NF - driveway paving

[goteeboy]

Spring is here. It might be time to widen the driveway so I had a few questions.

 

currently i have a single lane driveway that can fit the length of two cars, but i'd like to widen it to fit four cars.

 

questions.

 

1. one option is to do the work myself and widen it with interlocking stone or to call asphalt pavers to do it themselves. any idea on the cost of the latter option?

2. if i choose to do the work myself any idea on how deep i need to dig, how many inches of gravel? what size gravel? and then how much sand? also, how long should i leave the gravel and drive over it before laying the stone or brick? i've heard up to a year is a good time so the gravel/ground can settle. anything else i should be aware of?

 

any contractors out there?

 

thanks.

[JohnF]

Be careful with zoning regs. Some municipalities are kinda tough about driveways exceeding garage capacity and setback/parking regs.

 

JF

[MooseMerch]

Hey I work for a Paving company, we don't do d-ways but if you measure the area you want paved, post it and i can tell you how many tonnes it'll take. If you get a company to do it I recommend Tri-Son Paving. PM me if you want more info.

[Joey]

Yep, what John said, you need to contact your municipality for them to come and survey how much more driveway you are allowed. They also spraypaint where you can and cannot dig aswell (ie. water pipes, gas lines etc.) You also have to pay them to have the curb cut where the extension will be, which you also need permission to do.

 

I just had mine done in September so if you have any more questions, let me know.

 

Joey

[lookinforwalleye]

We don`t need no stinking permits!!!

 

 

Yup what John and Joey said most muni`s are pretty strict and for good reason I could imagine that there are those out there that would pave their front lawn if they could to stores cars/trucks/sleds ect.etc, some people don`t care what the neighbourhood looks like.

[BUSTER]

I called the city to get my curb cut to the widen my driveway, city was $80.00 a meter last year to cut city owed curb, I had to provide the copy of the survey to show i wasnt going past my property line and they gave the go ahead to widen, now i only did 1.5 meters wider so double the width i dont know about,the city came and cut the curb in a couple days, then i called the paving company to widen the ashphalt they asked no questions about permits or nothing it was I think $3.00 sq ft for them to pave it with unerlay etc....

[JohnF]

I called the city to get my curb cut to the widen my driveway, city was $80.00 a meter last year to cut city owed curb, I had to provide the copy of the survey to show i wasnt going past my property line and they gave the go ahead to widen, now i only did 1.5 meters wider so double the width i dont know about,the city came and cut the curb in a couple days, then i called the paving company to widen the ashphalt they asked no questions about permits or nothing it was I think $3.00 sq ft for them to pave it with unerlay etc....

 

You live in a benevolent community. I can tell you stories of property owners who were ordered to cut out paving that exceeded the allowed limits. Typically in subdivisions around here the front wall of the house is right on the 25' setback line and since overnight parking is technically illegal within the prescribed setback area the municipality does not allow a drive wider than the garage unless there's sideyard available for legal parking, and of course, because of the high cost of urban land today, most modern houses go right out to the minimum sideyard requirement (generally 12' total) so there's no room for a car there.

 

JF

[sirfish]

I have a 22 X 50 driveway and last spring I priced out asphalt and concrete......guess what the concrete was slightly above the price of the asphalt because of the price of oil....AND as an added bonus he quoted me $1500 for my 16x16 patio and a 4ft wide walkway the lenght of my garage. Total $6500 sumolies...unfortunately they are not in your area ,sorry. But well worth checking out both.

[Tomcat]

I'd recommend you have the "right" contractor do the job. Sure it will cost $$ but, if done properly, it will last for years. I had my driveway completely redone 4 years ago with asphalt and interlock. The contractor dug down 20 inches plus. Installed Geotextile material and followed with a 4 inch layer of 3/4" crushed stone. He dispersed a bag of Portland Cement over the stone, watered it down slightly and then compacted it. This layer of 4 inches of stone, cement and compacting was repeated until the driveway level was where he wanted it. Driveway still looks great after 4 years. Find a contractor who will satisfy or exceed standards established by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute.

