How to Build a Driveway With Limestone

Installing a new driveway with limestone gravel is an affordable alternative to asphalt, concrete and other types of pavement. The water-permeable surface makes limestone gravel a practical choice for long driveways or yards with poor drainage. Gravel driveways require a few hours of do-it-yourself work every few months to smooth and replenish the surface, but the maintenance is as straightforward as the installation process.

Wooden pegs
Tape measure
String
Shovel or excavator
Rake
Plate compactor
1 1/2-inch crushed limestone
3/4-inch crushed limestone
3/8-inch crushed limestone
Limestone powder

Instructions

- 1
  Sink wooden pegs in the ground every few feet along one side of the site. Use a tape measure to space the opposite side 10 to 12 feet away for one car to pass through at a time. Connect the pegs by tying a long string around the top of each.
- 2
  Dig out 12 inches of soil from the site with a shovel or excavator machine if you have access to one. Rake the subsoil and then go over it two to four times with a plate compactor machine until it feels firm.
- 3
  Pour 4 inches of 1 1/2- to 2-inch crushed limestone into the bottom of the site and pack it down with the compactor machine. The large gravel will help underground moisture escape quickly.
- 4
  Add a 4-inch layer of 3/4-inch crushed limestone over the larger rocks. Rake them over the surface and compact them.
- 5
  Fill the remaining depth with a mix of equal parts 3/8-inch crushed limestone and limestone powder. Rake the mix so it’s even and then compact it until the small rocks don’t move under you.
- 6
  Add a 2-inch-thick layer of the small limestone and powder down the center of the driveway. Rake the sides into smooth slopes so the center is mounded slightly higher. This shape will direct water runoff to the sides so puddles don’t form on the surface.

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