7 Tips for Maintaining a Gravel Driveway

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There are manypopular driveway optionsavailable , and gravel is a popular choice among them . crushed rock driveways offer several benefits over some other materials , including their more budget - well-disposed cost , the ease of installation and upkeep , and in effect drain . However , there are also a few downsides to this type of fabric . exonerate snow from crushed rock driveway can be more hard ; loose pieces of gravel can wash aside with pelting or thaw snow ; and chuckhole might appear more frequently than they do with other control surface materials .

Still , a low - cost root to home parking , the fabric can offer more pros than gyp if owners find out the best ways to observe a gravel driveway . The tips below can help you stay ahead of potential downsides and keep the aerofoil in good shape .

garage with gravel driveway

Photo: istockphoto.com

1. Rake the driveway.

rake agravel drivewayis one of the most important footstep you may take to keep it . The small pieces of gravel can get displaced and spread out unevenly over the control surface when cars drive over them , water system do them to move , or the wind blows them . Leaves and other rubble can also get mixed in with the crushed rock , bequeath it looking unkempt and make walking or driving safely more difficult . Rake regularly if possible , using a high - timbre profligate specifically designed for use of goods and services on gravel to move the rocks around and exhaust debris that is trapped among them .

2. Remove debris.

accept a few minutes to authorize dust from a gravel driveway can help keep it appear its right . When sticks , leaves , or other debris pile up over the Earth’s surface , they can trap moisture . When wet floor are high , the chance for potholes to organize increases . Debris scattered over the driveway will also make the driveway look less aesthetically pleasing and will eventually get assorted in with the stone , create the want to rake the surface more frequently . Use a pitch with loose tine to remove wet or teetotal leaves or gently swash dry rubble off with aleaf blowerset on low .

3. Add gravel to prevent pooling water.

Check your gravel private road for any areas where pee pool or there looks like pitiable drain . If water is not debilitate decently , it can cause the crushed rock to erode or might leave in large pothole in the near future . Prevent these potential problems by adding some more gravel to the low smirch you identified . After add newgravel , pack it to make certain it stays in place .

If the same area of the drive keep having water drain yield , try out to add and glance over a piddling extra crushed rock across the arena so that section of the driveway is a bite taller than the expanse surrounding it . This will aid ease proper drain .

4. Fix potholes.

If you miss filling in smaller surface area where H2O pools , they might wrench into larger chuckhole . Fixingthese should be a top priority , since chuckhole will only get larger and pose a big risk when they are not address . In fact , pothole can make damage to your tires , bend or crack up the wheel , throw your car ’s suspension off , damage the body or undercarriage of the railroad car , and more . Additional gravel and a heavy curler will be required to fix potholes ; abstruse one will require grade before filling .

5. Exercise caution when clearing snow.

Clearing snowfrom a gravel private road will require taking a few extra precautions that wo n’t be necessary with other aerofoil types . First , you should not expend a snowplow if you have a gravel driveway . In addition to move the snow off the driveway , the plow is also likely to push and sack some of the gravel beneath it .

If you ’re shoveling your private road , it is a good idea not to adjudicate to clear it all the way off . Instead , entrust about an column inch of C over it . There will still be plenty of adhesive friction under the thin layer provided by the gravel , and less chance of dislodging gravel pieces while shoveling .

6. Check the grading.

If you ’re installing a new crushed rock driveway or need to add young stones to an older one , it is important to check that that it is grade properly . This admit ensure that the side and end side down to let water drain by rights . grade the drivewaybefore adding any stone is idealistic to ensure that it slopes correctly and that you’re able to unfold the stone evenly across the control surface .

7. Apply landscaping fabric.

Layinglandscaping fabricover the surface before apply new gravel to a drive can offer several benefit . The most obvious benefit is helping to prevent weeds from stab through the gravel . However , the special fabric can also help forbid erosion by stabilise the ground that is under the crushed rock . This can lessen the chance of potholes and orbit with pooling water supply in the time to come . tune and water permeability are not as important for driveway as they are with planting , so choose a heavy - duty textile with downcast water permeability .

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close view of rake being dragged over gravel driveway