# Resurfacing a dirt driveway



## MSUFW07 (Jan 22, 2009)

This is the first spring in our new house and our driveway went to hell over the winter. Lots of pot holes that are holding water, some damage from me moving snow over the winter with the tractor and a back blade. I want to smooth it back out but I don't know what the best way to do that is. 

My opinions are these: back blade and smooth it out as best I can with the tractor, backblade and bucket. Rototill it but just the top couple of inches, again 3 pt rototiller and so depth isn't hard to maintain just not sure if that is the best way or not. I don't know if there is fabric under it or not. Driveway was in place when we moved in, it used to be an oil well driveway. Last option is renting a box blade, either 3 pt or tow behind and doing that for a day. I am leaning towards the box blade myself, but I was wondering if there was another way to go about it. 

I do need to have more rock brought in but frankly that's just not in the budget right now.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Box blade when it’s drier out.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

MSUFW07 said:


> This is the first spring in our new house and our driveway went to hell over the winter. Lots of pot holes that are holding water, some damage from me moving snow over the winter with the tractor and a back blade. I want to smooth it back out but I don't know what the best way to do that is.
> 
> My opinions are these: back blade and smooth it out as best I can with the tractor, backblade and bucket. Rototill it but just the top couple of inches, again 3 pt rototiller and so depth isn't hard to maintain just not sure if that is the best way or not. I don't know if there is fabric under it or not. Driveway was in place when we moved in, it used to be an oil well driveway. Last option is renting a box blade, either 3 pt or tow behind and doing that for a day. I am leaning towards the box blade myself, but I was wondering if there was another way to go about it.
> 
> I do need to have more rock brought in but frankly that's just not in the budget right now.


Sounds like to me that you need to get it smoothed out and then bring in a new topping that can be packed. I think you will continue to have the problems you are if you don’t improve with a new topping


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Hire a blade truck or grader to put a crown on and pay for more gravel. The problem with box blades is they remove the crown and material after time, water doesn't drain off and you get pot holes.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Are there items , rocks or broken concrete for example in the potholes? Usually something is getting frost heaved. In which case the pothole(s) should be dug out and filled with a more compatible mix.

Washboard ripples are often speed related. Around 20 m.p.h. and above tires create erosive waves.

If your roadbed is holding up a draining good (mine is not in areas) you can reverse your backblade , angle it to draw towards the road center and spend time dragging it without chewing into it. Takes lots of passes but can recover aggregate mix from edges and add height to center to crown slightly. (Having a short wheelbase and cutting deep when bouncing occurs on multi potholed or washboards makes the blade bounce too..... Running the blade reversed seems like the more patient passes are worth it after a while.)

Changing the tilt of the blade to try creating a ditch/lower outside and cut a crown didn't work for me.

A neighbor joined the effort this year and has been cutting deeper and dragging after on his end. 
I get on it soon enough I can do the smoother / lighter work.


Best to have a decent mix added and graded with a long wheelbased grader . Then keep up on it after.
And we do hire a grader every few years. Cause we don't keep up on it.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

As long as your tractor has lift arms that are adjustable a box blade works just fine. Like any tool you must be smarter than it. Start where you want the low spot to be by slowly pulling material to the high spot.


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## birdshooter (Jan 7, 2006)

Crushed asphalt is cheap and holds up amazingly.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Hire a grader or blade truck, the end. Or retire and spend all your time ******* around with a box blade.


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## Swampbuck24 (10 mo ago)

Refreshing the drive way with some crush gravey mixed with fine crush grave get it smooth and have someone with a road roller that vibrates and pack the hell out of it


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## Bucman (Jun 29, 2016)

I beam chained on an angle. Builds a crown and fills holes. Then add slag or asphalt.


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## jasperdog (Nov 8, 2007)

My wife and I hauled and spread 110 tons ( we were surprised when we added up the slips) of a crushed limestone/fines mix ( locally known as Afton Stone) and spread it on our ”driveway” last summer. We graded it with a box blade and it still needs a little more grading. It is better than it was though. We used a dump trailer. That stone was very heavy.

Gravel driveway maintenance sort of comes with the territory I guess..

Might get some ideas on Tractor-by-Net…


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

jasperdog said:


> My wife and I hauled and spread 110 tons ( we were surprised when we added up the slips) of a crushed limestone/fines mix ( locally known as Afton Stone) and spread it on our ”driveway” last summer. We graded it with a box blade and it still needs a little more grading. It is better than it was though. We used a dump trailer. That stone was very heavy.
> 
> Gravel driveway maintenance sort of comes with the territory I guess..
> 
> Might get some ideas on Tractor-by-Net…


My Afton stone road has held up well for close to 25 years now. We put fabric down 6 inches of Afton stone had compacted with a big vibrating roller. Every couple years in the spring we hire a grader or blade truck and add more stone. That stuff sets up like concrete.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

I know you do not want to spend money except on renting a box blade. Fix the holes ONLY first for a couple years. Depending were you are get the 21AA or 22AA ( the 1'" long stuff) cracked stone or Limestone. I would get the stone due to Limestone WILL BREAK DOWN. Have a 24 yard dump come in and pile in one place. Bucket and fill holes twice a year. This will give you the base IF you want to top it off for side distribution during the winter. My driveway is 200 yards cutting through a valley.


