# How to raise a muddy road?



## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

I have two sections of roughly 100ft of dirt road that have turned into a muddy mess. I had a guy out from an excavation company...he wants to lay fabric down, then large stone on top of that followed by gravel. The price? A whopping 3500 dollars!

This seems too high to me. Is there a cheaper alternative? I just need to get my 4x4 truck back there and tractor...would also like to be able to walk to the back of my property without sinking ankle deep.

Couldn't I throw logs down then gravel/stone between the logs, or something like that, or would that be even more expensive ( I'm not going out and cutting the logs myself )


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

Where are you located? Here in Missouri we use base rock--2 to 4 inches is diameter-- to create a hard base. Then 1 inch chat-white limestone for the top. .It works well.

So go with the bigger stuff which will sink in but not disappear. Most dump trucks will spread their loads. After it sinks go with smaller stones. Sometimes you might have to dump the bigger stuff twice. We even did this in Colorado. You'll cuss the bigger stuff till it packs down.

You don't need the fabric


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

While I agree with Oldasrocks about not needing the fabric. It will stop the rocks from sinking out of sight in a few years. Did the contractor say how thick the base rock was going to be? It inst the tonnage that matters it is the thickness of the base rock that is important, I know we pay by the ton but a thin coating of rocks is going to disappear in a year or so. If you are putting down 3 inch rocks then 6 inches of thickness is going to be OK with a layer of 1 1/2inch rock over that. For a pickup and tractor it may be enough. If I had my choice I would use the cloth and you may be able to skimp on the base rock.

If the guy quoted $3500 that may be a good price. Not sure every job is different.

Dave


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Get rid of the water. If you can divert the water, it will make all of the difference in the world. A local logger has been dumping heavy stone in one area for years. The stuff just keeps sinking. I wouldn't be surprised if the man has blown well over ten thousand dollars over the years. If you can't divert the water then the geotextile will stop the rutting and prevent the stone from sinking into the muck.

I would use crush and run aggregate on top of the geotextile. Using a uniformly graded material is like driving on marbles. The fines and small aggregate in crush and run packs all the material together for a hard surface rather than having loose material that moves and makes crunching sounds when you drive on it. The geotextile saves you money by avoiding wasting money on aggregate to fill the mud pit.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

It is very expensive to haul rock these days, fuel prices are what is making everything go up. It takes alot of fuel to haul rock, and rock is probly up in price also, takes fuel to crush rock also. A cheep alternative to the fabric is go to the carpet store and ask for used dumpster carpet and use it like the fabric, may not be great but will help for awhile. > Thanks Marc


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Lime. Lime. Lime. Read up on it.


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## SteveO (Apr 14, 2009)

Not sure what you have access to but reclaimed concrete has never failed me.
Steve


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

I second using old carpet in place of geotextile. It works great, seems like it will last a long time. There may be newer eco-friendly stuff that breaks down faster, but the stuff I used was probably 20 years old. Crushed concrete is great, too. Usually about half the price of rock around here. And drainage will make a huge difference.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

ryanthomas said:


> I second using old carpet in place of geotextile. It works great, seems like it will last a long time. There may be newer eco-friendly stuff that breaks down faster, but the stuff I used was probably 20 years old. Crushed concrete is great, too. Usually about half the price of rock around here. And drainage will make a huge difference.


In some areas they sell R blend which is a mixture of crushed concrete, recycled asphalt and roofing shingles. It packs togther well for a hard surface. I used the stuff in NJ but it still sank out of sight over time without the geotextile.


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## CesumPec (May 20, 2011)

SteveO said:


> Not sure what you have access to but reclaimed concrete has never failed me.
> Steve



I agree. Depending on the source, it can be cheap or expensive. I assume you mean crushed, recycled concrete. If bought from a concrete recycler, it will be $550 a dump truck load in Daytona, FL. It is cheap by comparison to some other products, but it is still a lot of bucks. It is used for DOT standard road beds, so there is a never ending need for it.

If the job has to be done fast and you don't have the equipment like a front loader, this won't help. But if you can find someone doing demolition of a building or driveway and have a truck or trailer to haul the stuff, using big chunks of concrete as a base might be the ticket. The guy doing the demo will give away the concrete because you are saving him the costs of hauling and tipping fees. 

