Tar and chip driveway

[Daly]

Does anybody have a tar and chip driveway? 

 

I need to do something with my driveway, right now it is just gravel and I'm tired of picking the gravel out of my lawn every spring. I'm not paying $30k to do concrete, I don't mind the $12k for asphalt, but Tar and chip is significantly cheaper and I'm wondering if anybody on here has it and If you'd recommend it? I won't be doing all tar and chip or asphalt, there is a bit go concrete going in at the front of the garage where I work on my cars, but for the part that's just for parking I'm looking for a cheap, simple solution to shitty gravel. 

 

Any opinions?

[RyanbabZ71]

They do this on country roads around here. They typically reapply each year so that may be a consideration if it isn’t permanent as asphalt or concrete


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[Daly]

Yeah they use it on the roads here too, but I was hoping for some input on personal driveways. Roads see a lot more use and heavier traffic, like farm equipment, so I don't expect them to last for ever. So it's not really a fair comparison with a driveway. 

[KARNUT]

Crushed concrete on my driveway. Once packed down it stays.


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[DMT6]

If the subgrade is good and solid I would think it would hold up well. Even asphalt is only as strong as the subgrade it's place on.

[aseibel]

You want to tar and chip right on top of gravel? I don't know how that would hold up in the spring when the ground is soft.

I have a long gravel drive with screenings, or 1/2" gravel with fines. in the summer its as hard as concrete. But in spring its a little soft.

 

I presume your problem is with the plow pushing gravel into the lawn. I just don't scrape it clean until the ground is frozen. If we get a big snow storm before its frozen, I either drive on it and pack it down or plow with the blade up a little bit. I have minimized my gravel in the grass. Still a little area I have to rake every year where i pile it, but not the whole length of my driveway.

[Daly]

No I'll be taking the gravel out, which is really just recycled asphalt. I want to make the driveway a little wider in some area's and I need to raise it in a few other area's. So, I'll be putting a base layer of A grade down like you would for asphalt and using old railway ties as an edge/curb.  I was thinking, I could save a bit of money now and put that money into an extension on the garage, then I a few years pave asphalt over the tar and chip, which would've been applied over a good base. 

[aseibel]

unless i don't understand what you are trying to do, i don't think putting down tar on a base of just gravel will hold up beyond 1 year. The point of tar is to seal the layer of asphalt below it. if you don't have a sold layer of asphalt beneath it, the tar alone isn't going to hold your gravel together very long.

 

recyled asphalt is a pretty decent driveway base. I think if it was me, I'd just get another load or 2 and grade/fill-in/level your existing drive. But without seeing it, i don't really know.

[sdeeter19555]

unless i don't understand what you are trying to do, i don't think putting down tar on a base of just gravel will hold up beyond 1 year. The point of tar is to seal the layer of asphalt below it. if you don't have a sold layer of asphalt beneath it, the tar alone isn't going to hold your gravel together very long.
 
recyled asphalt is a pretty decent driveway base. I think if it was me, I'd just get another load or 2 and grade/fill-in/level your existing drive. But without seeing it, i don't really know.

They tar and chip dirt roads around here all the time, they hold up fairly well considering the freeze/thaw and traffic they see. The main thing that is needed is a very good (solid) base that won't turn to mush during a freeze/thaw cycle.

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[aseibel]

yeah, I live on a town road that was just chip sealed this summer (same thing as you are talking about)

 

But the road is paved with asphalt beneath. I'm just saying, I would not pay for tar to be applied to a loose substrate, no matter how well its compacted. just my opinion. I would wait and save up for asphalt in the future. and when you do asphalt, make sure you have a good thick gravel base under the entire area, or that will sink, bulge & crack in the spring as well.

[sdeeter19555]

The roads around here start as dirt, and are tarred and chipped. While not ideal, it makes a smooth and durable surface. Build that up over a few years and it's as durable as asphalt.

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[KARNUT]

This brings back memories growing up in the country in NJ. They did the same thing, virgin dirt roads graded smooth then tar and chipped repeat every once in awhile. Worked very well. Low speed low traffic roads.


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[BjorneLubbock]

Hey, man. It all depends on your needs and ideas, actually. Do you have any references on what you’d like to have in your yard? I have a close friend working at https://jscustomlandscaping.com , so I guess you could contact him for further work details. I’d highly recommend you prepare the pics of what you’d like your landscape design to look like in advance. That would save much of your and his time. You know, the main mistake I made was not asking my wife for her thoughts on the yard design. Luckily she liked the design I chose,  but I still wish I had asked her about it. So, that’s what I’d recommend you to do. Best wishes.

Edited September 27, 2022 by BjorneLubbock