MJ1987 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:17 pm I complain about the snow, but I LOVE the driveway. Ever since installing the sod, people continue to stop to say, "Wow!" Honestly, one of the few areas I give my self credit for is my vision. Most people would have looked at my house 5 years ago and thought it really wasn't anything special. But little changes like growing actual grass in between the concrete strips brings people around on my long-term goal. If I were you, I'd do a ribbon. Even though a single-lane driveway that needs to be mowed isn't as "practical" and impervious (I'm assuming cinder, pavers, etc), it's great to be able to incorporate something that really contributes to the aesthetic of your home and property.
The PO always tells me that he wanted to make similar changes to the house (he grew up in my house) and the house he's owned since the '80s (it's another cool 1920s house) but life got in the way. He got married, wanted to settle down and have children quickly, and worked round the clock. I'm single, no kids, and have a stable job with conventional hours and summers off. At risk of sounding like I'm on a soapbox, my point is, don't be discouraged--just keep working toward realizing your vision!
Our home also was upkept for a while, but started sliding in condition as the original owners aged and the inheritors kept changing. We always knew for budget reasons alone that restoration would be a long term process. I very much appreciate your encouragement because there are days when I feel very much like your PO--"it's been X years--I thought we'd have fixed up Y by now." (Oh yeah, the hot water coil needed replacing sooner than we thought, etc. etc.) I'm hopeful now that we found out we may be eligible for a homeowner hazardous remediation loan/grant program that within the next decade, the asphalt siding (and later maso replacement patches) will be gone and then we get to deal with the original wood siding. (If you stay in the home for 15 years after the work, the "loan" is forgiven.) Because I love old homes, my hope has always been that restoring Beebe will help others see there are alternatives to vinyl "upgrades", and will help folks appreciate old homes as they can be restored.
We tried to contract the driveway out when we were leaning permeable, but because outdoor work has such a short season we haven't even managed to get an estimate yet. So every year it's more and more likely we'll just be doing it ourselves. (I have a pick axe now, which may come in handy if the sledge and crowbars aren't enough.) In which case, pouring the ribbon would be easier than all the ground moving and granular layers involved for the permeable styles. We'd been planning on lowering the top most level portion and adding a concrete ramp into the garage to ease the slope change. I'd likely use moss for at least some of the center strip because much of the driveway sits in shade most of the day, but we've not talked it out that far to make a firm decision. There are some sun loving mosses we could mix in the lowest portion so it wouldn't be an odd transition between moss and grass.
Seeing your driveway really is encouraging me, though I'm not experienced pouring concrete on slopes. There are those shallow X segment permeable pavers you can piece together (another District member posted a pic of theirs once for me to see), but I just think with our slope/heave they won't work out well. I am really glad you mentioned the depth of the cement on your post, because that reminded me a deeper pour might help prevent heave/break in the future.
Gothichome wrote: ↑Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:00 pm
Those types of drive would have had a distinct advantage. Back in the day cars had road draft tubes to vent the crank case. By their nature they would drip oil down the centre strip of the driveway making a black oily mess if it were a full driveway, maybe this is why there were so popular in the day. Not only that, two strips would be cheaper to build than a full.
Just a thought.
All of that makes sense, and of course back then they wouldn't have had their town breathing down their neck about oil getting in the soil and possibly watershed.
From what I've read, the ribbon came into popularity partly because it helped prevent the erosive ruts from constant tire wear/weight of the vehicle, but I also agree the cost is lower than doing the entire width. When the POs paved our driveway, they did not fill in the ruts! Just asphalted over what was there (gravel layer revealed at the heave breaks). It's totally bizarre, and wrecked a past car's muffler due to heave breaks where the slope levels out near the garage. You can see the paved ruts and the worst heave break near the side porch in this listing photo.