Old tires for a road base

85Hokie

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Jul 13, 2013
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Many years ago I was in charge of cutting the outer rings of tires like that for the large orange barrels you see on roads to separate lanes. There were used for weight to keep the barrels in place.

I was covered in rubber daily - it was not fun at all.


Are all those very close to the same size tire?

Brilliant idea! Like to see a road that is about 5 years old - how does it hold up?
 

mcfarmall

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Sep 11, 2013
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Unfortunately I only have 2 old tires laying around. Might make for a nice short sidewalk.
 
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motionclone

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I remember when retaining walls built of gravel filled tires where the thing but got outlawed because tires leach something into the soil. Its probably a banned practice in many states at this point.
 

fried1765

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I remember when retaining walls built of gravel filled tires where the thing but got outlawed because tires leach something into the soil. Its probably a banned practice in many states at this point.
In the 70's I spread thousands of gallons of used motor oil on my 1/3 mile driveway. 😬
Home made asphalt!
 

Biker1mike

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In the 70's I spread thousands of gallons of used motor oil on my 1/3 mile driveway. 😬
Home made asphalt!
Yeah, and I spent most of my career working to clean up groundwater and deep aquifers from just this type of disposal. No judgement as this was a common thing back in the day. Amazing how many common actions turned out so bad a few decades later.
 
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The Evil Twin

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The idea is solid. No pun intended. There is a product called Geocell that can be used under gravel drives. Considering a high traffic drive should be 12" of gravel, the depth of the tires isn't bad. Although I prefer to use #1 or #2 stone as a base layer. For the soil around here anyway. If I had kept all my old motorcycle tires over the last decade I might have had enough.
1676078907733.png
 
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Mark_BX25D

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Seems like that would take a WHOLE lot more rock than doing it normally.
The idea is that you do it ONCE and done. It doesn't go anywhere like a regular gravel driveway will. Plus, it will handle way more heavy traffic.

That and the geotextile should keep it in place. I trenched alongside my driveway a few years ago, and got a nice cross-section of it. Gravel down a good 18 or more inches and it still needs new gravel from time to time. It just keeps migrating down. And yes, it also goes sideways out into the forest on one side and the lawn on the other.


I know about the geocell, but the tires are a new one on me. I'd be interested in seeing the long term durability. Tires are a problem in landfills because their shape and flexibility cause them to wiggle their way to the top. That's the reason our local landfill won't accept them unless they are cut into quarters. I'm wondering if the same problem would happen. But maybe with the sides cut out that doesn't happen?

Anyway, the chemical leaching is still a factor. I remember reading about the issue that motionclone mentioned.
 

Henro

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My first thought when looking at the first photo was…

“Who wears bell bottom pants these days?”
 
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mikester

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www.divergentstuff.ca
I remember when retaining walls built of gravel filled tires where the thing but got outlawed because tires leach something into the soil. Its probably a banned practice in many states at this point.
Banned due to tire leaching? Sounds like government crock and bull to me, need to ban cars at that point.
 

GreensvilleJay

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A friend's 700' driveway has a base of grinding stones,in a 4-3-4-3-4-3-.... pattern, then 'gravel' on top. we put them down in 75 or 76(had the red CJ-5 then...). He's only top dresssed the driveway twice since then.
Grinding stones were 4 FEET in diameter,rolled real nice but a pain to lift.
 

Flintknapper

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In the 70's I spread thousands of gallons of used motor oil on my 1/3 mile driveway. 😬
Home made asphalt!
^^^^^

Common practice for many years...here in Rural Deep East Texas for the 'County' to construct certain 'County Roads' out of sandy loam mixed with oil. Locally referred to as 'Oil Top Roads'.

It compacts into a surprisingly durable surface as long as really heavy equipment or trucks are kept off of it.

No longer a practice here since about the 2005.
 

motionclone

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Banned due to tire leaching? Sounds like government crock and bull to me, need to ban cars at that point.
I agree and yes they are trying to ban cars it seems
 

torch

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Neat idea, but I'm wondering how well the tires would stay in place in a frost-prone area.
 
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GreensvilleJay

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well what's old is new again...
City of Hamilton,Ontario does the 'tar and chip' roads.... 4 years ago they did mine, rained next day, wife's veggie garden was BLACK ! City, MOE and contractor didn't care... when the contractor said 'I've seen worse', I left otherwise he'd have a widow.
 

JimmyJazz

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well what's old is new again...
City of Hamilton,Ontario does the 'tar and chip' roads.... 4 years ago they did mine, rained next day, wife's veggie garden was BLACK ! City, MOE and contractor didn't care... when the contractor said 'I've seen worse', I left otherwise he'd have a widow.
"otherwise he'd have a widow" Thats a great line that I had not heard before. Thanks.
 

skeets

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Way back in the mid 70s a sportsman's club I belonged to had a trap and rifle range right next to a creek. And every year the bank got washed away deeper in to the range. One member had an old dozer, and god forbid cut a new channel for the creek. And then cleaned up the bank to the bed rock which as I remember was only about 3 feet down. I dont know where the tires came from but there was a ton of them and a pile of old chain. We meaning the young guy on that field day, wen into the water and used the chain to link them together. And the dozer did his thing and filled that layer with creek sand and rock. and the next layer went on, and on and on till we ran out of tires and chain. The last time I was out at the old homestead I went down to the old club grounds, a lot of things have changed over the last 50 years and most of the people involved are dead, but the bank is right where we left it!
 
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