Gravel driveway grading & repair in Middle Tennessee

Why Middle Tennessee driveways fail

Most failing driveways are water problems before they are gravel problems. Around Lawrenceburg and Pulaski, on the Highland Rim, cherty silt loam over clay subsoil sheds water slowly, and a hard rain turns a long, sloped lane into a creek bed. Around Columbia and Lewisburg, limestone-based clay goes slick when wet and holds water in every low spot. A few freeze-and-thaw cycles each winter pump soft spots up, and the stone gets pushed down into the mud.

Hauling more gravel onto a drive with no crown and no ditch just buries the problem. The next storm carries the new stone down the hill with the old. That is why we look at where the water is coming from before we talk about stone.

What a driveway job involves

We walk the drive with you first. Then the work usually breaks down like this:

• Regrade and crown. Cut the high spots, fill the low ones, and shape a crown (or a cross-slope on a hillside lane) so water leaves the surface. We use the Kubota SVL97-2 track loader or the excavator, depending on width and access.
• Ditches and turnouts. A lane that runs downhill needs places for water to leave it. We cut side ditches, build turnouts where the drive crosses a slope, and set a culvert where water has to cross. See driveway culverts & drainage.
• Base and surface stone. Soft spots get dug out and filled with larger stone. The top is a surface stone that packs tight. We sell and deliver gravel and fill dirt and spread it ourselves, so stone and labor come in one quote.
• New drives. We lay out the route, clear it (brush hog for brush, excavator for trees), strip the topsoil, build the subgrade and stone it, with a culvert at the road entrance if the ditch needs one.
• Edges and outlets. Rip rap goes where a ditch empties or a slope would otherwise erode.

What moves the price

We do not price driveways over the phone, because two drives of the same length can be completely different jobs. What changes the number: length and width; how much of the existing stone can be pulled back and reused versus new stone hauled in; how steep it is and how many places water must cross; soft or wet spots that need dig-out; clearing along the route; culverts, ditches or rip rap; and the haul distance for stone or fill. Quotes are free and on-site, and we explain what is driving the cost.

Timing and ground conditions

Grading saturated clay makes a mess and ruts your yard, so we would rather wait a few dry days than tear up the ground. Fall is a good time to fix drainage before the winter rains, and a dry stretch in summer is the best window for re-stoning. If a washout is cutting into the road or a neighbor's property, tell us when you call so we can look at it sooner.

Before you build a new drive onto a county or state road, check with the county highway department about entrance requirements. We build to what they require; we do not do permitting or engineering.

What we do not do

We do not pave, lay asphalt or pour concrete. We build and repair gravel and dirt drives and the grading and drainage under them. If you are also building a house or shop, we can do the building pad in the same visit.

Frequently asked questions