[ElbertJW]

Hello All,

I am completely new to theses forums and i have to admit the reason im here is because of a job my company has undertaken that has gone very wrong. I am a local G.C from New Orleans. We do lots of landscaping a remodeling but have done very little limestone work. I bid a job last week and received approval to begin a driveway project. I did what i thought was the necessary legwork and determined that i need 25 yards of #57 limestone. The local supply house stated that for my base pump sand would be acceptable. At this point you can tell where this is going. We ripped up and existing concrete drive way and spread sand. From this point things went downhill. A torrentil rain came through and turned the work area into mud soup. We ended up getting the cat stuck and to boot once we got the front part of the driveway completed(or so i thought) i drove my 250 on it and sank up to the middle of the tire.

At this point im just interested in finishing the job. This all must make me sound like quite the novice but i've actually been a contractor for some 10 years with a high majority of satisfied customers. I just under estimated the difficulty of this project and unfortunately trying to "wing" it is going to end up costing all profits.

Please advise me of what needs to be done so i can stop the incessant heartburn that i have been having because of this nightmare.

ANY and all help greatly appreciated

[Stonehenge]

I'm not sure what pump sand is, but if the grains are about the same size as a mason's sand or torpedo sand or concrete sand, then the particle size is way too small.

I'm hoping someone from the south can specify depth of base for me, because I'm a bit out of my element for that. Up here in Wisconsin we'd have 10-12" of 3/4" minus limestone as the base, sand (depending on the material being used), then the paving material.

In all likelihood you'll need to remove and junk that 25 yards of sand and start from scratch, replacing it with lifts (layers) of whatever angular crushed stone is available there (what do they use for road construction there? You'll probably want something similar.), and compacting it well.

Good luck getting the project squared away.

[fakie99]

so i am assuming the new driveway is to be concrete? if so, you will indeed have to remove much of the sand and other goop and replace with 21aa crusher run limestone/crushed concrete or equivalent. i think it would be rather unusual to have 10-12" of 21aa base material by the way - here in michigan it is standard practice to have around 5" of compacted base, then your reinforcement, etc.

your project does not sound like it is in an irreversible amount of trouble. let it dry out, rent a track loader, excavate to the point you can compact the subsoil then add compacted base.

good luck.

[Stonehenge]

5" for a driveway? That would not stand up to AASHTO specs.

[fakie99]

well i would bet that 5-6" of granular base w/reinforcement and 4" concrete would stand up pretty well, as that has been the standard around here for many years. not sure what AASHTO guidelines would have to do with residential driveway construction (but...i'm not a concrete contractor).

[NCSULandscaper]

the first thing i would do is demand your supplier to help you fix their mistake by bad advise because it sounds like you knew what you needed to begin with, then i would drop them , then listen to what others told you

[Stonehenge]

AASHTO sets up specs for all types of pavement, rigid and flexible, vehicular and pedestrian.

One thing I haven't heard yet - is the old concrete being replaced with new concrete, or some other material? As I read the original post again, if I understand what pump sand is (and I'm pretty sure I don't), it sounds like you're putting the smallest material down first, then larger stuff on top of it. Typically it's the reverse. Highway construction around here usually starts with a broken concrete course that might be a foot or more thick, with subsequent base layers having smaller and smaller material, with the final layer usually using 3/4"- crushed limestone (or a bit larger). If you're putting down a sand first, that's the first problem. Also, I haven't heard much about the kinds of soils you're building on.

[scl]

Might want to talk to someone about some kind of geo fabric underneath if this stuff is that unstable. Otherwise, crusher run 3/4'- should help a bunch. Stonehenge is pretty much right on the head I think.
Scott

[ElbertJW]

Sorry if the first post was unclear. The old concrete was removed and is going to be replaced with a limestone driveway. Other than that i contacted the supplier and told them that they screwed up with there advice. Tommorrow they are coming to spread crushed stone.. Unfortunately it rained again last night. Would copious amounts of salt dry the area?

[Stonehenge]

It might. But then it'll also probably leach out into the limstone in time, giving it that nice efflourescent sheen of white powder. I'd just get the material out, pump it dry if need be, then start adding crushed stone back in.

[Fine Edge]

What a nightmare.
That will teach you to listen to someone who doesn't know your job.

Good luck.