I've got a pretty long driveway and the dirt, leaves, and trees are constantly encroaching on it. I'm thinking I need to edge it somehow to keep the earth back, give myself somewhere to blow the leaves and sticks, and make it easier to snowblow.
It's a huge job, so I'm wondering if i should just hire a crew to excavate a 6in deep, 12in wide trench on both sides of the pavement and then fill with crushed stone.
by pfeff
23 Comments
As long as you can go edging is healthy
Edge it one foot at a time. There’s no quick and easy way to do it, just cut back to where you want the edge to be, and either set a schedule to keep it edged, hire someone to do it, or build a small wall the length of the drive to keep the roots and stuff back.
The driveway is lower than the land surrounding it so gravity will bring dirt down onto anything put there. The slope on the left will be a constant problem. You’d need a deep trench to stop all that dirt from getting on the road. What about a small wall on the left and on the right, lower the grade out a few feet and then add gravel.
Digging a 6 inch trench right next to that aging asphalt is a fast track to destroying your driveway. You will undermine the sub base and those brittle edges will crack and crumble into the ditch under the weight of any vehicle. Filling it with crushed stone just creates a moisture trap that holds water directly against the pavement base. Plus throwing loose gravel into the mix means your snowblower will be shooting rocks everywhere next winter and trying to blow leaves out of crushed stone is just a headache.
What you actually have here is years of leaf litter decomposing and building up the soil level higher than the pavement. You need to regrade those shoulders. Get a crew or rent a skid steer to scrape away that accumulated dirt so the ground slopes gently away from the asphalt. You want water to sheet off the driveway naturally instead of pooling at the edges. Pushing that earth back about two feet gives you a solid buffer for snow and a clean transition for blowing leaves straight into the woods.
To keep it functioning and looking sharp clear out the scrubby brush and weak saplings right on the edge. By grading a wide shallow shoulder you marry the function of good drainage with the visual calm of a clean sightline down the property. Let the native woodland groundcover reclaim that freshly graded soil to lock the dirt in place and you will have a permanent natural edge without ever having to buy or maintain loose stone.
The drive is lower than the dirt so the dirt flows down to the drive.
Make the drive higher or make the dirt lower or give the dirt somewhere else to go.
I wouldn’t dig a ditch on your own.
Rent a skid steer and peel it back. Looks like a fun project to have . Should get a miss digg done in case any utilities are there
I understand why landscapers make stupid money when i see questions like this about a totally usable driveway
How wide is it, and is there snow in your area? If you ever have to plow this, I wouldn’t do any physical edging, as it seems like a snow plow would ruin it easily. Also, a physical edge that holds the soil back will also be an edge that stops you from being able to blow leaves off the driveway and into the woods as easily.
With a edger
Personally, I would install a row of cobblestones down both sides or you could just use an edger or a shovel if you got a lot of time.
Small retainer on each side
Gas powered pressure washer? *shrug*
Don’t.
Just leave it. It’s the woods. 🤦♂️
Have you ever wanted to own a tractor? Now’s a great time to get one and a loader. 25-30hp tractor will be plenty, they run $5-10K used near me. Knock that out in a weekend with a loader and box blade
Scour the land for flagstone and build a 3ft high stacked stone wall on each side the full length of the driveway.
Don’t. Buy a power broom you can hit it with every few months if you really want.
I’m curious as to why it looks like you driveway is like a foot lower than the sides .
Scallop. Maybe if u got $$$ paver edge it as side gutter. Otherwise, just let any water be absorbed by plants
Make sure to ask for consent first
(don’t know a thing about landscaping, just here to learn)
Edge with natural infrastructure.
Find the right bush/plant that will self-maintain the edge and hold the dirt in place
slowly.
Basically need mini culverts on each side and line with large rocks.