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Building a gravel entryway/driveway cost?

 
Donald Smith
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Location: Quebec, Canada zone 4a
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Hi,
I live in Quebec and I was just wondering if anyone knows how much it would cost to build an entryway / driveway onto a piece of land, on average?
It would be four meters wide and at least ten meters long and would be made of gravel.
The area would need to be cleared of trees as well.
Thanks!
 
John F Dean
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Is it flat or on a slope?  What kind of soil  ..  rocky, clay, etc?  How many tree, how big, what kind? ....I am assuming someone else will be cutting the trees?  How far is the equipment operator going to have to travel to get to your place?  Will you be doing any of the work yourself?

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
John F Dean
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Prices can vary to a serious degree.  I had an operator,  who lived near me, punch in a 100 meter driveway through brush on rocky soil for $100.00.   The gravel cost another 100.  But the work could have easily cost 10x that under different conditions. .. and if the base tbe soft, there could have been much more gravel ....and I am talking about the USA.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
M. Phelps
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one contractor i was paying 140/hr for one guy with a 20T excavator

another contractor i had out there with two operators, one in a big skid steer on tracks and another using a backhoe
i think it was around 200/hr

another guy locally was saying 80/hr but he was too busy

it costs a lot just to "float" the equipment to the site...
when i looked at renting an excavator it was going to be $1400 just for delivery and pick up

one source locally for gravel was pretty cheap... $20 per tonne i think
but the hours spent by the driver delivering said gravel would be a lot more than the cost of the gravel
i never did get any gravel delivered

sounds like you would need a culvert too
i paid $600 per "stick" (bought 4)
they were 2 foot diameter

call around and get some quotes... usually free

 
M. Phelps
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original poster seems to be gone already but as a side note the one operator told me it was easier to push over trees with the excavator than to dig up the stumps of said trees had they been cut down

(i had done some clearing and he said next time dont)

also peel the logs once they push them over and have moved on to a safe distance
 
Donald Smith
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John F Dean wrote:Is it flat or on a slope?
The land is flat

What kind of soil ?
there are large rocks around but it’s a loamy soil.

How many tree, how big, what kind?    
Many, many trees (200-300 or more) mostly firs, about 30-40 feet high

....I am assuming someone else will be cutting the trees?
I can cut most of them, the diameter of the trunks aren’t more than 15-20 inches, it’s just they are very densely packed in

 How far is the equipment operator going to have to travel to get to your place?  Likely about 2km away there are a few companies close by. The land is right next to a paved road so it’s readily accessible

Will you be doing any of the work yourself? I’m planning on cutting some trees but more for opening the land for planting other trees, I may leave the trees where we want the driveway to go as it may be easier to remove them by pushing them over with a bulldozer.

 
Douglas Alpenstock
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"How many tree, how big, what kind?    
Many, many trees (200-300 or more) mostly firs, about 30-40 feet high"



Any chance you could do a deal with a local forestry company or sawmill and get this done for free?
 
John F Dean
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Much depends on local customs and prices. But I am optimistic.   It looks like an easy job to punch in the driveway. You will  need a fair amount of gravel. Normally, start with larger pieces. As that packs in, move to smaller pieces.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
Donald Smith
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Any chance you could do a deal with a local forestry company or sawmill and get this done for free?

We were wondering about that actually, I wouldn’t mind at all, we can sell the wood in the area needed to be cleared.
We are only allowed to clear one acre, according to the towns by laws but that still a lot of wood.
My only concern is if the laws here allow it. Quebec has so many laws and rules it’s ridiculous sometimes.
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Another thought:

Depending on your subsoil, a driveway can soak up a tremendous amount of gravel before it stabilizes. I'm not sure what gravel costs in your area, but around here it's become quite expensive.

A trick used in industry is to lay down geotextile (essentially super mondo landscape fabric) on the subsoil and put gravel on top. This keeps it from sinking down to the centre of the Earth.
 
Trace Oswald
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Another thought:

Depending on your subsoil, a driveway can soak up a tremendous amount of gravel before it stabilizes. I'm not sure what gravel costs in your area, but around here it's become quite expensive.

A trick used in industry is to lay down geotextile (essentially super mondo landscape fabric) on the subsoil and put gravel on top. This keeps it from sinking down to the centre of the Earth.



Here people generally use a good layer of breaker rock first, and then the last few inches of gravel.  I don't know if breaker rock is a local term.  It's basically bigger chunks of rock or old asphalt.  A lot of it is fist sized or so.  It's much cheaper than gravel.

A build too cool to miss:Mike's GreenhouseA great example:Joseph's Garden
All the soil info you'll ever need:
Redhawk's excellent soil-building series

 
Donald Smith
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Another slight problem is that the area we need the road to go through has some large rocks in the ground, too large to be moved by hand. I’m guessing a bulldozer can push them aside or something but it is an additional cost 😕.
 
Ellendra Nauriel
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Donald Smith wrote:Another slight problem is that the area we need the road to go through has some large rocks in the ground, too large to be moved by hand. I’m guessing a bulldozer can push them aside or something but it is an additional cost 😕.




Are they close enough to the surface you can get to them without equipment?

If so, there's a trick that might work. You'll probably want a cordless drill with a masonry bit.

Wait for a day that's above freezing, although it doesn't have to be actually warm. Drill a bunch of holes in each rock. They can be placed randomly, although if there are lines along which the rock looks like it might split easier, go ahead and put the holes right along that line. The more holes the better, but even a few holes per rock will help. After drilling, fill the holes with water.

Then, nature does the rest!

This time of year is perfect, because of the freeze-and-thaw cycles. When water freezes it expands with enough force to crack stone. When it thaws, it runs deeper into the cracks it just made. Then it freezes again and forces the cracks wider. Enough of those freeze-and-thaw cycles, and the entire rock will split apart, making it easier to move.

Needless to say, this happens faster with small boulders than big ones. But even the big ones will eventually break.
 
Donald Smith
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Ellendra Nauriel wrote:


Are they close enough to the surface you can get to them without equipment?

If so, there's a trick that might work. You'll probably want a cordless drill with a masonry bit.



As far as I can tell, they are all at the surface, I’m going to give this technique a try!
Worst come to worst, I’ll have hole-y rocks on my property 😉!
 
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