Building a gravel driveway is a common alternative to having one professionally paved for you. Gravel is readily available at home and garden shops, and constructing a driveway out of gravel is less time-intensive and requires less construction experience than a cement driveway would. Keep in mind that there are several types and sizes of gravel that will go into building your driveway, and the proper use of these gravel types is key to building a long-lasting driveway.

Base Layer

The first layer of your gravel driveway must consist of large, jagged gravel. Individual stones need to be roughly the size of your fist or a baseball, and even larger if your driveway will be exceptionally large. Avoid rounded gravel pieces, which will shift when pressure is applied to them from above. Jagged unfinished gravel naturally locks into other pieces under pressure. Some rock suppliers refer to this size as No. 3 gravel.

Second Layer

The second layer of your driveway requires a slightly smaller gravel, usually around the size of a ping-pong ball or slightly smaller, often referred to as No. 57 stone. Again, do not purchase gravel that has finished or rounded edges. Go instead for machine-crushed rock gravel. Make this layer about 4 inches deep, lying directly on top of the fist-sized gravel in the base layer.

Final Layer

The third layer is actually the one you'll drive on, so it should be considerably finer. Look for stones that are roughly the size of a fingernail, often called "dense grade." The best kind of dense-grade gravel has stone powder mixed in, a by-product from machines crushing the rock. This sandy powder will fill pockets between small stones in your gravel, creating a very dense, almost concrete-like surface as the gravel settles. Also use dense-grade gravel to fill small depressions and pockets that form later, when automobile and foot traffic has caused uneven spots in your gravel driveway.

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Build a Gravel Driveway

Leveling Driveways with Stone