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Rock Car Port - Do I need to use fill dirt

Posted on 12/18/19 at 1:15 pm
Posted by MisslePig
Member since Jul 2018
961 posts
Posted on 12/18/19 at 1:15 pm
Oh wise H&G Board, please help this humble first time home owner.

I want to rock/gravel about half of my back yard and turn it into a car parking area. We just finished remodeling and this section of the back yard is pretty messed up from the point trucks have been driving in and out of it and it's an uneven mud pit.

My question is, can I just dump a bunch of whatever gravel/rocks I chose and smooth it out or do I need a good level dirt base?
Posted by hungryone
river parishes
Member since Sep 2010
11987 posts
Posted on 12/18/19 at 1:18 pm to
Smooth it out. Otherwise, you'll have to fill some areas deeper with rocks than others, and it won't compact or wear evenly.
Posted by keakar
Member since Jan 2017
30004 posts
Posted on 12/18/19 at 1:21 pm to
start with sugar/river sand because it self levels and fills much better

put a layer of sugar sand down and cover it with gravel, then go over the top with another layer of river sand.

that will melt into the gravel when it rains and become a solid packed surface.

if you ever want to change your mind just scrape a few inches of rocks off the top and cover with top soil to go back to grass
Posted by skidry
Member since Jul 2009
3262 posts
Posted on 12/19/19 at 4:15 am to
I would add this

Use a road base, not a gravel. It includes a much wider range of particle sizes and will compact and lock together much better than gravel.
Posted by hjl0820
Member since Aug 2017
77 posts
Posted on 12/19/19 at 6:17 am to
I would use 610 limestone, will cost a little more but will be almost as hard as concrete
Posted by skidry
Member since Jul 2009
3262 posts
Posted on 12/19/19 at 8:25 am to
Zakly

Oh, and put some fabric under there.
This post was edited on 12/19/19 at 8:29 am
Posted by seeinspots
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2014
1101 posts
Posted on 12/21/19 at 8:50 am to
Ill take this a step further and say start with knowing the height of the finished surface and work backwards. If gravel is what you want then know how thick its going to be. Then, you may need to excavate some topsoil to get down to a solid base of soil. Then, get a plate compactor and make sure the soil is graded properly ( for drainage) and compact the soil well. Then, bring in the 6-10 limestone in three separate lifts. Example, if you want a four inches gravel then you will need six inches of 6-10 limestone in three separate two inch lifts. You bring in two inches and compact it well. Bring in two more and compact it. Then the final two and compact it. You don’t want to dump all six inches thinking you will compact it down to four. Wont happen and the base will fail. 6-10 limestone is very predictable. Don’t use regular limestone.
This post was edited on 12/21/19 at 10:24 am
Posted by Jester
Baton Rouge
Member since Feb 2006
34299 posts
Posted on 12/21/19 at 10:10 am to
quote:

then go over the top with another layer of river sand.

that will melt into the gravel when it rains and become a solid packed surface.


Plus, you're going to love all the torpedograss in a couple of years
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