How to Replace a Driveway

Remove any borders or edging along he old driveway with gloved hands. Set these materials aside for reuse.

Break down the existing driveway. If it's made from concrete or asphalt, use a jackhammer to cut through the slab, and a sledgehammer to break large chunks into smaller pieces. Shovel out the pieces into a wheelbarrow and haul them into a construction dumpster. For a gravel driveway, dig out the gravel with a shovel and dump it into buckets.

Unearth the old gravel foundation with a shovel or excavator. Store the gravel in buckets and soak it in warm water to remove silt and debris so you can reuse it for the base of the new driveway. Continue digging until the site is 12 inches deep. Dump any dirt on a tarp several feet from the site to fill in low areas in the yard in the future.

Measure the width of the site and decide if you want to expand it. A one-car driveway should be about 10 feet wide; you'll need at least 16 feet for two cars. Dig out the side of the driveway you want to expand.

Slope the bottom down an inch for every few feet of length to ensure water will flow to the street. Go over the floor of the base with a compactor so it's stable.

Shovel a 4-inch-deep layer of clean gravel and rake it even. Compact the gravel, then add another 4-inch layer and compact it. The finished base should be at least 8 inches thick.

Install strong edging around the inner perimeter, and hammer lawn spikes through the slots.

Layer a 1-inch bed of grit sand over the crushed rocks with the rake.

Install the pavers, bricks or flat stones by setting them on top of the sand in a classic pattern like basket-weave, or your own design. Each piece should be flush beside the next and pressed into the sand with a rubber mallet until each section is level.

Fill the fine joints with masonry sand, sweeping it into gaps with a stiff brush. Water the surface lightly so the joint filling will harden to the paving material.