Duncan is building fast — 400-plus new homes coming, one exit from BMW.
A gravel driveway that lasts is built in layers: topsoil stripped to firm ground, the subgrade shaped and compacted with a crown built in, woven fabric over our red clay so the stone can’t punch down into it, then crusher run compacted in thin lifts until it drives like a solid surface. The cheap version — a load of rock bladed over the dirt — looks the same for one season. Then the clay eats it, the ruts come back, and you’re buying gravel again.
Rebuilds start with the question the last load skipped: why did it wash out? No crown, a blocked culvert, gravel sitting on topsoil — we fix the cause, then rebuild the layers. Driveway entrances on public roads have their own rules (SCDOT and the county have culvert and encroachment requirements), and we handle that paperwork as part of the job.
We walk the route, find where the water goes, and diagnose any washout at its cause.
Topsoil stripped, subgrade crowned and compacted, fabric down over clay where it earns its keep.
Crusher run spread and compacted in thin layers — locked together, not loose.
Crown carried through every layer, ditches shaped, culvert set where the entrance needs one.
Built on a real base with a crown and working drainage, a gravel drive holds its shape for years with only occasional touch-up. The ones that fail early are the ones built without the base — that’s the difference you’re paying for.
A compacted stone base with crusher run on top — the fines lock the surface together so it drives like a solid surface instead of loose rock. The exact mix depends on your soil and slope, which we check on the walk.
Because builder mass grading compacts the Cecil clay under these subdivisions until water can barely soak in — compacted clay here infiltrates only a few hundredths of an inch per hour. Standing water and failed swales are common follow-up work one storm after closing. The fix is regrading for positive drainage and rebuilding the swales so water moves where it's supposed to go instead of sitting against the house.
Free written estimate. See the price before any work begins.
