Driveway Decision?

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Cropped way down.

I'd get some quotes just to replace that section only with concrete.

[908/930]

I would get a quote to replace sections. One snag could be getting the concrete back to fill in those sections without doing more damage, normal size loaded concrete truck is about 70,000lbs most driveways won't like that weight.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by 908/930

I would get a quote to replace sections. One snag could be getting the concrete back to fill in those sections without doing more damage, normal size loaded concrete truck is about 70,000lbs most driveways won't like that weight.

Around here they have ways to get the concrete where it's needed - other than diving on the customer's property.

[908/930]

Yes, boom pumps are very handy, line pump would also work well.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Baz

I'd get some quotes just to replace that section only with concrete.

Agree. Saw Cut across driveway and replace section(s). Concrete will crack, sawcut or joints control where it cracks.

Do you have sawcuts/expansion joints along the driveway?

Originally Posted by 908/930

I would get a quote to replace sections. One snag could be getting the concrete back to fill in those sections without doing more damage, normal size loaded concrete truck is about 70,000lbs most driveways won't like that weight.

Concrete pump. Made them pump my pool from the street, 300', not an issue. We use them for foundations often.

[rfuerst911sc]

You also might find a 2-3 man crew that will mix on site . And some concrete companies have smaller trucks for odd situations where the big boy can't go . That's in addition to the already mentioned pumper trucks . Delivery method should be discussed with each quote so no additional damage occurs .

[TimT]

If you top with asphalt, the concrete cracks will reflect though.. It may look good for awhile, but eventually the asphalt will crack, water will infiltrate, and the asphalt will delaminate.. Asphalt=Band-Aid

[TimT]

Also find out if suppliers around you have what we call Z mixers.. They are basically mobile concrete batch plants.. they carry the basic ingredients for concrete, and can mix different concrete mix designs, add admixtures, on site, on the fly.. much better than having someone hand mix bags of Sakrete

[Zeke]

The best answer will come from our member Daepp. There are other builders here, of course, but that's what he does.

I would be great if someone could affordably create concrete rubble out of the existing in place, compact it, and cap it with your choice. Never seen anything even close. Running a D9 Cat over it for a bit would sure show you the weak spots.

From what I've seen I'd end up with a gravel road.

[TimT]

I would be great if someone could affordably create concrete rubble out of the existing in place, compact it, and cap it with your choice.

That used to be a practice accepted by FHWA and many DOTs.. It fell out of favor in urban areas because the impacts and vibrations caused by the equipment breaking and compacting the existing concrete base played havoc with in place utilities..

Now there are limits in place for the size(weight) and impacts of demo equipment

[Cajundaddy]

Ok that concrete looks tore up and doesn't look very thick to start with. My wife's sister had a place in the OR foothills and they might get 6" of snow from time to time. They chose gravel for a long driveway. I don't know what your weather is like but in snow country, a 350' driveway is often gravel which is more drivable in sloppy weather and a lot less $$. I would get a quote to repair the concrete vs gravel and decide.

[Zeke]

Yeah, I was thinking more of a crusher rather than a pounder. They did the pounding thing on a long section of freeway here 20 years ago. Since the road base was pretty good to start with, damage to the actual surface was not all that bad. I think they grooved it beforehand. Not sure how they cleaned it before placing new concrete over, or maybe they didn't. Or maybe they scored the uneven surface.

I wish I had paid more attention.

Many years ago a relative asked me about investing in an onsite soil cleaning operation. The method was to dig the site and bake the soil on site in a huge oven. I passed. I don't think that ever went anywhere.

IDK what that has to do with this, but I thought I'd share it.

[A930Rocket]

I haven’t seen a driveway, thicker than the depth of a 1x4 or 3.5” or have any kind of rebar or WW mesh in it, in over 35 years. I’m not saying it’s not done, I’ve just never seen it.

The driveway looks old, tired, thin, and depending where it is, the sub base has softened, washed out, heavy trucks drive on it,etc.

The problem with replacing sections is, how are you going to get the concrete, to sections close to the house? If you bring in a concrete truck, you’re going to bust up the rest of the driveway. You’ll have to use a pump, bobcat or a Georgia buggy. Depending on the length of the driveway and trees, the pump might not work.

My parental units had a driveway section where a void show showed up. There was at least a foot gap between the ground and the bottom of the driveway. In this case, rebar or WWM was used but that was 1976. The reason the ground settled is, that’s where the builder got rid of all the trees and or trash building the house and it settled. They had somebody come out, bust up the concrete. dig out the trash, fill it full of gravel and re-poured the section. A couple years later, the ground started to settle again. It didn’t help, that the topo went left to right and water crossed it.

[rfuerst911sc]

When I had our gravel driveway covered in concrete 5 years ago it was poured 3.5 " thick . But I asked for 4000 psi with fiberglass added and reinforcement wire , it is one solid driveway .

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

I had concrete that was cracking up pretty bad. We have so many trees around here that the roots wreak havoc on driveways. I decided to go with pavers which was a bit more expensive than concrete. However when it buckles up again which is inevitable, they just remove some pavers, cut out the roots and put the pavers back.

We did the same. Purchased this house 12 years ago with a crumbling asphalt drive way. Our previous homes we also replace concrete with pavers. Pavers are a bit more expensive than concrete, at least here in SoCal. Here are some before and after pictures of our current residence. Zero regrets.

[porsche tech]

That’s a lot of pavers! Looks good! Ours was done about 13 ago and holding up well. The prep work under the pavers took all the time…putting the pavers down was like dealing cards.

Not sure how well pavers would work in areas with a lot of freezing.

[JavaBrewer]

Thanks PT. and that shot is only half of what we installed. We have never lived in an area with common freezing but I know and can attest that pavers are very popular in Europe and UK. The only maintenance I am aware of is making sure joint sand is in good shape. Do not advise pavers around your home foundation. Ants love the bedding and are thus encouraged to enter your property for snacks.