October 17, 2011
Goodbye, dirty old driveway!
One of the things I loved most about our house when we bought it was the natural country feel of its dirt driveway. Unfortunately, most of its charm was lost several time each year when it turned into a virtual mud pit, thanks to our incredibly high water table. This has not been lost on our dogs, who love playing around in all that mud, nor or daughter, who enjoys all the puddle jumping, as well as the mud pies we've made with her. Despite its pleasures, Joe and I were ready for an update. We contemplated pouring gravel over the mud, which is what the previous owners did (though they were much better than we were about replenishing the gravel). Thankfully, Roger Cook helped us come up with a cool alternative. His relatively inexpensive solution involved laying down a traditional driveway, letting it set for about six weeks, then laying an oil coating with embedded stone over the top. It creates a more natural look than a regular driveway—with zero maintenance. Thanks, Roger!
(6) Comments
Comment on this BlogRebecca,
Your driveway solution might be exactly what my not-so-old house needs. Do you have any close-up photos of what the driveway looks like?
Many thanks!
I just got done watching show #3109 including the asphalt drive redo. Just curious, if you went to the trouble of putting in 12" of gravel base, why not do pervious asphalt instead of regular asph.? Quite often people do not do pervious because the extra base material is cost prohibitive but you had ample base anyway. I enjoy your show but always look for green techniques or lack thereof.
thank you hopefully passing the dirty streets could create a more natural look
There is always a solution to every problem and you just nailed it. You just fixed your dirty driveway. Good job.
Love the look of the driveway. Curious, will it hold up to snowplowing/blowing or the occasional turing of a skidsteer on it? If stone begins to lift off, will it result in a tary, gooey mess? How would you go about refreshing the look- just add another layer of tar and rock? Thanks very much- I'm intriqued about employing this system but want to first learn from your experience....
In looking for inspiration, your blog is always the best place to go! I just love the imagery, your staff takes amazing photos of the work and you bring it to life with your writing.