[dheitzner]

I work for a geotechnical engineering company, and I would say minimum a minimum of 6"of properly compacted Granular 'A' or 3/4"Crusher-Run limestone would be sufficient as a base. If your subgrade is closer to clay, go with 10-12", in areas of sandy subgrade, 6" is more than enough. Follow that up with 60mm of HL-3 Asphalt, and you'll have a driveway that will hold up for the foreseeable future. When the paver is laying the asphalt, have someone check the thickness with a nail, these guys buy asphalt by the ton and may try and skim a bit off the top. Also, when discussing asphalt thickness, make sure to specify 60mm of asphalt packed. That should work out to around 75mm loose.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me, I can also point you in the right direction of a quality contractor. If you want I'd be happy to come over and take a look.

[ch312]

I have a 22 X 50 driveway and last spring I priced out asphalt and concrete......guess what the concrete was slightly above the price of the asphalt because of the price of oil....AND as an added bonus he quoted me $1500 for my 16x16 patio and a 4ft wide walkway the lenght of my garage. Total $6500 sumolies...unfortunately they are not in your area ,sorry. But well worth checking out both.

 

ive been doing concrete work for 7+ years now and i can tell you right now to be careful when it comes to people doing it that cheap. they are either trying to make some cash on the side (no warranties, no paper trail if they screw you, etc) or they are going to do a poor job and not prepare the base properly. id stay away from these guys unless they are buddies doing you a favor.

 

even if paying cash the price you stated for the total job is ridiculously low. you're looking at 15 meters or so (not including the walkway) and the proper concrete will cost $3k alone. add in removal and disposal of soil/existing concrete, 20-25 yards of gravel, labor, steel, etc and theres no profit left for the guy doing the job. meaning they will skimp on important things like base preparation, steel, proper concrete and thickness, finish, coming back to cut it, etc.

 

id stay away unless he is a good buddy.

[MooseMerch]

I work for a geotechnical engineering company, and I would say minimum a minimum of 6"of properly compacted Granular 'A' or 3/4"Crusher-Run limestone would be sufficient as a base. If your subgrade is closer to clay, go with 10-12", in areas of sandy subgrade, 6" is more than enough. Follow that up with 60mm of HL-3 Asphalt, and you'll have a driveway that will hold up for the foreseeable future. When the paver is laying the asphalt, have someone check the thickness with a nail, these guys buy asphalt by the ton and may try and skim a bit off the top. Also, when discussing asphalt thickness, make sure to specify 60mm of asphalt packed. That should work out to around 75mm loose.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me, I can also point you in the right direction of a quality contractor. If you want I'd be happy to come over and take a look.

 

I'd make sure they use a mix with manufactured sand, and no RAP, this will make it much more stable.

[Governator]

If memory serves me right (and it usually does not), someone posted here last year about getting fined by the city that their driveway was too wide or maybe they were parking on the grass and the city came down on them.. I really don't remember the post so this is rather useless but it was interesting nonetheless.

 

Anyone know what I'm talking about lol? Regardless, I'd say check with the city, pay for the right contractors and do it right. You probably aren't able to extend it as wide as you think.

[HTHM]

Spring is here. It might be time to widen the driveway so I had a few questions.

 

currently i have a single lane driveway that can fit the length of two cars, but i'd like to widen it to fit four cars.

 

questions.

 

1. one option is to do the work myself and widen it with interlocking stone or to call asphalt pavers to do it themselves. any idea on the cost of the latter option?

2. if i choose to do the work myself any idea on how deep i need to dig, how many inches of gravel? what size gravel? and then how much sand? also, how long should i leave the gravel and drive over it before laying the stone or brick? i've heard up to a year is a good time so the gravel/ground can settle. anything else i should be aware of?

 

any contractors out there?

 

thanks.

Question 1 - to do interlock yourself is not difficult, it is much like doing a puzzle, but all the peices fit. If ypu are going to go with ashphalt, I would suggest that a REPUTABLE contractor will do a better job than you can. They have the right equipment.