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

IMHO, box blades don't work very good in sand and are much better suited for gravel.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

We just had our drive done 10 yards of afton stone and a blade truck, for 600 bucks. Done!


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Steve said:


> IMHO, box blades don't work very good in sand and are much better suited for gravel.


And they just skip over hard compacted afton stone.


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

brushbuster said:


> And they just skip over hard compacted afton stone.


If if you have any organic matter like leaves or roots mixed with the sand, forget about it.


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## jasperdog (Nov 8, 2007)

I have a hydraulic top link and you can get the front edge down in the gravel and that is without the scarifiers. You have to sort of feather it. Then you can extend the link and smooth it with the rearward part of the blade. I backdragged a fair amount of the new gravel with the loader bucket in Float..


I do not have hydraulic tilt but you can tilt it by hand….

my wife is not going for a road grader….


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

Save yourself some work if you get stone. Have the driver back in. Chain his gate and slowly drive out. He ll put a nice layer down and it’s much easier to spread. Good luck


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

jasperdog said:


> I have a hydraulic top link and you can get the front edge down in the gravel and that is without the scarifiers. You have to sort of feather it. Then you can extend the link and smooth it with the rearward part of the blade. I backdragged a fair amount of the new gravel with the loader bucket in Float..
> 
> 
> I do not have hydraulic tilt but you can tilt it by hand….
> ...




The hydraulic top and tilt is great. Even with just a blade, I maintain the drive pretty well.

This year I'll use the box rake and I'm looking to put better ditches on both sides in conjuction with a couple other projects. May add the road grindings if they're doing it in my area again this year.

I don't like deep ditches by the drive as it allows me to tear the crap out the yard.


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## bowhunter426 (Oct 20, 2010)

I maintain close to a 1/4 mile gravel driveway. Don't bother with a box blade. It is an exercise of futility. A land plane with scarifiers

Dirt Dog Land Plane - Good Works Tractors

Even then every few years I hire out a large grader to re crown


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

Just buy a D11. Now those things can move some **** and you ll be the envy of the neighbors. They have a tilt blade control too


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

bowhunter426 said:


> I maintain close to a 1/4 mile gravel driveway. Don't bother with a box blade. It is an exercise of futility. A land plane with scarifiers
> 
> Dirt Dog Land Plane - Good Works Tractors
> 
> Even then every few years I hire out a large grader to re crown


Now I want a new tool. That looks like it would work.

I have a box blade. It has its uses but i don't t mess around with it on the driveway anymore. I get potholes in the spring. I have a nice landscape rake and a half hr of raking seems to do the job for me. My driveway is 400'

Sent from my SM-S901U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

bowhunter426 said:


> I maintain close to a 1/4 mile gravel driveway. Don't bother with a box blade. It is an exercise of futility. A land plane with scarifiers
> 
> Dirt Dog Land Plane - Good Works Tractors
> 
> Even then every few years I hire out a large grader to re crown


I wonder what happened to the member that owned Good Works Tractor and went by that name here? He used to post a bunch, but I haven't seen anything from him in a few years.


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## jasperdog (Nov 8, 2007)

I have 1800’ and just get ruts when the frost goes out. Box blade has been fine but a land plane does look to work better.

The previous owner was a masonry contractor and ran his shop from here. Seems like he put in a solid base. Then we added 80 yards or so.
I think all the tools work, some better or easier than others…


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## bowhunter426 (Oct 20, 2010)

TK81 said:


> I wonder what happened to the member the owned Good Works Tractor and went by that name here? He used to post a bunch, but I have seen anything from him in a few years.


Wonder the same thing. He used to post a lot. Almost bought my land plane from him, but found a used on local.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

MSUFW07 said:


> This is the first spring in our new house and our driveway went to hell over the winter. Lots of pot holes that are holding water, some damage from me moving snow over the winter with the tractor and a back blade. I want to smooth it back out but I don't know what the best way to do that is.
> 
> My opinions are these: back blade and smooth it out as best I can with the tractor, backblade and bucket. Rototill it but just the top couple of inches, again 3 pt rototiller and so depth isn't hard to maintain just not sure if that is the best way or not. I don't know if there is fabric under it or not. Driveway was in place when we moved in, it used to be an oil well driveway. Last option is renting a box blade, either 3 pt or tow behind and doing that for a day. I am leaning towards the box blade myself, but I was wondering if there was another way to go about it.
> 
> I do need to have more rock brought in but frankly that's just not in the budget right now.





sparky18181 said:


> Save yourself some work if you get stone. Have the driver back in. Chain his gate and slowly drive out. He ll put a nice layer down and it’s much easier to spread. Good luck


I had the same issue as the OP. After a couple years, our 200 foot gravel driveway started becoming a rutted mud pit in the spring. Then came the pot holes. I dragged it with a gill for a year or two, but the problems kept coming back. Part of the issue was the lack of a bonding agent. I could put a good crown on it (had a dozer and a backhoe), but until I put down 24 yards of crushed concrete, it was an exercise in futility. Just like Sparky said, I had the truck driver feather in all the material over the length of the driveway and then spent a couple hours raking from the edges up to the center. Just started driving on it to pack it down, and the first good rain set it up nice. I have not needed any driveway maintenance in about 17 years now. Crushed ashphalt may be better and cheaper, but crushed concrete worked great for me. I think I paid about 18 bucks a yard, but it has been a while. I never get any holes, soft spots, or areas that hold water. Hard as a rock and still crowned perfectly all these years later.


