Permeable driveway ideas?

[Carrie12345]

Anyone have a not-hugely-expensive permeable driveway that stands up well to snow removal? Preferably without a ton of maintenance required.

We have not maintained our crushed stone driveway well at all, but we figure next owners are likely to just pave it.
I do NOT want our new driveway to be impervious, but I do want it to look decent and perform well.  All of the options look complicated, and I’d love to narrow them down more based on real experiences.

[MEmama]

I’ve never seen one that handles winter weather well. Crushed gravel is a hot mess and pavers (with space between) look nice at first but quickly end up frost heaved and torn up by plows. 
 

I'm following for ideas, though. We need to redo our drive and I’d be interested if there are weather friendly alternatives to tar, or whatever the standard is.

[Hilltopmom]

I’ll say that just going with dirt and spots of lose gravel isn’t the way to go. We never upgraded ours when we had it because all of our neighbors with gravel said it was just as bad. Winter plowing/ snow blowing plus mud season just doesn’t work well with gravel or dirt driveways. Great for making ruts though 😂 

[Selkie]

There aren't any non-paved surfaces that can handle snow removal well. With a gravel drive, you just have to figure that the plow is going to move a lot of the gravel and it will need to be fixed up every spring.

[Carrie12345]

26 minutes ago, Hilltopmom said:

I’ll say that just going with dirt and spots of lose gravel isn’t the way to go. We never upgraded ours when we had it because all of our neighbors with gravel said it was just as bad. Winter plowing/ snow blowing plus mud season just doesn’t work well with gravel or dirt driveways. Great for making ruts though 😂 

Yup. My across the street neighbors paved theirs, and now their run off deepens my ruts. 😞 

[Miss Tick]

How long will your driveway be? My urban house has gravel, and getting a couple loads of gravel dumped and spread 10 years ago wasn't the end of the world. Especially when the gas company dug half of it up the next year to re-do their line, I was glad we hadn't paved it. That might not be an issue for you if there aren't utilities buried under there.

DH shoveled 18 inches of snow from our 100 foot driveway last week, but that was an extreme response in my eyes. I advocated just driving it with a vehicle periodically to keep the level down. Then when the sun comes out or the rain falls, the snow melts quickly. I would think a snow blower could do the same with less back strain.

I guess I don't know what state you are building in to know how much snow you have to deal with.

[Carrie12345]

6 minutes ago, Selkie said:

There aren't any non-paved surfaces that can handle snow removal well. With a gravel drive, you just have to figure that the plow is going to move a lot of the gravel and it will need to be fixed up every spring.

So, have you heard bad reviews on the grid things that are supposed to hold gravel and/or grass?  I don’t know anyone who has used them.

[MEmama]

Just now, Carrie12345 said:

So, have you heard bad reviews on the grid things that are supposed to hold gravel and/or grass?  I don’t know anyone who has used them.

Like that goes under the gravel?

[Selkie]

2 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

So, have you heard bad reviews on the grid things that are supposed to hold gravel and/or grass?  I don’t know anyone who has used them.

Grids aren't a good solution for drives that are plowed because the plow will catch the grids and rip them up. If you only use a snowblower, the grids would work. (We used to be in the earthmoving business and this topic came up all the time with our clients.)

[Carrie12345]

2 minutes ago, SusanC said:

How long will your driveway be? My urban house has gravel, and getting a couple loads of gravel dumped and spread 10 years ago wasn't the end of the world. Especially when the gas company dug half of it up the next year to re-do their line, I was glad we hadn't paved it. That might not be an issue for you if there aren't utilities buried under there.

DH shoveled 18 inches of snow from our 100 foot driveway last week, but that was an extreme response in my eyes. I advocated just driving it with a vehicle periodically to keep the level down. Then when the sun comes out or the rain falls, the snow melts quickly. I would think a snow blower could do the same with less back strain.

I guess I don't know what state you are building in to know how much snow you have to deal with.

It’s a shorter drive than we have now, but wider, and extra space. Our current nearly-ground-to-mud drive is in the 80-100’ range.  New one is more like maybe 50’ from road to garage, but with a curve and a “back up lane” attached to it. It feels like almost the same square footage.

