Fixing driveway ruts before it gets cold again, worth it?

[nerwin]

So we had a rare significant warm up here in Vermont the last few days which unfortunately caused my driveway to get crazy soft and there are some deep ruts. Its too early for mud season! The thing is, there is some really cold weather coming..below zero and just single digits for daytime highs. So I believe the driveway will freeze solid and its gonna suck to plow with these ruts like this. Some of them are 6" deep.

its chilly today but above freezing. The driveway hardened up a little but I still can dig in the driveway with a shovel pretty easy. So I'm wondering if it would be worth putting the bucket on and trying to smooth these ruts out before it completely freezes again?

I just don't know the best way to do it because they are only on one side...maybe it would be smarter to be perpendicular to the ruts and just try to fill them back in so they are not deep and let it freeze that way so when I do go plow it won't be hard on the plow.

What would you do?

 

[mikester]

would be worth putting the bucket on and trying to smooth these ruts out before it completely freezes again?

Yes!

 

[chim]

.........................The driveway hardened up a little but I still can dig in the driveway with a shovel pretty easy. ...........................What would you do?

To answer your question, I'd go ahead and try to smooth it out before the freeze.

However, if the driveway has "hardened up a bit" and you can still dig it with a shovel, I'd redo the driveway in the Spring. I can't usually dig my YARD easily with a shovel. When we built back in '90 the excavation contractor put down a substantial base. The main driveway has since been paved, but the access to the sheds and propane tank is still as it was 34 years ago. A decent sized propane truck can back up to the sheds / tank in any season and doesn't even dent the gravel.

 

[CAPT Seabee]

The tribe has spoken. You can fill it with gravel, but that doesn't fix the pothole. When the ground thaws, a grader/scraper (with scrags) can be used to break down the wall of the pothole. The aggregate is remixed by the unit and no more pothole. Going over the road/drive before winter sets in pays off during the winter.

 

[Benhameen]

Just redid mine with the grader/ scraper a couple days ago, just before it gets nasty around here. So my answer would be yes, fix what you can while you can.

 

[JRHill]

I've always practiced adding material to fix a road and to avoid grading except to smooth material added. And by 'material' I refer to something that will interlock and pack and not melt or wash away. This all depends on your road base and what is easy and economical to have in your location.

 

[nerwin]

I'm not sure y'all understanding what I'm saying. Due to it warming up, everything has turned into mud around here. Not just my driveway. Just the nature of living in Vermont sometimes. There's no sense in completely redoing the driveway right now in the middle of winter lol. The ruts were several inches deep....when the cold snap that is coming the driveway will freeze SOLID and when I need to plow its just gonna make a mess or put more stress on the plow/tractor.

So I got on the tractor and drove up and down to kinda pack the ruts back in some and then I used the bucket and just smoothed it out. It worked incredibly well, no more ruts. yes there are pot holes but its smoother now so when it freezes it won't have this huge ruts, I'll be able to plow more easily. Didn't take me long, just 20 minutes. Man sure beats a dang shovel and rake!!

 

[John T]

you should see if anyone has any stockpiled screened asphalt millings nearby...
they work pretty good once you grade it out and compact it.

poor mans hot top driveway...

 

[nerwin]

you should see if anyone has any stockpiled screened asphalt millings nearby...
they work pretty good once you grade it out and compact it.

poor mans hot top driveway...

When it's warm and dry out...won't be till may or june lol

 

[Donystoy]

Any idea what kind of base you have under the driveway? This is usually an indication of an insufficient base of larger stone. I had about 12" of railway stone put down first before the top layers of crusher run went down. Driveway is 4000 feet long and have never had potholes. I have a couple of areas that get a bit soft from insufficient drainage which I plan on fixing. If a driveway is generally on flat ground, it should be raised up.

 

[nerwin]

Any idea what kind of base you have under the driveway? This is usually an indication of an insufficient base of larger stone. I had about 12" of railway stone put down first before the top layers of crusher run went down. Driveway is 4000 feet long and have never had potholes. I have a couple of areas that get a bit soft from insufficient drainage which I plan on fixing. If a driveway is generally on flat ground, it should be raised up.