Question 2 A- depth of excavation for a driveway should be 14 - 16" granular to be layered ---- 6" rip-rap 2 -3 " size, 4" type "A" , 2" of screenings or sharp concrete sand for a setting bed. (I prefer screenings because ants do not like to nest in it as much as sand.)

Question 2 B - provided the sub-grade has gone through 2 freeze - thaw cycles (2 winters) and is undisturbed by the excavation it should be able to support the granular base. Prior to infilling wih granular I would suggest the the sub grade is compacted. As the infill is beng done the granular should be compacted in 4" lifts.

Question 2 C - You should be aware that interlock is back-breaking work and done right will last a lifetime.

Good luck with the project!

[bucktail]

I have to get mine done as well, the hardest part is for any company it seems people say is good another says they are bad! Man I dont know who to trust.

If I remember the City of Burlington passed a bylaw last year that needs you to get a permit to do it, I remember reading it was to control the percentage of paved to unpaved frontage on a property.

[goteeboy]

i'm getting an estimate by a dude recommended on Mike Holmes' website. i'll tell you all how that goes.

[John Bacon]

If memory serves me right (and it usually does not), someone posted here last year about getting fined by the city that their driveway was too wide or maybe they were parking on the grass and the city came down on them.. I really don't remember the post so this is rather useless but it was interesting nonetheless.

 

Anyone know what I'm talking about lol? Regardless, I'd say check with the city, pay for the right contractors and do it right. You probably aren't able to extend it as wide as you think.

 

In Toronto, and probably most other cities, it is generally illegal to park in front of your house regardless of whether the area is paved or not. If you have a garage your must only park in or infront of your garage. Even of your driveway has been widened and a portion of it is in front of your house, it is illegal to actually park there.

 

I don't think that parking on grass per se is the issue; however, if you are parked on grass you are probably parked where you are not allowed to park.

 

It used to be pretty easy to get away with illegally widening your driveway in Toronto but they are now starting to enforce the rules. You need a permit to pave your driveway. They have inspectors who roam the city looking for people who pave without a permit. If you have a sidewalk alongside the driveway it must be 6" higher than the driveway to discourage parking on it.

[Radnine]

If memory serves me right (and it usually does not), someone posted here last year about getting fined by the city that their driveway was too wide or maybe they were parking on the grass and the city came down on them.. I really don't remember the post so this is rather useless but it was interesting nonetheless.

 

Anyone know what I'm talking about lol? Regardless, I'd say check with the city, pay for the right contractors and do it right. You probably aren't able to extend it as wide as you think.

 

I remember that post well. Mainly because while people were lining up to say what a bunch of Richards the city was being, one or two brave soles mentioned that rules were in place to stop dopes from paving their lawns and filling them with kaput vehicles.

Now if only I can remember who those brilliant upstream swimmers were..........

Jim

[Dara]

I have paved a few driveways in my day. I worked as an estimator for a road building company after I did my engineering tech in college.

 

If you have clay you want to go about 2' down. geotextile on that is a good idea. It keeps the clay from boiling up into your gravel base.

If you are lucky you will have some slope to the road and when things get wet your new gravel will drain down to the road. If not, the hole you dug in the clay will fill like a swimming pool and when it freezes its going to move.

Weeping tile down each side of the paved area is a good idea.

 

Assuming you have good drainage you compact 18" of pit run gravel into your hole, then 6" of granular A on top.

Then whatever top you want on it. Stone dust for your brick, concrete or asphalt right on top. You gotta adjust your depth of excavation for the thickness of whatever you put on top.

 

If you are in sand or well drained material you want to go with the 6" of granular A. Kinda depends on how solid your existing ground is. If its soft you may want a bit of pit run in there too. You need a solid base thats drained to keep the top from moving. Granular A is graded to pack very hard. The pit run packs and drains well.

 

It sounds like I am rambling but drainage is key. If it doesn't drain you should go with interlocking brick because when it heaves you can take it out, relevel the whole thing and put it back again.