Replacing gravel on a gravel driveway

[Mocker]

Hi

Our renovated house has quite large driveway which is currently gravelled.

The gravel is very dirty and stained so we were thinking that maybe we could rake off what is on there and get some new gravel delivered and spread it out. I am guessing it was prepared properly underneath as our only problem is with the staining to the stones.

Is it as simple as that does anyone know? Any advice? We cannot afford to get anyone to do this and thought maybe we could do it ourselves.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I wouldn't have thought anything needs preparing underneath side from checking that the anti-weed mating is in a good state. Go to a local builders merchants and get them to deliver a load of gravel in those 1m cubed builders sacks.

How is the gravel stained/dirty?

On second thoughts, you could get a pressure washer and give that a go. One downside is that all the dirt/gunk will sit on the anti-weed matting and may provide enough substance for weeds to grow in.

Thanks ChipsAndEgg. It is oil stained (the house was a repossession). I did consider pressure washing but thought that that may just make it worse?

If it's oil I'd remove the dirty gravel maybe you could move it off the drive to clean it so you don't get any issues with standing water? Or just replace it.

I really like bonded gravel and would go for that on a gravel drive if I had the money!

Thanks wow. Is bonded gravel that much more expensive? Off to google.

If yours is dirty, perhaps it is not well-laid and the rain pools and allows mud to form. Modern landscaping fabrics reduce the ability of mud to mix with the gravel.

A proper gravel drive is not made by tipping pea-shingle on the ground.
It is properly made using hoggin, which is a mixture of gravel and sand, with a little clay to bind it firmly together. It rolls to a firm surface that does not kick around or go into ruts. At a previous house I dug into one that was over 100 years old, and it was still firm and flat.

Bonded gravel is great, laid with a fall or a camber so that rain washes the dirt off it, but needs a very strong, firm base, as good as any paved drive. It is really just the ornamental finish on top of a good base, rather like tarmac apart from the colour (clear glue and stones). It has to be raked and rolled and I would hesitate to try and DIY it.

Thanks Piglet John. We have a very large driveway so just replacing the gravel will cost £1k+! I am now thinking about just raking off the worst parts and replacing those while adding some extra for bulk.

Thanks for all the advice :)