The drive to my house has got ruined with the rains so i want to make a proper road how does one build a road?
Question:i would like to know the basic steps involved? what items are required ? i was told first to make a concrete base then cover with stone chippings and wire mesh and finally cover it with tar ! is this correct ??
Answers:
As someone who has designed many roads and driveways, your first step is to evaluate your drainage. Water must run away or parallel with the road, not across. Nor should it use your road as a drainage course. What is the length of the driveway? What you were told is not what I would suggest. The standard steps are to profile the road for drainage (using a dozer, skiploader, or motor grader), install 3/4" road base rock, 6-12" thick (using a skip loader or motor grader), compact to 95% relative compaction (using a smooth drum roller), cover with finish surface as desired by owner or as required by grade of driveway. Asphalt runs about $2 a square foot, installed. Concrete cost maybe $7 a square foot. Chip seal cost maybe $1.25 a square foot, 3/8" chips might cost $0.20 a square foot. Avoid using gravel as a top finish as the round rock will get tracked between tire treads, and end up on the roads around your house. If you email me with the specifics of your driveway I can help more.
Pick up the telephone and call a company with experience.
It needs to be graded then gravel base and compacted. Then concrete or paving over the base.
That's the key a good compacted base. Then the top layer of concrete or paving will won't crack or break.
Concrete is more expensive, depending on the lenght of your drive way.good luck.
A road is very different from a driveway. A driveway should start with a well graded gravel base that is compacted with a mechanical compactor. Then have bituminous concrete, asphalt, laid on top.
A road would have engineers take soil samples, remove any expansive or organic matter soil, maybe stabilize soil with lime, install at least an eight inch base, then a rough course of asphalt, and then a finish, this is overkill for a driveway.
Check out the lives of John Metcalf, General Wade and Thomas Telford - who were all early road builders. The trick is to stop the mud coming up through the surface. Dig drainage ditches along the sides. start with large flags, and cover with finer and finer gravel. This way, you will have a well drained roadway, without the pollution tarmacking will cause. Many C18th roadways are still in use, mainly as greenways or farm roads.
The simple way would be to level the road/driveway and then put stone/gravel on top. More complex would be to call a company and have them pave or concrete the area. :)
More Related Questions & Answers...