12
Watching guys burn money on crushed stone base
I keep seeing people lay down 2 inches of 57 stone and call it a base for a driveway pour. That's not a base dude, that's just a fancy mud mat. I had to rip out 40 feet of somebody else's slab in Greenville last spring because the whole thing cracked along the rebar lines after one winter. Who taught you guys that you can skimp on base depth for residential work? Anyone else have to fix jobs where the base was barely there?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
barbara4297d ago
Holy moly, only two inches of stone for a driveway? That's barely enough to keep the gravel from mixing into the dirt, let alone support a slab. I've seen some thin bases in my time, but that one takes the cake. Around here, you need at least six inches of compacted base for a driveway or you're just asking for trouble, especially if you get any freeze-thaw action.
2
Honestly, you're not wrong about thin bases being a problem, but I gotta push back a little on that six inch rule. Around here you can get away with four inches of well compacted 57 stone if you've got good soil underneath and you're not parking a dump truck on it every day. The real issue isn't always the depth, it's the compaction. I've seen four inches done right outlast six inches that was just dumped and screeded flat.
1