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## MossyHorns (Apr 14, 2011)

I regrade my driveway (recycled asphalt) using my landscape rake. I turn it at an angle and keep working it back and forth until the holes are filled in. The landscape rake does a way better job than using the box blade. It's amazing how flat I can get my driveway.


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## BumpRacerX (Dec 31, 2009)

brushbuster said:


> We just had our drive done 10 yards of afton stone and a blade truck, for 600 bucks. Done!


Can you PM me the info on this? I skipped on having the driveway done last fall when the house was put in. Grand visions of doing it myself. Now I'm sitting here going...yeah...think I better pay someone to address a couple spots at a minimum.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

BumpRacerX said:


> Can you PM me the info on this? I skipped on having the driveway done last fall when the house was put in. Grand visions of doing it myself. Now I'm sitting here going...yeah...think I better pay someone to address a couple spots at a minimum.


Get ahold of Brian at Millikin


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## jiggin is livin (Jan 7, 2011)

My old farmall has the fast hitch system and you can angle the back blade. Crown and every thing. Super easy.

Driveway from the road all the way to the pole barn is almost 300 yards and I can have it freshened up and smooth in a couple hours. Probably faster if I do it every spring or so.

I am gonna have some more crushed asphalt or limestone or something brought in though. There is a ditch along the side of the driveway so drainage isn't a problem, that is a biggie.


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## anagranite (Oct 23, 2010)

TK81 said:


> I wonder what happened to the member that owned Good Works Tractor and went by that name here? He used to post a bunch, but I haven't seen anything from him in a few years.





bowhunter426 said:


> Wonder the same thing. He used to post a lot. Almost bought my land plane from him, but found a used on local.


I think politics got in the way but maybe I'm mistaken. He has a YouTube channel that is pretty good and I've used his info for a couple purchases.


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## anagranite (Oct 23, 2010)

As for the driveway, don't rent a box blade. That is wasted money and you can have stone dumped for the money you saved. I agree with limestone (21AA) with fines as someone else posted. Don't get anything round or washed. I also don't recommend crushed concrete because it will have small wires in it from the crushing process, not always but almost every load I've seen has some.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

anagranite said:


> As for the driveway, don't rent a box blade. That is wasted money and you can have stone dumped for the money you saved. I agree with limestone (21AA) with fines as someone else posted. Don't get anything round or washed. I also don't recommend crushed concrete because it will have small wires in it from the crushing process, not always but almost every load I've seen has some.


Three loads at my place (36 yards) and never any wire. Did find some small broken up pieces of what looked like ceramic or maybe clay drain tile in one load though.


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

I had our drive black topped last year, was going to do out to the barns this year but the price increase convinced me otherwise.


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## bobberbill (Apr 5, 2011)

I had to run a nail magnet for roofing over my crushed concrete. I found quite a few pieces of wire and crap. I did it for a couple weeks and always had something. Crushed concrete is the only thing I've had stay in place on my sloped drive.


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## MSUFW07 (Jan 22, 2009)

So I read through the replies and it sounds like I need to get things smoothed out and get some rock on top of that. I do have round about access to a small dozer, not a D11 but a smaller cat, maybe I can get rent/borrow that and an operator for a day to get things smoothed out. 

The pot holes themselves are filled with water and in just a certain probably 30 feet at the start of the driveway. There is no rhyme or reason that I can determine why they started there but I will have to get them fixed before I do too much more. I may have to add some drainage to that area.

I did see that Afton stone was mentioned by a few people, I looked and around here it is sold as 23A (Limestone gravel). Its going for $62 a yard from the place closest to me maybe cheaper if I look around a little more.

Crush concrete was brought up also and I will just add my experience with it. At deer camp we have some delivered last summer and fall and still we are finding pieces of wire, glass and other junk in it. So I would avoid it myself if possible.


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## Bucman (Jun 29, 2016)

MSUFW07 said:


> So I read through the replies and it sounds like I need to get things smoothed out and get some rock on top of that. I do have round about access to a small dozer, not a D11 but a smaller cat, maybe I can get rent/borrow that and an operator for a day to get things smoothed out.
> 
> The pot holes themselves are filled with water and in just a certain probably 30 feet at the start of the driveway. There is no rhyme or reason that I can determine why they started there but I will have to get them fixed before I do too much more. I may have to add some drainage to that area.
> 
> ...


SLAG is best....jmho

I put 66 ton (8/10") on my 350' driveway 5 years ago. no more problems. I haven't had to do any repairs as of yet. Ive been using this driveway since 1986.


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