Steep driveways -

[ghanson]

I'm trying to attach a photo, but it keeps not taking it - file too large

Some of you folks might have some insight on this, and I'd sure appreciate it.  Attached is a photo of the garage where I keep my bus.  The dirt field is a clearing where  I intend to build a cabin, a barn actually, and the road from where the car comes down will be the access to it.  It's kind of steep, and I'm wondering if there is such a product where one can lay down to get that dirt driveway started?  Kind of like a boat ramp?  It's really much steeper that it looks in this photo, and when you dump rocks on it, until they get settled in, you just kind of spin on the rocks.  I will be needing to get concrete trucks down there, and until it completely dries up, they won't even attempt it.  It just seems to me that there should be some kind of a product that you can link the concrete pieces together to form a mat, sort of like the boat ramps do.  Thanks for any thoughts.....g

[ghanson]

And here's another angle.....fwiw

[tekebird]

rock and a D6 driving over it alot.

I oversaw the building of a house that easily had a driveway steepera than that with a 90 deg turn in it as well....by the time the clearing was done, rock down and the foundation dug.....the cement trucks had no issues

[Jeremy]

Try to find a military surplus dealer in your area that has the temporary steel roadway stuff that the army use - it can take the weight of a tank on soft ground so it should be ideal for you. There are commercial companies as well that supply a heavy-duty plastic matting product for people setting up car parks, exhibitions, show grounds etc in grass fields.

Jeremy

[Dreamscape]

Get a contractor in your area to study the problem. I'm sure they will come up with a solution, gonna be pricey though.

They make such a product in the concrete block industry, but it is used as a retaining wall. Don't think it would work in your case as large heavy trucks would need to drive on it.

FWIW, Good Luck,

Paul

[muddog16]

It's had to beat a good crushed rock base packed down and then concrete, do you plan on the bus traveling up and down that drive way?  My buddy has a MCI 8, he drives it up a much steeper grade than yours, at the bottom of his road he concreted the first 200 feet making sure that where he started up the grade would not drag the muffler on his bus, (before he did all of this he managed to drag two mufflers off).  If i remember correctly he poured his concrete 12 inches thick, he his a contractor/civil engineer and some of his equipment is pretty heavy. The road leading up his hill is probably a half mile long but that first 200 feet was the problem.

[Ednj]

Here's what I did, It's not cheap.

http://www.busnut.com/bbs/messages/233/11130.html

[Dreamscape]

Turf block is great stuff. Plants that I have managed have made thousands. I agree that a solid base would be best. You might even consider asking the local supplier what his compressive strengths are. Maybe he could make you some and add a little more cement to increase the strength. Although cement is the highest price of materials used. Block plants are very slow right now due to the economy slow down, so the local plant might be interested in improving on the product for you. Or if they have a supply on hand, they might cut you a deal just to move it. If it's old stock it will be real tough stuff and the strength will be very high. Concrete strengthens with age. The interior of Hoover dam is still curing after all these years.

Good Luck,

Paul

[luvrbus]

ghanson, there is a product called geo mat that I used under Wal Mart parking lots for years will cut the rockbase down by about 50% cost about 1.00 per sy yd comes in widths up to 20ft  call a contractors suppy store as different manufatures have different names for the product  great stuff used in hiway construction in wet areas  and will not let the soil get into your base the cause for most base failures  Good luck

The trade name is Geotextile Fabric

Carthage Mills   http://www.carthagemills.com

Skaps Industries

www.skaps.com

[skipn]

Ghanson,

    A few things I noticed so please take this with a grain of salt (maybe some pepper also)

  being you are in a place that has snow rain etc (not a desert) water will be your biggest enemy!
so some thoughts:
    1. top part of the road may run water straight towards your barn....consider changing the angle a bit.
    2. the road is very close to the bank (wouldn't want any erosion sluff) consider moving or widen the road a bit.
    3. don't use a standard crown but maybe super(tilt) it so the water will drain to the trees on the left.
    4. around 3 inches of 1/2 crushed road mix compacted to 90% would provide for a nice base or even topping
        depending on the soil.

   The mesh (geo mat) works nice in wet areas, in your particular situation it may help. Still will require a topping.

    FWIW

    Skip

[Kristinsgrandpa]

  I have a back hoe and dump truck that I have used to install driveways (hundreds of yards in length), etc.
I found out early that the top soil has to be removed before a driveway is built.

You can build a driveway without removing it but it takes twice as much stone for a base.  The amount of stone and concrete should be determined by a contractor or an engineer based on local subsoil.

Ed

[Hartley]

Rock.. Crusher run that includes the fine grains, then top that with # 57 gravel.

That's what I have to do here... Tennessee has some "SLICK" and gooey mud..
thats the only thing that works. Be sure to excavate some drainage channels
along the sides so you don't wash out.

Note: an old bus makes a great compactor if thats all you got.

I figured that I need to buy 272 tons of rock to fix all my driveways and parking spots. Now just have to figure out where to get the money...

Dave....

[luvrbus]

Ed, your right on about the top soil removal that is the first thing you do at a building site.The rock base depends strictly on how the sub base is prepared if its soft so will your rock base be.this is the great thing about Geo Fabric it distributes the load over a large area not just one spot.A economical way to prepare a sub base

[H3Jim]

If you want to get started on the building before you finish the driveway / road, is it too far to hire a pumper and pump the concrete in so the cement trucks don't have to drive down there?  might be cheaper than some of the premliminaries that you are talking about.

[Busted Knuckle]

If you want to get started on the building before you finish the driveway / road, is it too far to hire a pumper and pump the concrete in so the cement trucks don't have to drive down there?  might be cheaper than some of the premliminaries that you are talking about.

Jim you hit my suggestion right on the head! But then again, I'm not into construction either. I did drive concrete trk yrs ago, but back then there were very few pumpers out there and they were always booked up way in advance and traveled from area to area working for a period of time here, then moving on to the next area! Now days it seems that they are all over.
FWIW    BK