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Old 04-11-2006, 03:23 PM   #8
Maddog7337@att.net
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hudson, NH (E. Bank of Merrimack River)
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Default Crushed Strone

Hi DonnaMatrix,

I have a 900' driveway through farmland (read: "quickloam") and mud season used to be a total and complete nightmare. Paving a road this length was way out of the question financially. I had limited equipment and I didn't want to begin a second career in the highway construction business. So, I put down 3/4 inch crushed stone (I tried different sizes but, I had best luck with that size. Larger is better for a base but very difficult to work Smaller stone disappears in the slop at an amazing rate. Over the years (25+) I've put down a couple layers, many years apart, as it slowly packed in. The cost is quite reasonable (I relayered the whole length this year for $800.) If you have access to a small dump truck you can buy the stone direct from a quarry buy the ton and save $$$ not having to hire someone to haul it. Luckly, my buddy has a tandem wheel dump trailer (I'm going to take him salmon fishing at Winnie to repay the favor.) 3/4 inch is easy to put down fairly evenly and I just smooth it off with my snow plow (back dragging.)
Now, it's awesome-possumm at mud time (hardly even notice anymore.) Plus, I can hear when somebody is coming down the driveway.
The only minus (& there's always at least ONE) is I try to pack down the first winter storm on top of the stone (rather than just plow it) that way I don't plow the loose top stones away from the driveway and have to rake them back in the spring. A small minus for the end result.

Goodluck,

Gary
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