How Do I Maintain Road Base Gravel in Central Texas?
Road base gravel is a very popular choice for driveways and private roads in the Austin area. Compared to the alternatives, road base gravel in Central Texas is much less expensive, faster to install, and kinder to the environment. However, whether you choose gravel, asphalt, pavers, concrete, or another material for your driveway or private road, you should consider the maintenance requirements.
What Is Road Base Gravel in Central Texas?
As you might expect, road base material earned its name due to its widespread use in the construction of roadways of all types. Many different materials can be crushed to produce Central Texas road base, including recycled concrete. However, the most popular is limestone gravel road base material in Austin and its surrounding area. The Austin area is situated near a major source of high-quality limestone, and this helps keep the cost of Central Texas road base delivery at an economical level.
How Do Contractors Construct a Central Texas Road Base Driveway?
Before the road base gravel delivery, contractors prepare the site. This may involve removing unwanted vegetation and grading the site to create a center slope that facilitates proper drainage, but it should always include soil compaction. If the soil cannot be sufficiently compacted, the contractor may need to remove and replace a specific depth of material. The rest of the road base driveway construction is quite straightforward.
1. The size of the gravel road base material in Austin is critical. Typically, the size of the particles in an average road base gravel delivery will range between 1.5 and 2.5 inches, but there will also be fine particles that are more akin to dust.
2. Depending on the design specifications, your road base driveway could have a total thickness of up to 10 inches. However, the average Central Texas road base driveway is closer to eight inches in thickness. The contractor may need to schedule more than one Central Texas road base delivery to achieve the proper thickness. As each base gravel delivery arrives, workers will spread and compact the material.
3. To finish the construction, contractors will normally spray the road base material with water to weigh down the fine particles. This helps prevent dust clouds from forming when traffic travels on the road or driveway.
How Should Road Base Gravel in Central Texas Be Maintained?
Gravel road base material in Austin is not as difficult to maintain as it is in parts of the country that receive heavy annual snowfalls or extended subzero temperatures. There is really very little you need to do to maintain your road base driveway.
1. Spray it down occasionally. Over time, the weight of vehicles can crush gravel into dust. The dust can get all over a vehicle, including its windshield and other glass. A garden hose is normally all you need to wet down your road base material.
2. Purchase a heavy-duty gravel rake to use on your road base driveway. These rakes allow you to remove debris that has become trapped in your gravel. However, raking also lets you level the surface and fill in small ruts or bear spots.
3. Request a base gravel delivery every 12 to 18 months. A fresh layer can repair damage, solve drainage problems, or replace any road base material that has been lost.
If you are interested in a road base gravel delivery in the Austin metropolitan area, contact Juniors Materials. We also deliver landscape materials and decomposed granite, and we offer dump truck hauling and trash pickup. Furthermore, we are experienced, qualified skid-steer loader contractors, grading contractors, and water and soil sinking contractors. We have an exceptional reputation for our professionalism, service, and integrity. To request a free consultation or quote, complete our online form. If you prefer, you can call our office in Hutto at 512-924-6887.
