Driveway + Walkway buildup question

r0yal

Hey guys. First off, just would like to say, landscaping has never been my thing, but realized without the cash to hire someone, its not going to look good on its own. I'm not scared to get my hands dirty, so I'm looking for a little bit of help, with some material info, what I should put where, etc etc.

First things first.

My driveway: The previous owner decided to put down that wonderful red dirt you often see in baseball dugouts as the driveway material. (yupp! everything is nice and red after it rains) So, I plan on replacing that, BUT while doing so, I would like to widen the driveway and have maybe the same sort of material extend along side the garage as a walkway towards the backyard.

So, what should I build up the driveway with (where there is currently grass/mud), and then after removing all the red dirt, what would be the best substrate to use as the driveway? (I need something that isn't too loose, as I do maintenance on my vehicles on it, and often need the use of a carjack)

As far as drainage goes, is there something I could put along side the driveway (in ground) to assist the drainage of water towards the street, so it doesn't flow towards my neighbors house? I cannot build it up too high, as my garage sits fairly low.

Here is a rough shot from my driveway looking alongside the garage, so you can have a rough idea. I'm in process of removing some trees, so don't mind the mess lol

Also included is a shot of roughly I plan on doing, the brown being the driveway/walkway, and I plan on placing some shrubs along my neighbors fence down the walkway, so it looks a little more nice





Here is a shot from looking the other direction. so yeah, you can see where I would like to widen the driveway (it is almost a perfect line to the road)

Edging; what would be an opinion on a decent edging for this situation? to go basically from the road way, all the way to where this photo was taken?

basically where the ladder is and also between the 2 trees, is where I will be planning on putting some shrubs, on the opposite side of the edging.

I hope my thoughts are somewhat clear, and you folks could offer any advice possible. Its my first house, so I'm stuck with having not so nice things lol.

Thanks a bunch.

bob22

Alongside the garage anything rigid will crack due to the trees' roots IMO. Might want to think of some small stone/gravel idea; that will be cheaper and allow water drainage if subbase done right.
Might think of french drain system for side of drive to get the water to the street.
Driveway would best be concrete if you want to do jacking; asphalt won't do too well with concentrated weight and you'll likely end up with divots/depressions from the jack.
Might try posting some of these questions on the Construction forum since it is a bit more of that than Landscaping IMO.
Also, whatever plants you put in along the fence, remember they'll grow and if they get too wide your garage walkway will get tight. Pick species carefully.

cibula11

I would agree with the tree roots....
In Iowa we use 3/4" limestone for driveway base. It compacts nicely and locks into place, but still allows for drainage. Call some rock quarries or your local landscape place that sells stone. See what they recommend.