I have no idea what's under it. All I know is it doesn't take long before you hit just plain ol' dirt. There is not much of a solid base. It's something that I'd love to fix. The rest of the drive way holds up pretty well, its just the main part of it gets nasty pot holes.

I would love to scrape off the top stuff and dump it in a pile and then dig down a bit and get rid whatever is under the driveway and fill it in with proper driveway base and pack it in and then put new "stay-mat" on top. That's what we call sure pack gravel around here on. In the summer the stuff packs really really hard and smooth enough to squeal your tires on lol.

The problem though is a) the driveway has sunk a bit, needs more material to get it above the lawn. b) probably poor drainage for the driveway, unsure how to fix that one....I think having it higher and crowning it should at least let the water roll off to the sides. There's flat lawn on both sides....I guess it could be possible to dig drainage lines on the side and add corrugated drainage pipe to the nearby stream but man that's a lot of work and also there are a lot of powerlines and cable lines that run directly under the driveway so I have to be extra careful!

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I have no idea what's under it. All I know is it doesn't take long before you hit just plain ol' dirt. There is not much of a solid base.

The problem though is a) the driveway has sunk a bit, needs more material to get it above the lawn. b) probably poor drainage for the driveway, unsure how to fix that one....I think having it higher and crowning it should at least let the water roll off to the sides. There's flat lawn on both sides....I guess it could be possible to dig drainage lines on the side and add corrugated drainage pipe to the nearby stream but man that's a lot of work and also there are a lot of powerlines and cable lines that run directly under the driveway so I have to be extra careful!

All you can do right now is flatten it. Sounds like your real issue is water saturated base. You need to crown the base and provide whatever swales, ditches, culverts, etc is required to route water off so it doesn't sit there and soak in. You may need to haul in some fill or pull some in from the yard to build up the road base.

 

[nerwin]

All you can do right now is flatten it. Sounds like your real issue is water saturated base. You need to crown the base and provide whatever swales, ditches, culverts, etc is required to route water off so it doesn't sit there and soak in. You may need to haul in some fill or pull some in from the yard to build up the road base.

It the summer it generally holds up really well once graded. It's when winter and spring happen is where it turns into a mess. But yes I need to build it up...I haven't ordered any material for a few years. I don't understand where it all goes lol. Over the years I must have had 30+ yards of driveway mix tailgated. It just disappears haha.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I have no idea what's under it. All I know is it doesn't take long before you hit just plain ol' dirt. There is not much of a solid base. It's something that I'd love to fix. The rest of the drive way holds up pretty well, its just the main part of it gets nasty pot holes.

I would love to scrape off the top stuff and dump it in a pile and then dig down a bit and get rid whatever is under the driveway and fill it in with proper driveway base and pack it in and then put new "stay-mat" on top. That's what we call sure pack gravel around here on. In the summer the stuff packs really really hard and smooth enough to squeal your tires on lol.

The problem though is a) the driveway has sunk a bit, needs more material to get it above the lawn. b) probably poor drainage for the driveway, unsure how to fix that one....I think having it higher and crowning it should at least let the water roll off to the sides. There's flat lawn on both sides....I guess it could be possible to dig drainage lines on the side and add corrugated drainage pipe to the nearby stream but man that's a lot of work and also there are a lot of powerlines and cable lines that run directly under the driveway so I have to be extra careful!

If you rework the driveway look at road cloth, makes a world of difference.

 

[nerwin]

If you rework the driveway look at road cloth, makes a world of difference.

A section of my driveway has that stuff but only where we park.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

5 decades ago helped a friend line his 1,000' driveway with grinding stones. NOT the 4.5 inch version, the 4.5 FOOT ones. yeah too 2 months(stones were free ),he's only had 3-4 runs of gravel since then.
BASE, you gotta have a GREAT BASE. You can pay to 'top dress' until the cows come home and just wasting your coins
neighbour across the road used concrete foundation of new house the kid's torched just before windows were put in..now that's a SOLID base.....