those of you with gravel driveways -- do you like it? What are the pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Curious to learn more about gravel driveways.

We have a drainage issue and a permeable driveway would be helpful. What are the pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Weeds mostly. Unless you keep up with it, it looks ugly fast. One benefit, it really didn't get glazed with ice in the winter.

[Anonymous]

I've had gravel driveways in various houses for 50+ years. They aren't permeable. The gravel gets compacted and water runs off. Weeds do happen; Roundup or strong vinegar fixes that without worrying about overspray.

They're really cheap to build and maintain. Just get a gravel dump once a decade or so for a few hundred bucks. The last couple decades a neighbor and I went in on the dump - half the cost is them just showing up with the load.

You need a barrier to contain the gravel. I'm using old railroad ties currently. They're 30+ years old and are about ready to be replaced. My father used vertical bricks.

Gravel glazes but not as dangerously as pavement. It's really tough to shovel snow off gravel, though. Snowblowers and plows don't work. I skim mine and the sun on the exposed bits of rocks encourages melting. I pile the skimmed snow on the driveway edge (inside the railroad tie barrier) so I can spread out again the rocks I shoveled up by accident. We don't get so much snow it's a real problem here.

Gravel driveways are tough on bare feet unless the bare feet are tough. When I was a kid it wasn't a problem. I keep outdoor slippers by my door now. (Linkletter was right about old age!)

Once upon a time, my (now) ex clerked for a federal judge; he had a gravel driveway to alert his dobies anytime anyone showed up. The rest of his property had a tall, effective fence. And some bad guys with a grudge do show up at federal judges' homes after they get out. (He also never sat in a restaurant with his back to the door. That lifetime tenure comes with risks.)

[Anonymous]

Another con is that if your driveway is not level, if there is any type of incline or curve, then the ground ruts and you get a very uneven surface. It ages your car suspension driving over the uneven surface. It's harder on kids to ride wheeled vehicles on.

The only pro is that it is cheap.

[Anonymous]

Here’s other options

https://www.thespruce.com/permeable-paving-options-for-driveways-1398073#:~:text=Permeable%20paving%20materials%20can%20accomplish,ponds%2C%20and%20municipal%20water%20systems.

[Anonymous]

It destroyed my high heels

[Anonymous]

Pros:
permeable (I saw a PP said they are not?)
less expensive than concrete

Cons:
WEEDS
can't walk on it barefoot (not often an issue)
gets compacted and needs to be refreshed
WEEDS, did I mention weeds??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weeds mostly. Unless you keep up with it, it looks ugly fast. One benefit, it really didn't get glazed with ice in the winter.

And you can’t plow it when we get real snow.

[Anonymous]

I love the crunch it makes when cars drive over it. And the white gravel looks really nice.
But that's just admiring my neighbors' gravel driveways, I have ugly asphalt. My neighbors are not the type to spray toxic chemicals, yet they don't have weeds in their gravel. Maybe they do the vinegar thing?

I also like cobblestones! Also a killer for stilettos

[Anonymous]

We live somewhere where people often use our driveway to turn around and we spent a LOT of time shoveling gravel out of the road back into the driveway. (The driveway ended at a paved county sidewalk.) Eventually we gave up and got concrete put in.

[Anonymous]

I have a gravel pad for parking and no issue with weeds at all, although it borders a garden bed. I think it depends on how the gravel is installed, like how many inches of it, how many inches of compacted sand or whatever below it. Pea gravel is also nicer and you can walk barefoot on it. Luckily I can avoid walking on there if I have nice heels.