Driveway Pavers

[peterjcb]

My detached garage is nearing completion and I'm starting to think about the driveway. The simplest option would be concrete but I always seem to take the path of most resistance. I've decided to do pavers. :D
How much of crush & run gravel will I need for a base? One person told me that I should only use a couple inches of base and another said that I need 12-15" of base. Who's right?

[mjpliv]

It really depends on what you are building the driveway on. If it is on undisturbed and stable soil I would recommend excavating 6-7 inches and laying in some 3" crusher run, compacting and adding 2" of class "A" and compacting again. Put in your edging system and screed masonary sand level to within 2" of your finished paver grade but do not compact. Add the pavers and vibrate to the finished grade with a viberating plate compactor while sweeping additional sand across the area you are working. Keep adding surface sand untill it takes no more.

If the soil under the driveway is in any way questionable, excavate to a depth of 14-16" and build a solid base with 6" crusher run compacting with with excavator traffic. Then add the layers listed above.

[peterjcb]

Well after doing a little more research I think that I will need at least 8"-10" of crushed run gravel for a good base.
I found this simple formula for calculating the amount needed:

To determine the cubic yards of crushed stone needed to create a 8" base, multiply the total square footage by .02469
EXAMPLE: For a 200 square foot patio, you will want a 4" base of crushed stone. 200 sq ft x .01235 = 2.47 cubic yards of crushed stone.
EXAMPLE: For a 200 square foot driveway, you will want an 8" base of crushed stone. 200 sq ft x .02469 = 4.94 cubic yards of crushed stone

[roger g]

Neat little formula. I did it the old way: 2oo times .666 (8 inches) divided by 27 (cu feet in a cubic yard). I wonder though if it's like orderind yards of concrete where they use some other formula which turns out to be different than the usual length times hieght times width. Why it is different is beyond me.

roger

[Tom R]

It's basically the same thing, for 4", it's .3333333 / 27 = .012346, - for 8" it's .6666666 / 27 = .024691

Then to complicate matters more, it's usually sold by the 'ton'.

[peterjcb]

I spoke to a General Contractor today who is a friend of mine and he wasn't sure but he suggested some sort of fine rock shavings instead of sand. Does anyone know what he's talking about?

[mjpliv]

They are probably talking about crusher dust or class "A" which in some areas is essentially the same thing. They are very fine products but compact well.

[Rich]

I can't remember the name either.. it's like "granite refines" or something like that. We used it for a walking surface on a project in Denver - it compacted very hard just within itself. It was a bit more expensive than sand if I remember correctly but it will actually compact.