ᐅ Materials for Paving a Driveway

Created on: 4 Sep 2013 15:19
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Orschel
Hello,

we are planning to pave our driveway soon. For frost protection, we will order crushed stone with a grain size of 0/32. The question I have is, how much crushed stone should we install? Is 20-25 cm (8-10 inches) enough, or should it be more?
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Orschel
17 Sep 2013 10:52
I remeasured everything again over the weekend. We excavated a bit more generously and ended up with 25–27 cm (10–11 inches). Hopefully, that will be sufficient!

It’s really disappointing to see that even so-called professional companies sometimes don’t do a better job. When I make mistakes myself, at least I know it’s on me and I haven’t wasted a lot of money. But with companies, you should be able to expect everything to be done properly. Next weekend, the paving will be done, so at least the driveway will be finished then!
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AallRounder
17 Sep 2013 14:36
During the initial compaction of the subgrade, the surface will settle a bit more, so the gravel layer will definitely be thicker than 20 cm (8 inches) everywhere.

Professional companies, unlike us, have to make a living from their work and stay competitive. If their competitors are all just laying fine sand even on heavily trafficked areas and filling the joints the same way, then maybe also skipping a frost-resistant base, the "better" company that does soil replacement and a gravel bedding plus jointing will fall behind. There is hardly anyone willing to pay for quality anymore. Neither am I, because after extensive preparation, I do everything myself.

By the way, I noticed that the only consistently well-installed paving areas here are found in the parking lots of the large grocery discount stores – funny, isn’t it?
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Orschel
1 Oct 2013 14:33
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. But now I can almost report completion... Well, almost. We were lucky that we only had to cut stones on one side. On one side, we ended exactly at the garage! Extremely lucky. Two sides were along the edge anyway due to the laying pattern. Now we need to finish grouting, compact again, and grout once more, then it’s done.

On Saturday, we worked for 10 hours straight because we always had to carry the stones a bit, so we had some nice muscle soreness on Sunday, but it was worth it. The expert who was advising us was impressed with how well it turned out, and even our building materials supplier told us it was top quality, saying some professional companies work much worse. Like just dumping 40cm (16 inches) of base material and compacting only once.

Now I’m curious to see if daily use will reveal any issues...
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AallRounder
10 Oct 2013 20:43
Why not post a picture? It would be a fitting conclusion to what I consider a very positive thread.

Contacts like these motivate me to write from time to time, even though some original posters never respond again (which is common in other forums as well).
I don’t think there will be any progress on your path during winter and spring if you have worked diligently. Apparently, it’s supposed to be a harsh winter, so it will be the real test for the new path...
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Nina93
14 Oct 2013 09:08
A picture would be really great. I would love to admire your masterpiece as well.
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AallRounder
24 Oct 2013 07:03
Good morning,

You should be able to upload images by clicking on “Advanced” and then under “Search Options” at “Manage Attachments.”

I wish you a quick and full recovery; appendicitis sounds rough. At least the timing was good!
I was happy to share my experience as an amateur tiler. See you at the next project after the “winter break”!

Regards,
AallRounder