my gravel driveway project

[markyyyyyy]

Hi.

I am putting in a gravel driveway at the front of the house. This is the first time I have donea project like this, so I am just after your thoughts on whether my plan looks okay.

what I plan on doing is digging out half of the grass (to the right of the wooden stakes on my picture) to a depth of 18cm. this Is where the gravel will be going.

Untitled

• markyyyyyy
• 8 Feb 2015
• 1

I am having the grass section (left of the stakes as you look at my picture) raised to a height of 14cm higher than the finished gravel drive. This will have a strong grass edging to separate the grass from the gravel drive.

in a step format, this is what I am doing:
1. Digging down 18cm on section where gravel is going
2. Putting 14cm of this soil on to the grass section that will be 14cm higher than the gravel once finished.
3. Compresing down the soil using the machine that flattens soil.
4. Will put 5 inches (13cm) of type 1 hardcore on to the soil where the gravel section is going.
5. Using the compressor machine to make it compact
6. Put weed membrane on top of hardcore (or does it go underneath thr hardcore layer?)
7. laying 5cm of gravel

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

thank you

 

[r896neo]

You'd be better going to 150mm for sub base. Forget the weed membrane they are totally wrong for driveways.

Its a common misconception that weeds come through the drive. They do not, they grow in the general dirt dead leaves etc that gradually gets mixed in with the gravel.

The only weeds that will come through 150mm of compacted sub base are japanese knotweed and marestail and there is no membrance that will stop them.

If your ground is wet clay or at all dubious a geotextile membrane can be used under the sub-base to reinforce the ground and prevent the sub base and soil mixing.

 

[Andyc84]

Agree,

Geotextile membrane should be used to seperate the hardcore from the soil, weed membrane will be worthless.

concur with 150mm.