Spec for concrete access road to my house

[SantiSuk]

Time for brother-in-law and friends to build the concrete access from the main road on a slight levee down to my front gate over the government/utilities frontage of about 30 metres. They were amused (as was the concrete lorry team) at my spec for the driveways inside our (wife's legally of course) property - I wanted the internal driveways at the front of the house to withstand the weight of larger delivery lorries. Accordingly I had about a foot of rock, topped with gravel, sand and 4" of concrete - might haven been a couple more inches - can't remember now: the base for all that was uncompacted, but scraped off down to top-clay. I didn't mind the amusement (jokes about it being more stable than Highway 24).

 

What's the collective wisdom for this short access road/driveway. The dirt access levee is compacted clay of 8 years compaction, variable half metre to one metre thickness on uncompacted virgin clay (same ultimate base as for the previous internal efforts). What layers/thickness of which aggregate, what grade rebar and what thickness of typical wet Thai concrete from the local cement works? I had the last laugh on the earlier attempts - have had pool salt lorries of up to 8 tonnes (lorry+load) every 2 years on it with no harm and would expect same again very irregularly - otherwise standard parcels lorries and pickups regularly.

 

I'll have to get the b-i-l team to lay a drainage channel and grid in front of the gates as the driveway/access will incline down from the road to the front gate* - do the larger watsadus stock standard heavy duty grids (one foot wide or thereabouts)? The boys are smart enough to do form-work for the channel/retaining lips for the grid and the levee retaining concrete walls I will have them build.

 

I don't mind bearing the cost of a bit of over-engineering! 

 

*  It's that, or grade the concrete top so it allows water to slide off sideways and off the edges or through drainage holes in the slightly raised side wall (if I do go for low retainer walls to stop wheels slipping down off the drive!) However all previous attempts in this country to get tradesmen to do effective drainage shallow inclines inside and outside the house,whether concrete or tiles, have been less than satisfactory!

[Crossy]

I'm going to bowl a googly (throw a curve ball) here, in a rural setting do you really need (want) concrete?

 

Dirt (ok laterite) drives look great in an informal setting. After a while they integrate into your garden, grass up the middle and the like, and they are totally capable of supporting the occasional concrete delivery truck.

 

We never replaced our laterite / gravel drive, the only maintenance needed is the occasional truck load of material in the low areas after the rain. Village labour to spread (cost a few beers), compact by just using it.

 

Worth a thought.

 

EDIT I see you already have concrete within. Therefore I'd go with the same spec. But bear in mind that if the authorities need to dig it up they're not going to replace it with the same.

 

[BEVUP]

Well to me If your expecting lorries I would be going 5 " thick with 12 mm Rio

Looks like you will be needing to put a 100 mm + pipe at the rd end tapering it of for 10 mtrs

Also at the gate end you will need to go down 5" tapering of again for a few mtrs

As far as the drains go I wouldn't really worry - I would put a slight slope leaning outwards on the rd, or if you prefer one it would be best to put it at the gate 

& just taper everything into the concrete for water to flow away

 

[r136dg]

I like Crossy's suggestion of gravel if you're thinking the cities inevitably going to be tearing through there. If you're going to roll with the concrete though, Bevup's right on with a consistent 5" thick reinforced with 3/8" rebar. I'd add to that using a minimum #280 mix. That will hold up to any heavy trucks you could fit through your gate providing your base is solid. I've ordered & finished crete from 3 different companies so far & would say I'm partial to TPI & SKG (they may vary @ different locations). They all deliver close to a 4 slump which is fine for me; but, if you have local cement heads there they'll want to add a lot of water. Don't let them do it if you want to retain the strength of that mix. Spray a cure & seal on it right after the broom and/or keep it wet & cool for a few days. Don't drive on it for a week, no heavy rigs for 2-3 weeks.

Happy pouring;-)

[SantiSuk]

I agree Crossy, and if it were down to me ..... (I'll have another go at her)

 

Thanks to you all for your input. BEVUP - I need a bit more explanation of what the pipes at both ends and the tapering is all about if you wouldn't mind.

 

That road outside is a major road but there's 55km (between Sisaket and Kantharalak) and there's a lot of heavily trafficed kilometerage closer to the Sisaket capital 45km away that would be done well before my rural bit is economically justified. I'm guessing a decade at least. 

 

Somebody told me via my wife not to put gravel on the dirt road as the gravel just grinds down to dust (after a few years, I think was the implication). Maybe it depends on the thickness of the gravel top.

[Crossy]

6 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

Somebody told me via my wife not to put gravel on the dirt road as the gravel just grinds down to dust (after a few years, I think was the implication). Maybe it depends on the thickness of the gravel top.

Yup, that's how it works, you top up occasionally (every couple of years, depends upon traffic levels). If you use laterite (the red stuff) it compacts down to a concrete-like toughness. I had occasion to channel out for a pipe across our drive, it was more than somewhat tough.

[SantiSuk]

I already have a wide concrete pipe under and across the existing drive clay levee, to allow rainy season water to pass along the frontage, if that's what the pipe talk in Bevup and Crossy's posting was about. One large pipe half way has worked fine.

[BEVUP]

Hello again

I didn't read your post correctly

* I would say you solved your drainage problem - I understand your comment about run off around the house so I suggest you get out on the job & mark you center all the way down & say to them "SLOPING" as I did when I laid my grass in the small Moo Baan block (works perfectly) & I actually set the slope. Just use sand 

 

PS: I notice the pipe near the shrub on the left hand side ( Government made drainage channel )

 

*You may have to put that drain at the gate since it looks like a big flat area there 

 

* Would not even worry about the Gutters (small retaining wall ), just make sure you have a foot of compacted dirt past the side edges (otherwise you may have to shoulder the concrete) - All this will prevent the sides cracking

 

* Now for the rd - It looks like you have a sudden drop or rise at that end - I would build that up & taper off to make entry/exit easier

 

* The tapering off (with dirt ) is naturally about water flow & soil erosion at the sides off the road