Looking around, you’ve probably noticed many different styles of driveways. They can be asphalt, concrete, pavers, gravel, dirt, or even shells. Our driveway happens to be crushed stone. When we purchased our house, we planned on eventually getting our driveway paved. Most homes in our area have asphalt driveways, so we figured we’d hop on the bandwagon at some point!
Over the years, we noticed that our driveway was becoming overrun with grass, weeds, and moss. This can happen as the stones settle into the ground (after years of rain, and car tires pressing down on them). The driveway was starting to look bare in spots, and it was a pain keeping up will all the weeding.
To make matters worse, we were losing gravel during the winter time. Living in New England, we experience our fair share of snow storms (nor’easters). Shoveling snow would throw the gravel into our lawn and garden beds, giving us the task of tossing stones back into the driveway for what feels like HOURS once the snow melts. An asphalt driveway seemed like the obvious solution for our driveway.
So, we went ahead and got a few estimates for what it would cost to have the gravel removed and new asphalt laid. Each estimate was in the same ballpark of $7,000-$8,000. This was way more than we were expecting or willing to spend (our driveway isn’t even that big!). The driveway was functional, so it seemed like a lot of money to shell out for something aesthetic.
We decided to go with plan B: order more crushed stone for the driveway and attempt to restore it!
We started by contacting a local landscaping supply company to place an order for more crushed stone. Before ordering, we measured the length and width of the driveway with measuring tape, and calculated the total square footage. Based on our numbers, the sales rep suggested we order 13 tons of ¾ inch crushed grey stone (¾ inch stone is your average driveway stone, and won’t get stuck in car tires). This was our first time ordering gravel, so 13 tons sounded like A LOT to us (it wasn’t). And here’s the kicker, it would only cost $500! We were sold 😊
I took a day off from work to work on the driveway. The crushed stone was delivered first thing in the morning, so I had the whole day ahead of me. The dump truck dropped the gravel in the middle of the driveway, which made spreading it out a lot easier (less hauling it from one end to the other).
Tools needed to spread gravel
- Work gloves
- Shovel
- Wheelbarrow
- Heavy duty metal rake (a typical yard rake won’t stand up to the stones well)
How to spread gravel
- Use a shovel to load gravel into a wheelbarrow
- Dump out the gravel in the desired spot
- Spread it out evenly with a metal rake
I started at the entrance of the driveway and worked my way back to the garage. Of course, the work will go faster if you recruit friends/family to help you (I bribed my brother to help me by paying for his next round of golf). In total, it took about 6 hours to spread out all the gravel. This will vary depending on the amount of stone you purchase, and the size of the driveway. On the plus side, hauling and spreading the stone is a great work out. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but so happy with the results!
Ultimately, this was a great investment ($500 + a lot of sweat equity compared to $7-8K for paving!). Our driveway looks fresh and new, and gives the house extra curb appeal. We started receiving compliments from neighbors that very same day! We love the light, natural look of the stones, and weeds aren’t an issue now that the bare patches are covered. Another project done!
P.S. To help with our wintertime issue of losing gravel when shoveling, we purchased a snowblower for snow removal. We had the mouth of the snowblower raised up a couple of inches, so less gravel gets scooped up. This keeps more gravel in the driveway, and saves us time cleaning up our yard in the spring!
