Adding gravel to side of driveway

[LUDELVR]

Thought about adding concrete to the side of the driveway in front of the main door to extend it but it's a bit pricier than I expected. I'm now considering just adding gravel but not sure how much gravel I would need and what type of gravel. I saw some at burnco for $60 pet yard but to be honest, I have no idea how many yards I would need!

Anyone ever do this or know how many yards I would have to buy to extend my driveway about a meter wider?

[Shane@GoldRush]

How thick do you want the gravel? What is the length of your driveway? Are you looking to have concrete poured in the future?

[LUDELVR]

Originally posted by Shane@GoldRush
How thick do you want the gravel? What is the length of your driveway? Are you looking to have concrete poured in the future?

The driveway is roughly 8 meters from where I want it to start to the sidewalk. Gravel? I saw the 40 mm stuff and I think that'll do what we need it to do. Most likely not going to do the concrete but also don't sent grass or weeds coming through the gravel. I've seen that and it looks horrible. Do I just put down several layers of weed barrier or something for that?

[Shane@GoldRush]

Sorry- by thickness, I meant depth. We typically put down 4 inches of gravel when we go in between houses. Going by the measurements provided, I would say that 1 cubic yard should do it. I would recommend the 4.01oz filter cloth from Burnco. Also, you will probably want to rebar in some 4x4 posts to retain the gravel.

If you want I can also hook you up with our contractor discount at Burnco.

[CompletelyNumb]

One yard will likely cover it. A yard is about 1.5 tonnes. You can get a tonne of 40mm gravel for about $16 from the city at spyhill.

[relyt92]

If it's for extending the driveway over what about patio blocks?

[LUDELVR]

Originally posted by relyt92
If it's for extending the driveway over what about patio blocks?

Spoke to the wife already about this. She's not a fan of it and prefers the gravel.

[LUDELVR]

Thanks for the offer Shane but I might have to look into the spyhill place. 16 bux to fill out that area I need done? Did I understand you guys correctly in saying that one cubic yard will work for my needs?

[jacky4566]

Really depends how thick you are going. 8m driveway you may need closer to 2 or 3 yards.
Why not just measure it out. 1 Yard ~ 0.76 cubic meters.

[Pacman]

We have pebble sized gravel on the side of our house, separating from the neighbours.

I would consider getting something a little larger like 20mm limestone rocks (seems to be the best bang for buck at Burnco). I'm going to be putting in 40mm Limestone. The gravel is frustrating as it doesn't seem to stay in place and ends up on the drive or the street from rabbits running around on it.

[CompletelyNumb]

Thickness is key there. 8m x 1m x 4" is about 800 litres of volume if I'm doing my math correctly. So a yard would be just under that.

[revelations]

Im doing this as well - but with paving stones where the vehicle moves and the rest of the area with gravel.

[LUDELVR]

Just called the number for the landfills and the guy said that unless you have an account with the city, you can only buy from the Manchester site. So it's about 21 dollars per ton opposed to the 17 from spyhill. Also, he mentioned that they have some pretty heavy duty loaders so they don't recommend using pick up trucks for liability purposes. Has anyone had any issues with this?

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by LUDELVR


Most likely not going to do the concrete but also don't sent grass or weeds coming through the gravel. I've seen that and it looks horrible. Do I just put down several layers of weed barrier or something for that?

As a cautionary note. I put down 4 layers of landscaping cloth (weed barrier) around our firepit area, and ive still got weeds coming up through it. Theyre easy to yank out, but it still happens.

[LUDELVR]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


As a cautionary note. I put down 4 layers of landscaping cloth (weed barrier) around our firepit area, and ive still got weeds coming up through it. Theyre easy to yank out, but it still happens.

Yeah, I made the mistake of only putting down one layer on our mulched out dog run and that did not do the trick!! I thought it was one and done...boy was I wrong!!

[Shane@GoldRush]

The weeds root themselves in the mulch and gravel. They don't come from underneath the landscape fabric (at least not with the stuff we use).

I figured you would want something more aesthetically appealing. The stuff at spy hill is just regular gravel. As far as I know, you aren't even allowed to take dump trailer's in there anymore- only heavy duty dump trucks. Rumor is that someone took a small single axle trailer in there and the loader overfilled it...causing it to fall apart. I just heard this last week from a fellow landscaper.

[LUDELVR]

Originally posted by Shane@GoldRush
The weeds root themselves in the mulch and gravel. They don't come from underneath the landscape fabric (at least not with the stuff we use).

I figured you would want something more aesthetically appealing. The stuff at spy hill is just regular gravel. As far as I know, you aren't even allowed to take dump trailer's in there anymore- only heavy duty dump trucks. Rumor is that someone took a small single axle trailer in there and the loader overfilled it...causing it to fall apart. I just heard this last week from a fellow landscaper.

To be honest, I have no idea what the difference in stones is! I thought all the gravel looked the same...like rocks!! Do you have any recommendations for something just is more visually appealing but I can also park on?

[Kloubek]

Isn't there a bylaw regarding widening your driveway, in light of all the NE doing it? Not sure if it applies to gravel as well or not. (Probably not, since many people go with a zeroscape yard without incident)

[Shane@GoldRush]

Take a look:Link

Pick something that matches your house accent colour.

Using gravel still allows the water to drain into the soil underneath of it. Widening your driveway with concrete does not allow for that...causing more stress on the sewers during extensive precipitation events. As far as I know...gravel isn't a problem but concrete is!

[revelations]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Isn't there a bylaw regarding widening your driveway, in light of all the NE doing it? Not sure if it applies to gravel as well or not. (Probably not, since many people go with a zeroscape yard without incident)

Contacted city - they said this is considered "landscaping"