What most property owners know about driveway excavation can be summarized in two words: not much! We do not say that in a snide or insulting way; it’s just the real of it. Property owners are not expected to know how to excavate and prepare a driveway. A driveway is something we all take for granted. It is almost always on the property we purchase. It is something we all drive our vehicles on, without giving any thought as to how it was created in the first place, so there is no reason for any of you to know the first thing about driveway excavation until the day comes when you need to have it done.
This article, then, is a primer about driveway excavation, the basics about driveway construction for anyone facing a sudden need to have it done. We are J & A Excavation, serving the fine people of Fort Worth. Call us for all of your excavation needs, from proper building pads to pond excavation and yes, driveway excavation. Our excavation services are affordable and professional.
The basic steps in driveway excavation
Let’s break it all down to the basic steps which need to happen in proper driveway excavation. Those steps include the following:
- Site preparation
- Planning for drainage
- Laying down a foundation
- Laying down the asphalt
- Compacting the final product
Let’s look at each of these in a bit more detail.
Site preparation
You know where you want your driveway to go, from Point A to Point B. That path now has to be prepared, and that means removing all obstructions in the way i.e. large rocks, bushes, trees, stumps. In most cases, this is not a job for a guy and a shovel, but rather a person and their backhoe. Obstructions must be removed, and a foundation depth of six-to-eight inches must be excavated for the foundation material to fill.
Drainage
Before the foundation material is added, steps must be taken to deal with any drainage which will occur. This usually means a slight slope to the driveway and some sort of drainage system i.e. perforated pipe, to carry the excess water safely off of the property where the driveway will be located. Without proper erosion control, the job should not be done.
Laying down the foundation
It is then time for the foundation of underlayer, usually gravel, to be laid. Once laid, it needs to be compacted and leveled.
Laying down the asphalt
With the site preparation completed, the asphalt can then be poured, and the driveway is finally looking like the driveway you envisioned.
Compaction
The final step is to compact the asphalt into its final form, making it hard, strong, and ready for constant use by vehicles of any size and weight.
A final word about J & A Excavation
What we want you to understand, from this article, is that driveway excavation is much more of a process than a couple people and some shovels. Yes, it can be done “on the cheap,” and there are plenty of YouTube videos available which will show you how to do it, but that doesn’t mean it is easy nor does it mean that most people can do it properly. Simply because it can be done by a property owner does not mean it should be done by a property owner.
Call the professionals at J & A Excavation if you live in the Fort Worth area and you need a new driveway. Get the job done right, the first time, so you can move on to other DIY projects you are much-more capable of doing correctly.