If you have a long approach to your garage from the street, you might want to install a gravel driveway. It costs much less to install than asphalt or concrete and wears just as well. To build a driveway out of gravel, you need to use heavy equipment such as a skid-steer loader with a scraper blade attachment or a small bulldozer. Along with a roller, used to settle the gravel into place, the equipment is available for rent at rental centers.
Scrape the topsoil of the driveway off with a scraper blade attached to the loader or bulldozer. Save the topsoil so you can use it in another location on your property. If you want a driveway that is 12 inches thick, remove that much soil. Remove more or less soil depending on how thick you want to lay gravel. The base needs to be level across, but there should be a slight slope along the length of the driveway to divert water away from the house or garage.
Pack the base of the driveway well by driving over it several times with the heavy equipment.
Unroll weed barrier fabric along the length and width of the driveway. Place crushed rocks the size of your fist in a layer over the fabric. This layer of crushed #3 gravel binds together to form the foundation for the gravel driveway. Drive over this layer with the roller attachment behind the dozer or skid-steer loader to pack the gravel into the subsoil and fabric.
Add a layer of crushed #57 gravel. This layer should be approximately 4 to 6 inches thick. These stones are slightly smaller than ping-pong balls. Pack the stones with the roller.
Complete the driveway with a 4-inch layer of crushed #21-A gravel with dust. As you smooth these thumb-sized stones in place with the scraper blade, create a crown in the middle of the driveway slightly higher than the rest of the gravel. This crown allows rainwater to run off to the side of the driveway. Pack this layer of gravel with the roller.
Things You Will Need
- Skid steer loader or small bulldozer
- Scraper blade attachment
- Weed barrier fabric
- Crushed #3 gravel
- Roller attachment
- Crushed #57 gravel
- Crushed #21-A gravel with dust
- To order the correct amounts of rock, measure the length and width of the driveway. Know the depth you plan to pour each level. The attendant at the rock quarry will figure how much you need.
- Some rock trucks are capable of spreading the stone to the desired depth as they dump it from the truck. You still need to do some spreading to get the stones in position along the edges of the driveway, but this service saves you a lot of time and effort of moving the stones with the rented equipment.
- If you opt to have the stones dumped in one location so you can build the gravel driveway at your own pace, place them in a location where they will do minimal damage to the lawn.
- Read and follow warning signs when working with heavy equipment.
- Wear protective clothing, headgear and eyewear while working on this project.
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