How to Reduce Driveway Grade

Excavate the driveway site with shovels or a rented excavator machine. Remove 12 inches of topsoil and dump it on a tarp near the site to use later in low-lying parts of the yard. Verify the site’s consistent depth with a measuring stick to ensure the foundation will be uniform.

Attach a grader blade to the back of a riding lawnmower or tractor. Refer to the instructions to set the grade of the teeth to no more than 14 percent. Raise the teeth and back the tractor up the site to the garage side of the driveway. Lower the teeth until they dig 1 inch deep into the soil.

Drive the mower or tractor slowly down the driveway so the teeth evenly disperse loose soil as they cut into the ground at the set angle. Repeat this step two or three times to grade the width of the site.

Reduce the angle setting on the grading blade by 2 percent and repeat Step 3. Continue to lower the angle setting and drive down the driveway until the slope of the subsoil is at the desired pitch.

Stabilize the loose subsoil by pushing a compactor machine over the site until the ground feels firm.

Build up the base by pouring 3/4-inch angular gravel over the site in 3-inch layers until the base is 9 inches deep. Compact the first two layers of rock.

Drive the grader blade over the base with the angle of the teeth set at the same angle as the subsoil. Drive slowly to allow the teeth to grade the base at a consistent angle.

Push the compactor over the graded base three times, or until the rocks don’t move under pressure.

Lay small gravel or pavement over the graded base. Attach form boards around the inner perimeter of the site before pouring concrete or asphalt. For pavers, install edging restraints and cover the base with a 1½-inch bed of grit sand. Set the pavers in the pattern flush against each other and fill the joints with fine mason’s sand.