This year, we’re below average for snowfall, but I did have to shovel 2’ drifts. Drifts are what kill me. We CAN get 2’ of snowfall, but it’s rare.

We’re unlikely to use truck pushed plows.  I think we’ve hired people less than 6 times over 17 years, lol.  But I am insisting on some sort of mechanical snow mover now that we’re well out of our fitter 30s. And, if dd ever gets the quad she wants, I’m getting a plow front for it!

[Carrie12345]

5 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Grids aren't a good solution for drives that are plowed because the plow will catch the grids and rip them up. If you only use a snowblower, the grids would work. (We used to be in the earthmoving business and this topic came up all the time with our clients.)

So… possibly keep it on my maybe list?

7 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Like that goes under the gravel?

Well, “around” the gravel, sort of. Attaching one of the concepts I’ve considered.

If money were no object, I’d be getting pervious pavement like our community college has. That stuff is amazing!  Sadly, money IS an object, lol.

 

[bibiche]

I know someone in the snowy Chicago area who has a heated permeable paver driveway. It has held up well, and the heating element eliminates the need for snow removal and excessive salt use.

[gardenmom5]

One of the schools has "permeable" concrete sidewalks.  So - I know there is that.

the cheapest will be gravel.  You can do quarry spall first, then smaller gravel on top.

[KungFuPanda]

I wonder what the math is around how much creative landscaping makes up for a paved driveway?  I half-heartedly looked into permeable pavers, but finding information on non-flat driveways is tricky.  Since the whole goal is to KEEP the rainwater on your property there must be a way to cancel out the effect of the driveway with something like a well-planned rain garden, skipping the giant slab patio, etc. 

[Carrie12345]

14 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I wonder what the math is around how much creative landscaping makes up for a paved driveway?  I half-heartedly looked into permeable pavers, but finding information on non-flat driveways is tricky.  Since the whole goal is to KEEP the rainwater on your property there must be a way to cancel out the effect of the driveway with something like a well-planned rain garden, skipping the giant slab patio, etc. 

Yeah, I’m trying to consider all sorts of things. 
I never imagined myself taking down trees to put up a new house, so I’m struggling with all sorts of eco guilt!

Our actual driveway will be pretty flat, all things considered, but the lot as a whole slopes down to the (curved) street, and the land continues to slope down through the neighbors’ property before hitting wetlands. But I won’t be able to start tackling much landscaping until next year.

[Miss Tick]

I often longingly admire the permeable pavers because I envision them growing grass and making the driveway mowable. DH spends a lot of time corralling leaves in our yard and the gravel driveway is overhung by the neighbor's oak trees and bordered on one side by a concrete wall, so he has to leaf blow it. If it were grass growing in pavers I think he could just drive the mower over it. It would look like we were driving through the neighbor's front yard to get to our garage, though. That might be weird.

[City Mouse]

Where I live most of the people do just have dirt and gravel driveways and the ones up in the mountains have frequent snow removal. I guess nobody tries to remove all of the snow. The plows get most of it and the sun takes care of the last little bit. The few with more permanent driveway material use asphalt because the melt the snow off asphalt much faster than other driveway surfaces.

However, even with a ski resort, I live in a rural area where complete snow removal is not expected, and nobody has concrete driveways/parking lots.

[Lori D.]

ETA -- oops! never mind -- I didn't read through the thread until just now -- my ideas below are out of your price range... 😉 

"Permeable Paving Solutions" -- article with ideas

Green Driveway, or, Permeable Pavers, or similar - honeycomb form that you fill with gravel, so gravel stays in place, is sturdy for driving over, and is permeable

DIY -- square cement blocks, or, old railroad ties (see image below) embedded into the ground with a grid pattern, and filled with gravel

Edited February 18, 2022 by Lori D.

[Amy in NH]

Gravel shifts.  Try hardpack.

[Faith-manor]

I wish I knew. Nothing we do seems to survive winter very well here, and we are not investing concrete. I am all ears!