cheap driveway options?

[pepper]

Just curious, what's amongst the cheapest options for putting some type of material down to form a drive? I currently rent, not own, but if the price was right i might convince my landlord to do something so that i'm not just parking and driving in the grass (or now lack thereof) in my front yard. my house is close to the road so it wouldn't even be that much....

thanks!

 

[AAbsolute]

Just curious, what's amongst the cheapest options for putting some type of material down to form a drive? I currently rent, not own, but if the price was right i might convince my landlord to do something so that i'm not just parking and driving in the grass (or now lack thereof) in my front yard. my house is close to the road so it wouldn't even be that much....

thanks!

Concrete has small order charges so while it may be the least expensive per square foot you may still pay $700 just to get the minimum delivered. Figure
about $950 for a 20 x 20.

There are screenings that you can have delivered that people drive and park on. Screenings are fine rocks. Some people use limerock. It compacts hard and would cost about $650 for a minimal area.

Some people use (2) tracks of pavers wide enough for the auto tires to run on comfortably. They'll then use grass or rock as infill. Maybe this would be $500 for a decent job.

 

[beacheart]

Who is a good source of limerock or small gravel in the area?

 

[Groovegirls]

I haven't had that problem in a while but I have used pine straw to firm up a sandy driveway. Also oyster shell is usually cheaper that rock. Tom Stein on 331 usually carries the oyster shell (and gravel and road base). If the area is small enough you can collect the shell from restuarants but you will want to bleach them. Sometime you can find free material at a demo or remodel site (like all the concrete they just tore out of tom thumb). Good luck!

 

[Sarah Moss]

Cheapest Driveway- Cost: Labor & Bug Spray

We have a fairly long driveway and in the past have flagged down the company contracted to cut the right of way for Chelco. They have a huge wood chipper and are always looking for places to dump the chips. They’ve always been more than happy to dump a load in our driveway. It takes some work to get them spread (and pull out the pieces that are too large) but for us, it is worth it for the price. Our driveway is probably 200 feet or more and the cost of this (FREE) compared to other materials made it very attractive! Some neighborhoods may not allow it, but if you are currently parking on grass, then I'm guessing your neighbors wouldn't have a problem with it.

Cons: The worst thing about wood chips is that there are tons of bugs so the area will need to be sprayed. Also, If you have an uneven spot and it rains heavily they may wash away to the lower areas.

Not sure if this helps much since Chelco only cuts areas about every 5 years, but thought I'd toss it out there.

 

[Shane]

you can always just buy some concrete paver stones at Home Depot.. figure on $1.17 each and they're 12x12". I have a tiny backyard that I just covered up in pavers and made into a patio, it cost me about $200 total, I just put down a base layer of sand and plopped the pavers on top.

 

[Matt J]

you can always just buy some concrete paver stones at Home Depot.. figure on $1.17 each and they're 12x12". I have a tiny backyard that I just covered up in pavers and made into a patio, it cost me about $200 total, I just put down a base layer of sand and plopped the pavers on top.

If you didn't pack down the dirt, have a nice trip.

Seriously, I would spend my money on oysters and just use the left over shells.

 

[AAbsolute]

I haven't had that problem in a while but I have used pine straw to firm up a sandy driveway. Also oyster shell is usually cheaper that rock. Tom Stein on 331 usually carries the oyster shell (and gravel and road base). If the area is small enough you can collect the shell from restuarants but you will want to bleach them. Sometime you can find free material at a demo or remodel site (like all the concrete they just tore out of tom thumb). Good luck!

Thomas Stein can surely get any material suitable. Either of the Cooeys in Freeport have also delivered same. The concrete companies carry different rock and will let you pick up with a trailer if needed.

I forgot about the oyster shells, good idea. This summer we obtained oyster shells for free from restaurants in the area. We did have to soak them in bleach/water and scrub them a bit, but it worked well for what we were hired for.

 

[Matt J]

Forget the bleach, if you have the time use nature. First throw the shells on an ant bed. They will remove any remaining organic material and then simply leave them in the sun.

 

[scooterbug44]

Couple buckets of gravel ought to do the trick for a simple temp fix - if you do oyster shell, get it precrushed a little - think it's easier on the feet and tires.