# How to tar a dirt driveway?



## sharky (Jul 9, 2001)

Why does everything have to be difficult?

I have seen at stores, those big tubs of paving incredients to tar a driveway and thought it might be a simple thing to do. Now i'am finding out taring one's own driveway is difficult and a painsaking job. 

i have a relatively small,flat driveway. How difficult can it be? The driveway does not have to be perfect, anything but mud should be an improvement


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi hope you have a strong back..you should dig down at least 4 inches..remove all earth etc.
Best to messure width of driveway and put strips of wood either side to set distance from one side to the other..4x2 inches of any old timber will do.
The base for the driveway needs to filled with hardcore..old boken bricks etc.all bedded down and then use hardcore a mixture of sand+cement and ballast.
Using a piece of wood that is the width of the driveway and running on the two 4x2 strips of wood you work from the top of the drive to the bottom to keep it all flat and true.
Once that has set 4 days max..then tar over the top.
How easy is that..


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

sharky...are you refering to resealing, repaving or replacing the driveway?
I've resealed and it's not too bad. Pour on a bucket or two of sealer and use a large squeege (couple feet wide) to spread it around.
However, when I needed an extension, I paid a paver to do the job.


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## WarC (Dec 26, 2001)

That resealing tar does NOT stick to dirt very well. That kind of stuff is best used to resurface concrete.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Yeah, I didn't read the title close enough


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

You have to use the oil like stuff before you put in blacktop.

So not sure just what it is your wanting done.

See this page of links.
http://www.google.com/search?q=tar+a+driveway&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0


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## Izme (Mar 4, 2004)

Do you all want to hear something really funny that really works?  

I bought a house with a dirt drive way and poured quickcrete on it and then sprayed it down with a hose for about 3 applications...gone is the dust problem...and my wallet is healthy 

nice drive way by the way


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

The type of dirt can make things easy or hard and what types of things you can do with one type of dirt you can't with other types of dirt.

Down in the bay they have a very dark adobe clay. It is so sticky you have to scrap each shove load you dig up off. But when they would dump said on the ground that the subs used for use to stucco the homes it made the ground as hard or harder then the concrete. Something in it always effected the ground adobe clay.


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## sharky (Jul 9, 2001)

i think i will look into the quickcremet trick. anything but parking in mud that can be 2-3inches at times should be an improvement


i prefer doing it in a professional way, but probably never get 'aroundtooit'


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi if you go with the quick cement idea [better to use concrete..sand+cement+ballast]
Lay two strips of wood 4x2 to set the width of the driveway.
That way you are creating a slab of concrete that will not move..
You are also making it easyier to lay as the concrete will not spill out and reduce the thickness of the slab.
Not setting an edge either side of the driveway the concrete or whatever you use may just run away and find it's own level...it needs to be contained in some way.
Let us know how it all pans out.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

You need to also lay the concrete slab on dry ground so make sure the ground is dry before adding the rock, sand and the concrete. 
Then make sure the water will run away from it so the water does not run under the slab. If you get water under it the ground will move and then your get cracks and then it lifts up etc over time. 

If you have a hard time getting water to run away from it then you could also run a drain like pipe along each side or a ditch and fill it with rock so water runs into it and then down and away from the driveway.


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