Russell Grayson

Russell Grayson wrote:

Timothy Norton wrote:I'm not an expert on gravel roads, but what is your drainage situation? On such a slope where you are seeing gravel washing out, is there an opportunity for culverts or other water management systems to try and deal with washouts? Not sure if that is something you could plan in if you are considering putting in geotiles.

Thanks for the note, Timothy. My only washout issue is in the bottom 15 feet of the driveway, where the water has picked up some steam and some gravel. If I'm using GeoGrids I'm not even going to bother with a French Drain=seems like a waste of time since I'm only experiencing surface movement of gravel.

Looks like I might be using THIS product eventually. It's readily available. but it's flexible not rigid, so I'll only use it if I can't find a rigid option before I redo the driveway: https://rutguard.com/

Timothy Norton wrote:I'm not an expert on gravel roads, but what is your drainage situation? On such a slope where you are seeing gravel washing out, is there an opportunity for culverts or other water management systems to try and deal with washouts? Not sure if that is something you could plan in if you are considering putting in geotiles.

Thanks for the note, Timothy. My only washout issue is in the bottom 15 feet of the driveway, where the water has picked up some steam and some gravel. If I'm using GeoGrids I'm not even going to bother with a French Drain=seems like a waste of time since I'm only experiencing surface movement of gravel.

Russell Grayson wrote:

Russell Grayson wrote:My home's builder(1999) built my house on a tract adjacent to his family's 5 acres by hacking out 1 acre for his mother in law. He then divorced the wife and mommy-in-law moved in with her to help w/the kids. I don't know if THAT'S why he built my gravel driveway going straight up a hill at about a 28˚ grade. I've lived here almost 4 yrs and the UPS truck (not as bad due to dual rear wheels) and the FedEx trucks (no dual rear wheels, NOT 4x4, and driven by idiots under 30) that just accelerate when their tires spin, have gullied out my lower 2/3 of a 90' driveway down (top 8' are flat and tight) to the dirt--a sandy clay loam typical in the Blue Ridge Mountains of far western NC. I'm going to have to get a grader to come in an scrape the driveway bed before I lay any new gravel. However, I'm not planning on watching the gravel wash out every time we get a good soaking 2-4" of rain--at least 5 or 6 times every year. So I've researched and discovered recycled hard plastic grids (bear 40 tons per sq. meter) that come in various sizes. I first found a great US product called Diamond Grid that they even use for Mine Roads, but the calls to their distributors near me (Atlanta & Mississippi) reveal that nobody stocks the product due to poor sales motility. The next-best so far seem to be Hebden X Grids--made in the UK, and I'm unable to find a US distributor yet. I emailed them, and I'm waiting for a response. Their grids are 1 meter square and interlock. If I get 50 I can underlay my gravel (2 grids) 6'6" wide, by 81.25' long (25 grids). With landscaping cloth laid underneath, and 10" J-pegs anchoring the grids, I can gravel in 1/2" to 3/4" fines with some dust, compact with a vibrator or a small Road Roller and I should be golden. Obviously, I'm laying my plan out here for wiser, more experienced heads to give me an enlightenment if they think I need it. What do y'all think of my plan?

Wellllll...Best laid plans, etc: The Diamond Grids are still something I'm looking for, because the Brits wrote back (TWO nice letters from two nice people) saying "sorry, but this is closed-loop recycling: we only use recycled UK plastic and we keep it here in the UK only. We won't ship it out of the UK; we would expect payment in Sterling, not dollars because we aren't set up to take foreign currencies (ever hear of PayPal?) and we only deliver to UK addresses." SO THAT thought, while a good one, is a dead end. I found a Chinese company, but I'm REALLY trying to avoid that route. I just don't trust any Chinese made products. In 10 years, I'll find out that they put nuclear waste in them or something...The search continues. Fu** it. I need time to save up the bucks anyway, so I can save as I search, and I'll update as I go along. When I finally get my ducks in a row (quack, quack) I'll post progress pics at every stage of the re-build of my driveway.

