The spring rains did a number on our driveway this year. And actually, the drive has been notorious for washouts for as long as I can remember.  The runoff from the hill that the house sits on goes right down the drive like a little river, and takes the gravel with it.

 

 

 

 

Mom remembers that there used to be a horse head hitching post at the front of the house.  I imagine the drive originally would have been worn by horse & buggy and probably just a simple a dirt path.  Without having a tractor around, I bet the drive used to have muddy ruts and probably even worse washout than it sees nowadays.

The hitching post is long gone, and I hope to find an affordable antique one someday to put back where it once once stood. 

Today the drive is covered in layers of crushed limestone gravel. After the rains we had this spring, the drive in is a little bumpy.

 

 

My uncle Steve kindly delivered a load of crushed recycled concrete to help fill in the little river valleys. He compressed and grated the drive for us too.

Soon after he placed the fill, sure enough it rained. The fill won’t be a permanent solution, as it’s already starting to create some wash again. But this should at least get us through the rest of the renovation and well into 2017, or until the next torrential rains come.

Thanks uncle Steve!

Rain after new fill placed created some wash

New fill placed, starting to wash again after more rain

So, I think we will eventually have to dust off our engineering textbooks to see about changing the slope of the drive and install proper drainage.

…To be continued!