NOT PERMANENT, BUT USUALLY SATISFACTORY
.GRAVEL of small size, perhaps pea-size gravel, when well compacted
by rolling and use, makes a good driveway surfacing for level or nearly
level surfaces. On hillsides or on decided slopes, moderate rains will
wash and roll even sizeable gravel considerable distances. On any slope,
heavy downpours will strip the driveway to the soil and beyond. But
for level surfaces, gravels in any of the various colors are pleasant because they are natural materials.
.CRUSHED ROCK or STONE in large sizes make a good base for gravel,
blacktop, concrete, and smaller sizes of crushed stone aggregates. Marble chips, pink granite chips, bluestone, greenstone, and various other
sorts and colors of stones may be available in your area, and they make
handsome surfacing. The same drawbacks noted above for gravel apply
here, perhaps even more so if the grade of crushed stone used contains
very small particles. Check local materials and select from them.
NOT RECOMMENDED
.CEMENT AND SOIL mixtures sometimes suggested for use as terrace
paving are not satisfactory for surfacing driveways because they will
not bear loads or withstand the wear of wheels.
HOME-MADE BLACKTOP is also unlikely to bear heavy loads and resist
the punishment of wheel wear. Heavy tamping or rolling (such as is
done by contractors) is usually required to make this suitable for
heavy duty. You might save money if you arrange with the contractor
to do the labor of digging out and leveling yourself, leaving the laying
of the surfacing to be done by his men. Be sure to work out with him
exactly what you are to do and what he is to do, so that there will be no
misunderstandings later on. Follow his specifications for the underpinnings so that they will hold up the paving under all use.
. CLAY or clay mixtures are not satisfactory. Clay is very slippery in wet
weather and even when used in a mixture with sand will probably wash
out in a short time. Also, it is very messy when tracked indoors.
.OILED SOIL may be satisfactory for roads but is not recommended for
use on home driveways. Around the house, oil splashes on lawns and
flower beds adjacent to the driveway, destroying and injuring the plants.
It will also track into the house for some time after being laid, ruining
rugs, staining floors, and disintegrating some of the synthetic tile which
is used so much these days in homes.
Whatever the final choice may be for surfacing, remember that a
driveway is only as good as the plan on which it is built. Be sure to give
it sufficient advance thought and planning so that it can be used without
regret or irritation, or without expensive revisions, later on.
|
