Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:01 pm
Hi folks, my first post.
Having gleaned loads of useful info from this site, I plucked up enough courage to start digging up our gravel driveway, which over recent years has become more mud than gravel.
There is about 150m2 of it with virtually no gradient around the front and side of the house. It has not yet flooded in the 9 years I have lived here, which is a relief because the gravel is only about 70mm below DPC where it meets the house (the previous owner had all the entrances made wheelchair accessible many years ago).
My plan was to reduce the levels as much as practically possible and lay 100mm of type 1 hardcore over a terram membrane. Then after leaving it for the winter, part of the area is to be blinded and block paved, with the remainder finished in a 40mm layer of gravel.
We decided to do half the area at a time, to allow vehicular access while the works are in progress. After three 8-wheeler loads of mud had been excavated and removed, I laid the terram and spread 17 tonnes of type 1 mot limestone on top to give layer roughly 100mm thick.
The next day it rained and rained hard all day. The following day, when I tried to go over it with a wacker plate, the stones on top just disappeared into the mush. Now it resembles a gooey porridge, which is made even worse when cars drive on it.
After 1 1/2 days of dry weather, there are still pools of water sitting on top of a squidgy mess and with more rain forecast, I have no idea what to do, even after Googling for answers.
Would a sprinkling of type 3 (or hardcore without fines) help it to drain and make it more manageable? I was really hoping to have a surface suitable for walking and driving over, but don't want to raise the finished levels unnecessarily.
Any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Having gleaned loads of useful info from this site, I plucked up enough courage to start digging up our gravel driveway, which over recent years has become more mud than gravel.
There is about 150m2 of it with virtually no gradient around the front and side of the house. It has not yet flooded in the 9 years I have lived here, which is a relief because the gravel is only about 70mm below DPC where it meets the house (the previous owner had all the entrances made wheelchair accessible many years ago).
My plan was to reduce the levels as much as practically possible and lay 100mm of type 1 hardcore over a terram membrane. Then after leaving it for the winter, part of the area is to be blinded and block paved, with the remainder finished in a 40mm layer of gravel.
We decided to do half the area at a time, to allow vehicular access while the works are in progress. After three 8-wheeler loads of mud had been excavated and removed, I laid the terram and spread 17 tonnes of type 1 mot limestone on top to give layer roughly 100mm thick.
The next day it rained and rained hard all day. The following day, when I tried to go over it with a wacker plate, the stones on top just disappeared into the mush. Now it resembles a gooey porridge, which is made even worse when cars drive on it.
After 1 1/2 days of dry weather, there are still pools of water sitting on top of a squidgy mess and with more rain forecast, I have no idea what to do, even after Googling for answers.
Would a sprinkling of type 3 (or hardcore without fines) help it to drain and make it more manageable? I was really hoping to have a surface suitable for walking and driving over, but don't want to raise the finished levels unnecessarily.
Any helpful advice would be much appreciated.