I've used broken concrete and old bricks to fix driveways on very sandy soil. Dig down far enough to allow for the thickness of the concrete slabs and a couple of inches of topping. Place wide, flat pieces of concrete like a jig saw puzzle and top with gravel, if available, or just sand. The larger the chunks of concrete, the longer it will stay in place.


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

Thanks for all the ideas...


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

$3500 is probably cheap, if they're putting down fabric, big rock, and top rock.

You can do it all yourself... get a shovel and dig ditches on both sides, so water drains off quickly (you may need a culvert). A little digging each day and you've soon got it done. Of course whatever you do will have to wait till it's dry. Backhoe'd do it in a couple hours. Haul rock on top of your carpet, tarp, whatever, and finer rock on top of that.

I've got 'lots' of dirt road. I've dug ditches on it all, put fabric down here and there, and hauled scores of tons of rock. Coated a lot of it with sb-2 (fine gravel). I 'cheaped' out and just rocked/graveled where the tires meet the road... as I don't drive in the center of the road, phooey on it. 

I've got hundreds of buckets of 'bad cooking grease' (not fit for biodiesel) and found if you pour it on the dirt/gravel on a hot day, it'll soak in and make the road waterproof, and hold it 'all' in one spot... almost as good as pavement.


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## am1too (Dec 30, 2009)

The number one issue is water. Dig the ditches. That automatically raised the road bed. It dires my drive right up. As soon as the county fixed the bar ditches the road dried out. Water always goes to the lowest available level. Streets with pot holes always have water issues. My drive doesn't wash any more.


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## survivorj (Oct 21, 2020)

kirkmcquest said:


> I have two sections of roughly 100ft of dirt road that have turned into a muddy mess. I had a guy out from an excavation company...he wants to lay fabric down, then large stone on top of that followed by gravel. The price? A whopping 3500 dollars!
> 
> This seems too high to me. Is there a cheaper alternative? I just need to get my 4x4 truck back there and tractor...would also like to be able to walk to the back of my property without sinking ankle deep.
> 
> Couldn't I throw logs down then gravel/stone between the logs, or something like that, or would that be even more expensive ( I'm not going out and cutting the logs myself )


You don't need fabric or pavers. Just some bags of lime and a good spreader. Look it up by typing in how to dry up mud.
Depending on the size of your mudhole you may need 10-20 bags of lime..
I try to wait for some of the water to start to dry up and try up. Then I spread my lime and mix it well into the soil. Once it dries well I get some gravel and dirt mix to fill out the rest of my mud holes. As extra precaution I'll go ahead and throw more lime on top, especially if we're expecting more rain.
Good luck 😸


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## survivorj (Oct 21, 2020)

Pass... composting yard debris is good to throw on top of the road too. That's how the forest makes its floor. So get a wood chipper...


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Sure hope the OP has resolved his issues since he wrote this post in 2011 and hasn't been seen in a long while.

That's what that silly "recommended reading" does.....like talking to the wind.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Wolf mom said:


> That's what that silly "recommended reading" does.....like talking to the wind.





HTAdmin said:


> Asking members for feedback and coming up with ideas for improvement is what we want.





HTAdmin said:


> The Admins and I will be here to help along the way taking note of your comments.


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## Seth (Dec 3, 2012)

Add dirt, pack good. Seth


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## HonestAbe (Nov 20, 2020)

survivorj said:


> Pass... composting yard debris is good to throw on top of the road too. That's how the forest makes its floor. So get a wood chipper...


if you build your road like the forest floor won’t you get a road like the forest floor ?
Isn’t that the problem in the first place ?


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## survivorj (Oct 21, 2020)

HonestAbe said:


> if you build your road like the forest floor won’t you get a road like the forest floor ?
> Isn’t that the problem in the first place ?


No, that is not the problem. Keeping the neighbors and their kids with 4 wheelers off of the private road is the problem. I have to maintain the road in order to have access to the main highway. 
I've already forked out over $4000.00 dollars. Forestry refuses to help even when their shooting guns and the sheriff's department doesn't consider it important or an emergency. Even when they chase my granddaughter with their 4 wheelers. And I would not recommend using rugs under the rock that just makes things worse.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

Old thread, but lowering the ditches to drain the water, raising the roadbed to shed water with a crown on top, and you have most of the battle won.

the fabric and rock works. Creating a roadbed by building up the road and making ditches on each side can work cheaper, depending on your dirt type and tools at hand.


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