How to Improve a Wash Stone Driveway
Washed stone or gravel provide an inexpensive and fast driveway construction option. A properly designed and constructed stone or gravel driveway with an adequate, compacted base will present fewer maintenance needs than a poorly-installed driveway, but even a well-placed driveway requires occasional re-grading, drainage fixes, vegetation removal, and the addition of new stone. Wear can remove a driveway's crown, create ruts or puddles, and lead to washouts or other serious problems. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Riding mower or vehicle
- Drag or blade attachment
- Garden rake
- Stone
- Herbicide, if needed
- Excavating tools, if needed
Instructions
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Re-grade the driveway. Run a riding mower or vehicle with a drag or blade attachment over the driveway several times. Maintain or create a slight crown in the middle of the driveway so that water will drain easily. A suitable driveway cross-section may have about one-half inch of rise per horizontal foot. Make sure that there are no berms, gravel, or soil that have built up along the driveway edge, preventing drainage. For a short driveway or small area, ample effort with a garden rake may provide a more efficient option than large machinery.
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Fill in any potholes or low spots with additional stone either imported or scraped from high spots.
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Apply a herbicide, if needed, to address any vegetation. Avoid pulling large amounts of weedy vegetation at a time unless the area will be compacted shortly, as this can loosen the stone.
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Clear or otherwise maintain ditches or other features that the gravel driveway may have, especially if the driveway is located on a slope. Maintain gently sloping, vegetated ditches that direct runoff away from the driveway and any structures.
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References
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