Laying a gravel driveway advice needed?

lucinovzr

Hi,
So I have a long driveway dug out circa 60m and now want to lay down stone for a gravel driveway.
Am I correct In saying I will need clause 616 as a base then 804 on top of that.
Or will I get away with just 804 straight on top of the dug out soil and whatever decorative pebble on top ?
Bear in mind it will have cars going along

Thanks

_Brian

It depends on the structure of the soil you have dig down into.
I would feel that 60mm is a bit tight from a structural perspective.

The last thing you want is during a wet spell for the drive to get soft. Remember we're in a serious dry spell at the moment and ground is harder than usual.

When you dug down the 60mm are you onto firm subsoil ?

lucinovzr

Sorry I didn't state I've dug down 150mm deep and it's solid soil. It's been laying dug out all winter and from looking and walking on its solid enough and not soft.

Lumen

I'm not sure what you mean by "whatever decorative pebble" but the type of stone is quite important.

Round pebbles will shift around annoyingly. You want angular chippings which lock together under load.

Soft stone will get crushed over time which will change the composition of your surface.

_Brian

So your putting on 150mm of 804 ?
Because I wouldn't expect 60mm of 804 to carry much once the soil under is wet.

macadam

I would go with 100mm of 616 compacted with a minimum 120 roller and top it off with 50mm of clause 804 compacted depth or less if you haven't left room for the pebble in your 150mm. The 616 will be cheaper, bigger aggregate.

recedite

Best to go down until you hit clay or marl subsoil, then backfill from there with your "3inch down" (and recycled concrete hardcore underneath if deep) to whatever depth it is (minus the depth of the 804) Then add your thin layer of 804 on top.

lucinovzr

_Brian wrote: »

So your putting on 150mm of 804 ?
Because I wouldn't expect 60mm of 804 to carry much once the soil under is wet.

Yes question being would 150mm of 804 suffice at that depth alone without having to order anot her full load of another type,,want to save myself as much hassle as possible,and cost

macadam

lucinovzr wrote: »

Yes question being would 150mm of 804 suffice at that depth alone without having to order anot her full load of another type,,want to save myself as much hassle as possible,and cost

What is the total area of your driveway its 60m long x ??.

lucinovzr

macadam wrote: »

What is the total area of your driveway its 60m long x ??.

driveway 50m x 2.5m ..depth is circa 160mm deep