I've discovered a flexible PVC grid that I can buy on Amazon if need be, but it seems as though my intuition about using a gravel grid for the foundational layer are right on the mark: https://pavingfinder.com/expert-advice/gravel-driveway-on-a-slope/

Russell Grayson wrote:My home's builder(1999) built my house on a tract adjacent to his family's 5 acres by hacking out 1 acre for his mother in law. He then divorced the wife and mommy-in-law moved in with her to help w/the kids. I don't know if THAT'S why he built my gravel driveway going straight up a hill at about a 28˚ grade. I've lived here almost 4 yrs and the UPS truck (not as bad due to dual rear wheels) and the FedEx trucks (no dual rear wheels, NOT 4x4, and driven by idiots under 30) that just accelerate when their tires spin, have gullied out my lower 2/3 of a 90' driveway down (top 8' are flat and tight) to the dirt--a sandy clay loam typical in the Blue Ridge Mountains of far western NC. I'm going to have to get a grader to come in an scrape the driveway bed before I lay any new gravel. However, I'm not planning on watching the gravel wash out every time we get a good soaking 2-4" of rain--at least 5 or 6 times every year. So I've researched and discovered recycled hard plastic grids (bear 40 tons per sq. meter) that come in various sizes. I first found a great US product called Diamond Grid that they even use for Mine Roads, but the calls to their distributors near me (Atlanta & Mississippi) reveal that nobody stocks the product due to poor sales motility. The next-best so far seem to be Hebden X Grids--made in the UK, and I'm unable to find a US distributor yet. I emailed them, and I'm waiting for a response. Their grids are 1 meter square and interlock. If I get 50 I can underlay my gravel (2 grids) 6'6" wide, by 81.25' long (25 grids). With landscaping cloth laid underneath, and 10" J-pegs anchoring the grids, I can gravel in 1/2" to 3/4" fines with some dust, compact with a vibrator or a small Road Roller and I should be golden. Obviously, I'm laying my plan out here for wiser, more experienced heads to give me an enlightenment if they think I need it. What do y'all think of my plan?

Wellllll...Best laid plans, etc: The Diamond Grids are still something I'm looking for, because the Brits wrote back (TWO nice letters from two nice people) saying "sorry, but this is closed-loop recycling: we only use recycled UK plastic and we keep it here in the UK only. We won't ship it out of the UK; we would expect payment in Sterling, not dollars because we aren't set up to take foreign currencies (ever hear of PayPal?) and we only deliver to UK addresses." SO THAT thought, while a good one, is a dead end. I found a Chinese company, but I'm REALLY trying to avoid that route. I just don't trust any Chinese made products. In 10 years, I'll find out that they put nuclear waste in them or something...The search continues. Fu** it. I need time to save up the bucks anyway, so I can save as I search, and I'll update as I go along. Whe I finally get my ducks ina row (quack, quack) I'll post progress pics at every stage of the re-build of my driveway.

My home's builder(1999) built my house on a tract adjacent to his family's 5 acres by hacking out 1 acre for his mother in law. He then divorced the wife and mommy-in-law moved in with her to help w/the kids. I don't know if THAT'S why he built my gravel driveway going straight up a hill at about a 28˚ grade. I've lived here almost 4 yrs and the UPS truck (not as bad due to dual rear wheels) and the FedEx trucks (no dual rear wheels, NOT 4x4, and driven by idiots under 30) that just accelerate when their tires spin, have gullied out my lower 2/3 of a 90' driveway down (top 8' are flat and tight) to the dirt--a sandy clay loam typical in the Blue Ridge Mountains of far western NC. I'm going to have to get a grader to come in an scrape the driveway bed before I lay any new gravel. However, I'm not planning on watching the gravel wash out every time we get a good soaking 2-4" of rain--at least 5 or 6 times every year. So I've researched and discovered recycled hard plastic grids (bear 40 tons per sq. meter) that come in various sizes. I first found a great US product called Diamond Grid that they even use for Mine Roads, but the calls to their distributors near me (Atlanta & Mississippi) reveal that nobody stocks the product due to poor sales motility. The next-best so far seem to be Hebden X Grids--made in the UK, and I'm unable to find a US distributor yet. I emailed them, and I'm waiting for a response. Their grids are 1 meter square and interlock. If I get 50 I can underlay my gravel (2 grids) 6'6" wide, by 81.25' long (25 grids). With landscaping cloth laid underneath, and 10" J-pegs anchoring the grids, I can gravel in 1/2" to 3/4" fines with some dust, compact with a vibrator or a small Road Roller and I should be golden. Obviously, I'm laying my plan out here for wiser, more experienced heads to give me an enlightenment if they think I need it. What do y'all think of my plan?