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Filled tire driveway base

 
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We are in the process of clearing an area to build our future house. Unfortunately, some of the area the driveway will go through is very low lying and each spring, it turns into a mud pit. Luckily, I have a very understanding wife, but unluckily, she likes to drive her sedan and isn't interested in converting to a truck. To that end, I am considering ways of constructing the driveway to negate the muddy effects. As I was considering this on my way to the ranch store this AM, I passed a local tire shop that I gotten old tires from before to make my ducks nests. This got me to thinking about the Earthship homes made from tires filled with compacted dirt. Then it hit me! Why don't I make the edges of the drive from tires with compacted dirt in them, then back fill between the tires with road base followed by sand to compact everything. Basically, it would look like this: OtireO ~rockrockrock~ OtireO

Thoughts or ideas on this?
 
gardener
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Location: Just northwest of Austin, TX
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I don't have this problem, but a couple of months ago someone started this topic https://permies.com/t/53370/natural-building/DIY-Dirt-Road-maintenance-improvement
I clicked on it out of curiosity and by the end felt I had enough information to make at least a good start on building a usable road or driveway if I had to. The biggest thing is that it discusses how to keep a mud pit from continually eating every road you build.
 
Aaron Barkel
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After reading that post, it seems as though my idea has merit. Build an elevated road bed, use large rock, then fill with smaller rock/sand, etc. I figured that the filled tires on either side of the drive would keep the road base and rock from washing out and create a channel of sorts for the water to follow until it reaches my culvert.
 
gardener
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Would you run a culvert under it to allow water to flow through that low spot? Would that be necessary?

Things like roads and more permanent earth works need to be done right the first time, or you may find yourself constantly having to tweak them, fix them, upgrade them . . .

As a short term fix, it might be a quick solution, but if you have to go back every 3 to 5 years and fix it up, is it worth it? And will the tires leach any chemicals down into the space below where you want to grow stuff? I know that that has been a concern for many permies in using old tires as a construction material.
 
pollinator
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Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
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Personally I would avoid putting tires in the landscape because of them being nasty horrible toxic gick that future generations will curse.

I strongly advise using naturally-occurring materials such as rock, logs, gravel, etc. and not tires.



 
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