garden sticks
• String
• Tape measure
• Shovel
• Hand tamper or compactor
• Gravel
• Rake
• Edge restraints
• Hammer
• 12-inch spikes
• Sand bed
• Board
• Bubble level
• Fine sand
• Broom

Instructions

1. Outline the course of the driveway with garden sticks and string. Use a tape measure to verify the width is at least 16 feet for a two-car garage and 10 feet for one car.

2. Unearth the top layer of sod, and replant it in a bare area of your yard. Continue digging out the site with a shovel to a depth of at least 12 inches. Pitch the bottom 1/2 inch down for every foot of distance so the driveway will have a slight slope away from the house.

3. Make several passes over the bottom of the site with a hand tamper or compactor machine. Stabilizing the ground beneath the base helps prevent the gravel from sinking over time.

4. Fill the site with 8 inches of gravel, and rake it out evenly. Compact the gravel until the rocks don't shift.

5. Line the inner borders with edge restraints, and hit 12-inch spikes through the slots with a hammer.

6. Pour a 1-inch-thick sand bed over the gravel. Hold a flat board on top of the sand, and pull it slowly over the surface to make it flat.

7. Set the paving material on top of the sand starting in the center of one end, and work out to the sides. Butt the sides of pavers, bricks or stones against each other in a herring bone, basket-weave or other pattern. Use a bubble level over each section to check adjacent pieces are even.

8. Lay a flat board on top, and walk on it to press the pavement down.

9. Pour fine masonry sand over the driveway. Use a stiff broom to sweep it into the joints, and then moisten the surface with a hose so the joint material can harden to the pavers as it dries.

References

• Belgard Hardscapes: How to Install Concrete Pavers