Assess
Length, width, slope, what’s under the current stone, and where water wants to cross.
Driveways · DC · Maryland · Virginia
Driveway washing out? Built right, it stays put.
Gravel driveways from the ground up: excavation, fabric, the right stone, real compaction, and water sent somewhere it can’t do damage.
Get a driveway quote
or call (202) 345-5795
On the job
Harley rake regrading a gravel driveway, Mapleville
Sound familiar?
The problem, in plain sight.
If you’re filling the same potholes every spring, the problem isn’t the stone on top. It’s what’s underneath, and where the water goes.
We build new gravel drives, rebuild and re-stone old ones, repair washouts, set culverts, and build a construction entrance that can become the finished drive — so you don’t pay twice.
- Potholes come back every spring
- Ruts and washouts after storms
- Stone migrates into the lawn
- Soft spots where a truck sinks
- Water runs down the middle of the drive
Why it happens
Water is the thing that ruins it.
A gravel drive fails for a short list of reasons: no fabric, the wrong stone, no compaction, no crown, and no plan for water. Storms then run down the wheel paths and take the stone with them.
In Maryland, this work is home improvement. MHIC #103840.
The section we build
- Strip the topsoil
- Proof-roll the subgrade
- Geotextile fabric, so stone doesn’t sink into the soil
- Base stone
- Surface stone
- Crown the surface so water sheds
- Compact in lifts
- A ditch, water bar, or culvert where water crosses
How we fix it
Assess. Plan. Execute.
Plan
A written section: fabric, stone, crown, and the drainage. Two options when a patch would be a waste and a full rebuild is the honest fix.
Execute
Build it once. Compact it. Send the water off the drive, not through it.
What moves the price
We’ll price the property, not a guess.
The price is in writing after we’ve seen the property.
- Length and width
- Whether a base is already there
- Slope
- A stream, ditch, or culvert crossing
- How stone can be delivered
- A new entrance permit at a public road
Where
Home market first.
Small excavation and property work is concentrated around our home market. Larger site-development and build-ready projects are considered throughout DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Everyday work
The home market, and nearby.
Washington County, Maryland, including Hagerstown. Frederick County, Maryland. Loudoun County, Virginia. The West Virginia Eastern Panhandle: Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties, plus nearby markets.
Larger projects
DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Site development and build-ready lots, considered throughout Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
Not sure which this is? Call (202) 345-5795.
Questions
Before you send photos.
How long will it last?
A drive with fabric, the right stone, compaction, and a way for water to leave should not need rebuilding every spring. What we will stand behind goes in the written scope.
Do I need a permit for a new entrance?
A new apron at a public road usually needs a county or state entrance permit. We coordinate the application. We don’t promise the approval, and we don’t build the apron until the permit says we can.
Why fabric?
Without it, stone works down into the soil and the soil works up into the stone. You end up buying the same rock twice. Fabric keeps the two apart.
Can you fix just the bad sections?
Yes, when the rest of the drive has a real base. If the whole length is soft, patching the holes is how you buy the job twice. We’ll say which one it is.
Do you pave?
We prep and build the base. Asphalt paving is referred to a paver. The base is still the part that decides whether the pavement lasts.
What happens next